Poor household participation in payments for environmental services in Nicaragua and Colombia

We evaluate the extent to which poor households are able to participate in Payments for Environmental Services (PES) scheme using data from a PES scheme implemented at two sites in Latin America. This allows us to compare environmental and livelihood impacts of PES across regions with different agronomic and socio-economic characteristics. In particular, one of our sites is composed almost entirely of poor or extremely poor households, while the other has households ranging from extremely poor to very well off. The results show that poorer households are in fact able to participate—indeed, by some measures they participated to a greater extent than better-off households. Moreover, their participation was not limited to the simpler, least expensive options. Extremely poor households had a somewhat greater difficulty in participating, but even in their case the difference is solely a relative one. Transaction costs may be greater obstacles to the participation of poorer households than household-specific constraints.Payments for environmental services, PES, poverty, silvopastoral

Farm size and nonparametric efficiency measurements for coffee farms in Vietnam

We study the efficiency of smallholder coffee farms in Vietnam. Data from a 2004 survey of farms in two districts in Dak Lak Province are used in a two-step analysis. In the first step, technical and cost efficiency measures are calculated using DEA. In the second step, Tobit regressions are used to identify factors correlated with technical and cost inefficiency. Results indicate that small farms were less efficient than large farms. Inefficiencies observed on small farms appear to be related, in part, to the scale of investments in irrigation infrastructure.Farm Management,

U.S. Agriculture: Commercial and Large Producer Concentration and Implications for Agribusiness Segments

This study examines rate of concentration of farms and sales for aggregate farm production and crop and livestock activities during the 1982 to 2002 period. Data from the Census of Agriculture are used to calculate Theil's relative entropy measure as an indicator of concentration. Results indicate that Grain segments are lagging behind cotton, potato and hog segments in terms of concentration of total sales, while concentration in the dairy segment appears to be gaining steam. Agribusiness serving less concentrated industry segments should look to the more concentrated segments as leading indicators for effective marketing strategies as concentration increases.Concentration, Commodities, Entropy, Agribusiness,

U.S. Agriculture: Commercial and Large Producer Concentration and Implications for Agribusiness Segments

This study examines rate of concentration of farms and sales for aggregate farm production and crop and livestock activities during the 1982 to 2002 period. Data from the Census of Agriculture are used to calculate Theil's relative entropy measure as an indicator of concentration. Results indicate that Grain segments are lagging behind cotton, potato and hog segments in terms of concentration of total sales, while concentration in the dairy segment appears to be gaining steam. Agribusiness serving less concentrated industry segments should look to the more concentrated segments as leading indicators for effective marketing strategies as concentration increases.Concentration, Commodities, Entropy, Agribusiness,

Can the Poor Participate in Payments for Environmental Services?: Lessons from the Silvopastoral Project in Nicaragua

This paper uses data from a Payments for Environmental Services (PES) project being implemented in Nicaragua to examine the extent to which poorer households that are eligible to participate are in fact able to do so, an issue over which there has been considerable concern. The study site provides a strong test of the ability of poorer households to participate as it requires participants to make substantial and complex land use changes. The results show that poorer households are in fact able to participate—indeed, by some measures they participated to a greater extent than better-off households. Moreover, their participation was not limited to the simpler, least expensive options. Extremely poor households had a somewhat greater difficulty in participating, but even in their case the difference is solely a relative one. Transaction costs may be greater obstacles to the participation of poorer households than household-specific constraints.Payments for Environmental Services; PES; poverty; participation

Poor Household Participation in Payments for Environmental Services: Lessons from the Silvopastoral Project in Quindío, Colombia

As the use of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) approaches in developing countries has grown, concern has arisen over the ability of poorer households to participate. This paper uses data from a PES project being implemented in Quindío, Colombia, to examine the extent to which poorer households that are eligible to participate are in fact able to do so. The project provides a strong test of the ability of poorer households to participate in a PES program as it requires participants to make substantial and complex land use changes. The results show that poorer households are in fact able to participate at levels that are broadly similar to those of better-off households. Moreover, their participation was not limited to the simpler, least expensive options. Transaction costs may be greater obstacles to the participation of poorer households than household-specific constraints.Payments for Environmental Services (PES); poverty; silvopastoral; Colombia

Linkages between Market Participation and Productivity: Results from a Multi-Country Farm Household Sample

We build upon international trade literature to analyze the direction of causality between market participation and productivity. Cross-country household data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala are used in a 2SLS approach with market participation and productivity as endogenous variables. Results indicate that households with higher productivity tend to participate in agricultural markets regardless of market access factors. In contrast, having better market access does not necessarily lead to higher productivity. This finding suggests that investments in market access infrastructure provide minimal, if any, improvements in agricultural productivity; whereas programs targeted at enhancements in farm structure and capital have the potential to increase both productivity and market participation.International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis,

Agricultural Prices and Income Distribution among Farmers: A Whole-Household, Multi-Country, Multi-Year Analysis

Recent studies have emphasized that the poorest farmers are often net buyers of key commodities and therefore harmed by rising prices. We use LSMS data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala to test the degree of net purchases or sales by income level. We find that poorer farmers may be net buyers of individual crops, but only the poorest are net buyers of all crops. More generally, net sales among poor farmers are low. We conclude that agricultural price changes have a diverse but limited influence on poor farmers’ welfare, because their farm sales tend to be offset by food purchases.market participation, poverty, inequality, multi-continent multicountry, Agricultural Finance,

The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America

Degraded lands—lands that have lost some degree of their natural productivity through human activity—account for over 20 percent of forest and agricultural lands in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some 300 million hectares of the region's forests are considered degraded, and about 350 million hectares are now classified as deforested. The agriculture and forestry sectors are growing and exerting great pressure on natural areas. With the region expected to play an increasingly important role in global food security, this pressure will continue to ratchet up. In addition, land degradation is a major driver in greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Forest and landscape restoration can offer a solution to these increasing pressures

Poor household participation in payments for environmental services in Nicaragua and Colombia

We evaluate the extent to which poor households are able to participate in Payments for Environmental Services (PES) scheme using data from a PES scheme implemented at two sites in Latin America. This allows us to compare environmental and livelihood impacts of PES across regions with different agronomic and socio-economic characteristics. In particular, one of our sites is composed almost entirely of poor or extremely poor households, while the other has households ranging from extremely poor to very well off. The results show that poorer households are in fact able to participate—indeed, by some measures they participated to a greater extent than better-off households. Moreover, their participation was not limited to the simpler, least expensive options. Extremely poor households had a somewhat greater difficulty in participating, but even in their case the difference is solely a relative one. Transaction costs may be greater obstacles to the participation of poorer households than household-specific constraints