Quantifizierung „gesellschaftlich gewünschter, nicht marktgängiger Leistungen“ der Landwirtschaft

Zusammenfassung: In den Diskussionen über die Gemeinsame Agrarpolitik nach 2013 nimmt die Honorierung nicht marktgängiger gesellschaftlicher Leistungen der Landwirtschaft eine zentrale Rolle ein. Unterschiedliche Ansichten bestehen darüber, was unter diesen Leistungen genau zu verstehen ist und wie sie quantifiziert und monetarisiert werden können. Die hierzu durchgeführte Auswertung von rund 80 Studien zeigt einerseits, dass in der Bevölkerung eine generelle Zahlungsbereitschaft für solche Leistungen besteht, und andererseits, dass die ausgewerteten Fallstudien nicht auf Deutschland hochgerechnet werden können. Die Leistung „Offenhaltung der Landschaft“ verursacht - wenn sie nicht als Koppelprodukt unentgeltlich anfällt - Kosten, deren Höhe in starkem Maße davon abhängen, ob mit dem geringsten Aufwand nur die Fläche offen gehalten werden soll oder darüber hinaus Naturschutzziele verfolgt werden. Die Einhaltung strikterer Umweltregulierungen wird oftmals ebenfalls als Leistung angeführt. Die Ergebnisse der wenigen Studien zu den durch Umweltregulierung verursachten Kosten und der exemplarische Vergleich zweier Ackerbaubetriebe in Sachsen-Anhalt und der Ukraine deuten darauf hin, dass diese Kosten im Vergleich zu anderen Kostenkomponenten in Deutschland einen eher geringen Einfluss auf die gesamten Produktionskosten haben. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: The remuneration of public goods provided by agriculture plays a central role in the discussion about the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013. Various opinions exist on what exactly these pubic goods constitute and how they can be quantified and assigned monetary values. The results of about 80 studies analysed show that, on the one hand, a general willingness to pay for such public goods is present, and on the other hand, that the evaluated case studies cannot be applied to the whole of Germany. The service “keeping the landscape open” - if not provided costless as a by-product - incurs costs that are strongly dependent on whether the land areas are to be held open with the least amount of effort, or if, in addition, natural protection goals are to be pursued. The compliance of stricter environmental regulations is also often seen as a service which provides public goods. The results of the few studies on the costs generated by environmental regulations, and the exemplary comparison of two arable farms in Saxony Anhalt and the Ukraine indicate that these costs – in comparison to other cost components in Germany –, tend to have less influence on the total production costs.Gesellschaftliche Leistungen der Landwirtschaft, Koppelprodukte, Zahlungsbereitschaft, Offenhaltung der Landschaft, Kosten für Umweltregulierung, public goods provided by agriculture, by-product, willingness to pay, open landscape, environmental regulation cost, Environmental Economics and Policy, Public Economics, Q01, Q51, Q56, Q57,

¿Pueden procurarse la conservación de la naturaleza y de los recursos paisajísticos de forma privada?

En el presente documento se discute qué es más conveniente, desde el punto de vista económico, si el suministro público o privado de bienes tales como la conservación de la naturaleza y los recursos para el disfrute. Basándose en la teoría de los bienes públicos, a menudo se mantiene que " la conservación de la naturaleza y de los recursos paisajísticos" como uno de dichos bienes, sólo puede suministrarse de forma efectiva a través del sector público. No obstante, dicha afirmación descansa en dos supuestos implícitos que no puede corroborarse por estudios empíricos. Los criterios de no exclusión y de no rivalidad en el consumo, no son. adecuados para caracterizar las particularidades económicas de un bien especifico. Dicha consideración conduce a la introducción del grado de contenido público, como concepto, para la caracterización de los bienes. Basándose en una encuesta realizada en dos distritos rurales de la República Federal Alemana, se muestra que la posibilidad teórica de un suministro privado de la conservación de la naturaleza requeriría la correspondiente aceptación y disposición al pago por parte de los usuarios

Corn and Soybeans in the Central Black Soil Region of Russia: A fundamental shift in cropping patterns ahead of us?

