MYTH AND REALITY:ORGANIC VS NON-ORGANIC

This report examines some of the key issues around organic food and its production. It takes up the challenge of answering the critics - critics who range from companies defending agri-business, through to the heads of national food authorities and some academics. It exposes the misleading and erroneous statements made against organic food, and provides the facts that proves them wrong

Cattle Egrets and dry fish business in coastal areas

Cattle Egret is one of the common wetland birds in India known for its efficiency to make use of human interfered habitats. The present study is an attempt to document maggots of houseflies and calliphorids in the coastal sun drying fish yards and the role of the species in containing the vector species. The number of flies and maggots were found related with the visit of cattle egrets, demonstrating the importance of the species in controlling the vectors

Simulation and hedging oil price with geometric Brownian Motion and single-step binomial price model

This paper[1] uses the Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) to model the behaviour of crude oil price in a Monte Carlo simulation framework. The performance of the GBM method is compared with the naïve strategy using different forecast evaluation techniques. The results from the forecasting accuracy statistics suggest that the GBM outperforms the naïve model and can act as a proxy for modelling movement of oil prices. We also test the empirical viability of using a call option contract to hedge oil price declines. The results from the simulations reveal that the single-step binomial price model can be effective in hedging oil price volatility. The findings from this paper will be of interest to the government of Nigeria that views the price of oil as one of the key variables in the national budget. JEL Classification Numbers: E64; C22; Q30 Keywords: Oil price volatility; Geometric Brownian Motion; Monte Carlo Simulation; Single-Step Binomial Price Model [1] Acknowledgement: We wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and kind considerations. Memos to: Azeez Abiola Oyedele, School of Business and Enterprise, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley Campus, Paisley PA1 2BE, Scotland, Email: [email protected]

The Economic Impacts of GM Contamination Incidents on the Organic Sector

This paper examines the economic impact of GM co-existence on the global organic sector to date through GM contamination of organic food and crops. A total of 15 GM contamination incidents in the organic sector are identified, occurring either from cross-pollination from GM crops being grown in the area or due to contamination in the post-harvest supply chain. The financial losses incurred by organic farmers and food companies due to GM contamination are considerable, through lost markets, lost sales, lower prices, negative publicity, withdrawal of organic certification and product recalls. It is important that co-existence regimes address all of these impacts, with the GM sector being held accountabl

Forecasting OPEC oil price: a comparison of parametric stochastic models

Most academic papers on oil price forecasting have frequently focused on the use of WTI and European Brent oil price series with little focus on other equally important international oil price benchmarks such as the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB). The ORB is a weighted average of 11-member countries crude streams weighted according to production and exports to the main markets. This paper compares the forecasting accuracy of four stochastic processes and four univariate random walk models using daily data of OPEC Reference Basket series. The study finds that the random walk univariate model outperforms the other stochastic processes. An element of uncertainty was introduced into the point estimates by deriving probability distribution that describes the possible price paths on a given day and their likelihood of occurrence. This will help decision makers, traders and analysts to have a better understanding of the possible daily prices that could occur. JEL Classification Numbers: E64; C22; Q30 Keywords: Oil Price Forecasting, Probability Distributions, and Forecast Evaluation Statistics, Brownian Motion with Mean Reversion process, GARCH Model

Breeding biology of pond heron in Kerala, South India

Regular intensive investigations to locate nesting colonies were carried out early monsoon of 1999 up to 2002. For detailed study a few breeding colonies were selected. The nesting trees, nest characteristics, eggs characteristics, incubation, hatching and hatchlings were investigated.

Altogether 17 plant species were used for nesting. Nest materials were collected from 24 plant species for building nest. The mean maximum size of the nest material used was 29.05 cm and the mean minimum size was 13.46 cm. The clutch size varied from 2-5 and clutches of three were very common. The maximum and minimum length and breadth of eggs were 48.0 x 32.0 and 33.3 x 24.1 respectively. The weight of eggs varied between 17.8 and 11.2 gm. Both sexes take part in incubation that extended for 18-24 days. Hatching success reached 82%. Their food consisted mainly of fishes and both parents took part in feeding the nestlings

Causes and impacts of global financial crisis on the performance of Nigerian banks (a case study of selected banks)

Incessant bank failure in the face of several banking policies calls for appropriate prophylactic measures capable of stemming the tide because the pain of bank failure touches the banker, customer, government and the general public as well. Thus, when the global financial crisis came, it destabilized the expected return of the consolidation exercise of 2005 which seriously affected the operation of Nigerian banks. This study evaluates the causes and implications of the global financial crisis on the performance of Nigerian banks with a view to determine the extent of this impact and determining various options that could cushion the impact as well as avoiding future reoccurrence. The secondary data used in this study are those relating to loans and advances, customers deposit and investment in securities (independent variable), while the dependent variable is bank performance. Ordinary Least Square method of Multiple Regression Analysis was used to manipulate the time series data into Econometric model of inflation, while F test was used to test the formulated hypotheses. This study reveals that global financial crisis has a negative impact on the performance of Nigerian banks despite in defiance of high liquidity possessed by these banks immediately after the consolidation exercise of 2005. It was recommended that banks should desist from financing other banks’ investment in securities to avoid multiplier effect syndrome while the Nigerian government should find alternative ways to fund their budget deficitBanking policies; Loans and Advances; Securities; Liquidity; Consolidation; Lending rates; Deposit rate.

Biodiesel: Freedom from Dependence on Fossil Fuels?

In view of the depleting oil reserves and exponential rise in petroleum prices, the search for alternative sources of fuel is very timely and important. The present paper addresses the underlying issues in biodiesel production from biomaterials and sustainable production and supply of first-generation biofuels, especially the one from jatropha. The agencies and research institutions involved in the production of biofuels and the national and international efforts made in this regard are discussed here. There is also a dire need of a step towards large-scale production and supply of second-generation biofuels, although in infant stage, to strengthen the world economy in general and Indian economy in particular. However, the production of biofuels are likely to have serious socio-economic implications especially to the lesser developed societies. This needs serious attention from policy makers and public at large