A HEDONIC MODEL OF RICE TRAITS: ECONOMIC VALUES FROM FARMERS IN WEST AFRICA

New crop varieties often have been promoted in developing countries based upon superior yield vis-a-vis locally available varieties. This research presents a hedonic model for upland rice by drawing upon the input characteristics and consumer good characteristics model literature. Model specification tests determine that a combination of production and consumption characteristics best explains the willingness to pay for new upland rice varieties. This non-separable household model specification determined that four traits explain the willingness to pay for new rice varieties: plant cycle length, plant height, grain elongation/swelling and tenderness. Yield was not significant explanatory variable for the willingness to pay for seed. The implications of this model are two-fold. First, varietal development and promotion must include post-harvest characteristics in addition to production traits when determining which varieties to promote for official release. Secondly, non-yield production characteristics such as plant height and cycle length are significant factors in producers' assessments of the value of a new variety. Overall, this paper provides an alternative explanation for limited adoption of modern upland rice varieties in West Africa: varietal evaluation programs have focused too narrowly on yield evaluation and have not promoted varieties with superior non-yield characteristics than locally available varieties.hedonic, upland rice, West Africa, household modelling, Crop Production/Industries,

Transient Health Shocks and Agricultural Labor Demand in Rice-producing Households in Mali

Malaria and other transient illnesses have been recognized as factors constraining economic development in tropical countries. The purpose of this paper is to determine the direct and the indirect impact of transient illness shocks, caused primarily by malaria but also including other tropical illness, on family labor use in irrigated rice production in Mali. Family labor is the most important factor of production used in rice production in Mali and transient illness shocks may negatively impact labor supply, production and hence household welfare derived from agricultural income and consumption. Two labor demand models are estimated to determine whether illness does indeed reduce labor supply: one where the dependent variable only includes family labor and a second that combines family and hired labor. These models can be used to test two sets of hypotheses on the relationship between illness and labor supply. First, we hypothesize that short-term transient illness shocks affect household labor supply implying that intrahousehold coping mechanisms are not wholly effective. Secondly, we hypothesize that hired labor markets are ineffective in mitigating illness shocks. We find that direct and indirect health shocks reduce the effective supply of labor and that neither household nor market supply of labor can mitigate these shocks.D1, I0, Q12, Crop Production/Industries, Labor and Human Capital,

Spatial Economic Analysis in Data-Rich Environments

Controlling for spatial effects in micro-economic studies of consumer and producer behavior necessitates a range of analytical modifications ranging from modest changes in data collection and the definition of variables to dramatic changes in the modeling of consumer and producer decision-making. This paper discusses conceptual, empirical, and data issues involved in modeling the spatial aspects of economic behavior in data rich environments. Attention is given to established and emerging agricultural economic applications of spatial data and spatial econometric methods at the micro-scale. Recent applications of individual and household data are featured, including models of land-use change at the urban-rural interface, agricultural land values, and technological change and technology adoption.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C21, Q10, Q12, Q15, Q56,

Profitability of Northeast Organic Dairy Farms

Livestock Production/Industries,

STABILIZATION OF UPLAND RICE PRODUCTION UNDER SHORTENED FALLOW IN WEST AFRICA: RESEARCH PRIORITY SETTING IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CLIMATE

This paper presents a dynamic model of land resource degradation and shifting rice cultivation in West Africa based upon Boserup and Dvorak. The model indicates the ex ante impact of research strategies to maximize the economic benefits of host plant resistance and land resource management and thereby stabilize yield decline and reduce land degradation.Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A Nonparametric Efficiency Analysis of Bean Producers from North and South Kivu

The purpose of this research is to determine how technically efficient small-scale producers are in two provinces (North and South Kivu) in the Democratic of Republic (DR) of Congo at producing two different varieties of beans: bush and climbing beans. In addition to calculating the efficiency scores, this research attempts to identify what producer and field characteristics affect these scores. We hypothesize that bean producers will be more productive than producers in South Kivu and that climbing bean producers will be more productive than bush bean producers. Technical efficiency is estimated using a nonparametric approach. A tobit model is used to examine the effect of producer and field characteristic on the efficiency score. On average, farms were 66% technically efficient. North Kivu bean producers and climbing bean producers have, on average, a higher technical efficiency score than their counterparts. Implications from this research suggest that there is room for improvement in the technical efficiency scores for producers in DR of Congo. Based on the results, it may be more productive to continue focusing on improving the yield and nutritional content of climbing beans.Production Economics, Production Economics,

TB193: The Cost of Producing Milk in Maine: Results from the 2005 Dairy Cost of Production Survey

This report summarizes the results of the 2005 Dairy Cost of Production survey implemented by The University of Maine and the Maine Milk Commission. This study summarizes data collected over the 2004 production year. Funding for this report was provided by the Maine Milk Commission. Analysis and discussion of the data in this report centers on an industry-wide group and three smaller sets called clusters. Cluster analysis attempts to identify groups of farms from within the sample of survey respondents that have relatively homogenous characteristics.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1015/thumbnail.jp

A Survey Analysis of Participation in a Community Forest Management in Nepal

The main objective of the study is to determine which socio-economic factors affect levels of individual participation in the “Ludi-damgade” community forest. The empirical evidence for participation as a function of social status is obtained by using an ordered probit model. The model also estimates the marginal effects of socio-economic factors on different levels of participation suggesting how per unit change in such socioeconomic characters affects the level of participation. Results from the two-stage least squares model also verify that participation in forest management determines the level of benefits received from the community forest. The study suggests that participation in common property resource management is based on the socio-economic profile of an individual and the level of participation is determined by the benefits obtained from the forest. The empirical results are expected to aid policy makers in empowering people of lower socio-economic status to understand the importance of community forest management in order to have equal distribution of benefits accrued by community forest

TB183: Investment, Ownership and Operating Costs of Supplemental Irrigation Systems for Maine Wild Blueberries

This study investigates the investment and annual cost of supplemental irrigation equipment used on lowbush blueberries and calculates breakeven yields required to pay for annual costs and the earliest possible payoff period to recover investment costs. Using an economic-engineering approach to simulating investment and operating costs, this project assesses breakeven requirements on irrigation investment. The report reviews several of the technical factors contributing to the irrigation decision, calculate economic costs and are breakeven measures, but only introduce some of the financial factors for a grower to consider.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1025/thumbnail.jp

TB181: 2000 Milk Processing Costs in Maine

The objective of this study is to provide an estimate of the theoretically lowest achievable costs of processing and distributing milk in Maine. This processing and distribution margin (referred hence as margin ) is estimated for a state-of-the-art processing plant assumed to be located in the Portland, Maine, area. The plant is assumed to produce and distribute a line of products including white milk, chocolate milk, orange juice, and other fruit drinks, and to distribute additional purchased products such as cheeses and yogurts. This report will present information for four plants to better study the impact of plant size and production scope on costs.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1027/thumbnail.jp