Recent statistics show an increase in corn and soy production in the Voronezh region, one of Russia’s most important agricultural regions. This paper analyses the background of and the reasons for this development. To achieve this goal, the authors used data from agri benchmark typical farms and focus group discussions with farmers in Russia. The resulting analysis discloses the economic drivers of these changes in cropping patterns which clearly indicate a lasting shift in the Black Soil Region towards corn and soybean production

Farm economics behind the evolution of Chinese rapeseed production

: In recent years Chinese rapeseed production has undergone significant changes. In order to explain this evolution, this article focuses on analyzing gross margin ratios and labour cost for rapeseed and wheat which is found to be the major competing crop from a grower’s perspective. An econometric model applied to economic data from four main Chinese rapeseed producing provinces provides limited evidence that farm level economics play a role in grower’s decision making: an increase in the gross margin ratio by 1 % causes the share of rapeseed acreage in the subsequent year to go up by 0.09 %; a 1 % increase in the relative labour input leads to a reduction in rapeseed acreage by 0.45%. However, results also indicate that grower’s decision making regarding cropping pattern is driven by other non-economic factors as well

Mit Sojaanbau profitabel Fruchtfolgen erweitern?

In recent years, the economic viability of established broad leaf crops has deteriorated, in some cases considerably -above all rapeseed and sugarbeet, for which important crop protection products are no longer available. Herbicide resistance is also increasing in cereals, so more diverse crop rotations -especially with summer crops -are of increasing importance. Against this background, the prospects for soybean cultivation in Germany are being investigated. As an additional leaf crop, soybeans could play an important role in crop rotations in the future -at least south of a line of the A2 highway. Where crop rotations need to be extended and soybeans are possible, they are superior to native legumes and offer opportunities as a sought-after GMO-free feed. Case studies were used to analyze the economic viability of soybeans compared to established crops in selected regions. In southern Germany, climatic and market conditions are already so positive that soybeans are economically attractive without subsidies. In the more northern regions, conditions are generally still somewhat worse, so that soybeans are often not yet competitive there. The potential of soybeans for a healthier crop rotation can only be realized on an area-wide basis if the framework conditions for cultivation improve. A major reason for the current low profitability of soybeans is the high seed cost of about 300 €/ha. Due to the lack of a farm-saved seed regulation as in cereals, farmers have to use certified seed. If they were allowed touse a portion of the harvest for sowing in the following year, variable costs would go down by about 150 €/ha or at least one third. In addition, transport distances to oil mills are a key challenge with the current low volumes. With the help of producer groups, regional harvest volumes could be increased and pooled. This would reduce transaction and transportation costs per ton, allowing higher farm gate prices for soybean growers. Temporary government support for producer groups -including intensified agronomic advice for farmers -could help generate critical mass for the market. Finally, the price potential of GMO-free soybeans has not yet been fully exploited. While imported non-GMO soybeans achieve a premium of about 100 €/t compared to GMO produce, these premiums for domestic commodities are usually about 50€/t below the calculated reference price. Therefore, rising prices and thus better profitability can be expected in the medium term

Cost Efficiency of International Corn Production

The objective of this paper was to examine the cost efficiency of corn production for typical farms involved in the cash crop agri benchmark network. Average cost efficiency for 32 typical farms, representing 12 countries, was 0.720. Seed and direct inputs other than seed, fertilizer, and crop protection inputs, were found to be under-utilized, and labor was found to be over-utilized on the typical farms

Estimating the economic value of green water as an approach to foster the virtual green-water trade

Green water – precipitation that is stored in the soil as moisture and consumed in the production of biomass – provides the main source of water for crop cultivation, pasturelands, forestry, and terrestrial ecosystems. At a local level, green water is land-bound and cannot be easily allocated between uses. However, at the global level, agricultural commodities and their embodied virtual water are traded between countries. This trade typically sees the cultivation of crops in water abundant rainfed locations exported to regions that would otherwise have employed local irrigation resources. The result is a global saving of irrigation water and the negative environmental externalities associated with irrigation. In addition, scarce blue water resources are freed up for other (often higher valued) uses. Here we assess whether there is an economic rationale for the virtual green-water trade and the increased and intentional allocation of crop cultivation to water abundant rainfed locations. We model a realistic case study of maize cultivation on representative farms in 16 major maize producing regions (across four continents) and provide the first spatially variable estimates of the economic value of the green water employed. These economic values are contrasted with the economic value of blue water used for irrigation. We find that the volume of green water employed in the cultivation of maize varies between 409 m3/tonne and 1547 m3/tonne; the estimated economic value of green water varies between $-0.04 m3 and$0.12 m3. We demonstrate how these economic value estimates can inform crop allocation decisions in favour of green water-based cultivation and inform decisions regarding the intensification and horizontal expansion of rainfed agriculture. In so doing, we aim to provide a further rationale for the green water-based measures that have been identified in the literature as the principal means of providing the additional fresh water needed to address pressing global challenges beyond the case study

Quantifizierung „gesellschaftlich gewünschter, nicht marktgängiger Leistungen“ der Landwirtschaft

Zusammenfassung : In den Diskussionen über die Gemeinsame Agrarpolitik nach 2013 nimmt die Honorierung nicht marktgängiger gesellschaftlicher Leistungen der Landwirtschaft eine zentrale Rolle ein. Unterschiedliche Ansichten bestehen darüber, was unter diesen Leistungen genau zu verstehen ist und wie sie quantifiziert und monetarisiert werden können. Die hierzu durchgeführte Auswertung von rund 80 Studien zeigt einerseits, dass in der Bevölkerung eine generelle Zahlungsbereitschaft für solche Leistungen besteht, und andererseits, dass die ausgewerteten Fallstudien nicht auf Deutschland hochgerechnet werden können. Die Leistung „Offenhaltung der Landschaft“ verursacht - wenn sie nicht als Koppelprodukt unentgeltlich anfällt - Kosten, deren Höhe in starkem Maße davon abhängen, ob mit dem geringsten Aufwand nur die Fläche offen gehalten werden soll oder darüber hinaus Naturschutzziele verfolgt werden. Die Einhaltung strikterer Umweltregulierungen wird oftmals ebenfalls als Leistung angeführt. Die Ergebnisse der wenigen Studien zu den durch Umweltregulierung verursachten Kosten und der exemplarische Vergleich zweier Ackerbaubetriebe in Sachsen-Anhalt und der Ukraine deuten darauf hin, dass diese Kosten im Vergleich zu anderen Kostenkomponenten in Deutschland einen eher geringen Einfluss auf die gesamten Produktionskosten haben. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: The remuneration of public goods provided by agriculture plays a central role in the discussion about the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013. Various opinions exist on what exactly these pubic goods constitute and how they can be quantified and assigned monetary values. The results of about 80 studies analysed show that, on the one hand, a general willingness to pay for such public goods is present, and on the other hand, that the evaluated case studies cannot be applied to the whole of Germany. The service “keeping the landscape open” - if not provided costless as a by-product - incurs costs that are strongly dependent on whether the land areas are to be held open with the least amount of effort, or if, in addition, natural protection goals are to be pursued. The compliance of stricter environmental regulations is also often seen as a service which provides public goods. The results of the few studies on the costs generated by environmental regulations, and the exemplary comparison of two arable farms in Saxony Anhalt and the Ukraine indicate that these costs – in comparison to other cost components in Germany –, tend to have less influence on the total production costs

The Typical Farm Approach and Its Application by the Agri Benchmark Network

Global agricultural production is dynamic and complex as various factors impact it. Understanding global agricultural production systems and farmers’ decisions requires an internationally standardized and scientifically sound approach. The agribenchmark Network is a global, non-profit network of producers and agricultural experts which aims to analyze and understand the key drivers of current and future trends and developments in global agriculture. The Network combines its in-depth knowledge of production systems with its expertise in analyzing international commodity markets and value chains to provide scientifically sound advice to policymakers, producers and agribusinesses. This paper details the agribenchmark Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which is the step-by-step method of establishing typical farm information and quantifying their data. The paper also illustrates how the typical farm approach is applied by the agribenchmark Network to analyze and understand global agriculture, production systems and adaptation strategies. The paper provides examples of how the Network applies the approach in analyzing the status-quo of production systems, benchmarking, practice change analysis and policy analysis. The paper concludes that although the typical farm approach and the institutional settings (agri benchmark) present some limitations, the approach and the Network provide comprehensive, consistent and coherent data on farm economics