Global soybean trade - the geopolitics of a bean

Following a collaborative effort and with the support of The UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF), the Trade, Development and the Environment Hub -- or simply Trade Hub, https://tradehub.earth/ -- has recently launched the report “Global Soybean Trade – The Geopolitics of a Bean”. Originally cultivated as a traditional staple food in China, soybean today is of the most important global commodities in international trade. The report examines the economics of the ‘soybean miracle’, exploring its complex – and often controversial – implications for people and ecosystems, and analysing how different institutions and stakeholders are addressing the growing sustainability concerns. This publication not only provide a comprehensive review of the existing publications and data, but also highlights some of the open questions that need to be addressed by Trade Hub partners and other stakeholders in order to increase the sustainability of the soybean supply chain, both globally and locally

EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION BY SMALLHOLDER RICE FARMERS UNDER COOPERATIVE IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN PWANI AND MOROGORO REGIONS, TANZANIA

Low price competitiveness of Tanzania produced rice driven by high production costs calls attention to developing ways of improving efficiency in production. This study was conducted to analyse production costs and factors influencing choice of inputs provider in smallholder irrigated rice production. Specifically, it focused on comparing costs of production, determining factors influencing smallholder irrigated rice farmers’ choice of inputs provider and analysing production cost efficiency. Data were collected from four cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions involving 200 farmers. Production costs were quantified using enterprise budgeting technique and differences analysed using T-test. Factors influencing choice of inputs provider were determined using Logit model. Translog stochastic cost frontier was used for cost efficiency analysis. Study findings indicate that, costs of production stands at 315.47USD/MT. Farmers purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative had lower production costs than farmers purchasing from other input providers. Factors influencing choice of production inputs provider were distance from the cooperative to nearest town, membership in other organizations, extension services, input quality satisfaction and availability of cash and credit payment mode (p<0.05). Rice output and prices of labour, fertilizer and irrigation water significantly affected costs of production with unit cost of production being decreasing by increasing rice output (p<0.05). Inefficiency in production was significantly influenced by farming experience, planting methods, frequency of weeding, degree of specialization and source of purchased inputs and accounted 82.08% of variability in costs of production (p<0.05). The study concludes that, there is loss of efficiency in production due to high production costs attributed by rice output produced, input prices, source of purchased inputs and other agricultural practices. It is recommended to use labour saving technologies, purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative and gaining more economies of scale by increasing specialization

Efficiency in production by smallholder rice farmers under cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions, Tanzania

Low price competitiveness of Tanzania produced rice driven by high production costs calls attention to developing ways of improving efficiency in production. This study was conducted to analyse production costs and factors influencing choice of inputs provider in smallholder irrigated rice production. Specifically, it focused on comparing costs of production, determining factors influencing smallholder irrigated rice farmers’ choice of inputs provider and analysing production cost efficiency. Data were collected from four cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions involving 200 farmers. Production costs were quantified using enterprise budgeting technique and differences analysed using T-test. Factors influencing choice of inputs provider were determined using Logit model. Translog stochastic cost frontier was used for cost efficiency analysis. Study findings indicate that, costs of production stands at 315.47USD/MT. Farmers purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative had lower production costs than farmers purchasing from other input providers. Factors influencing choice of production inputs provider were distance from the cooperative to nearest town, membership in other organizations, extension services, input quality satisfaction and availability of cash and credit payment mode (p<0.05). Rice output and prices of labour, fertilizer and irrigation water significantly affected costs of production with unit cost of production being decreasing by increasing rice output (p<0.05). Inefficiency in production was significantly influenced by farming experience, planting methods, frequency of weeding, degree of specialization and source of purchased inputs and accounted 82.08% of variability in costs of production (p<0.05). The study concludes that, there is loss of efficiency in production due to high production costs attributed by rice output produced, input prices, source of purchased inputs and other agricultural practices. It is recommended to use labour saving technologies, purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative and gaining more economies of scale by increasing specialization.Collaborative Masters of Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) programm

Efficiency in production by smallholder rice farmers under cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions, Tanzania

Low price competitiveness of Tanzania produced rice driven by high production costs calls attention to developing ways of improving efficiency in production. This study was conducted to analyse production costs and factors influencing choice of inputs provider in smallholder irrigated rice production. Specifically, it focused on comparing costs of production, determining factors influencing smallholder irrigated rice farmers’ choice of inputs provider and analysing production cost efficiency. Data were collected from four cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions involving 200 farmers. Production costs were quantified using enterprise budgeting technique and differences analysed using T-test. Factors influencing choice of inputs provider were determined using Logit model. Translog stochastic cost frontier was used for cost efficiency analysis. Study findings indicate that, costs of production stands at 315.47USD/MT. Farmers purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative had lower production costs than farmers purchasing from other input providers. Factors influencing choice of production inputs provider were distance from the cooperative to nearest town, membership in other organizations, extension services, input quality satisfaction and availability of cash and credit payment mode (p<0.05). Rice output and prices of labour, fertilizer and irrigation water significantly affected costs of production with unit cost of production being decreasing by increasing rice output (p<0.05). Inefficiency in production was significantly influenced by farming experience, planting methods, frequency of weeding, degree of specialization and source of purchased inputs and accounted 82.08% of variability in costs of production (p<0.05). The study concludes that, there is loss of efficiency in production due to high production costs attributed by rice output produced, input prices, source of purchased inputs and other agricultural practices. It is recommended to use labour saving technologies, purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative and gaining more economies of scale by increasing specialization.Collaborative Masters of Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) programm

Efficiency in Production By Smallholder Rice Farmers Under Cooperative Irrigation Schemes in Pwani and Morogoro Regions, Tanzania

Low price competitiveness of Tanzania produced rice driven by high production costs calls attention to developing ways of improving efficiency in production. This study was conducted to analyse production costs and factors influencing choice of inputs provider in smallholder irrigated rice production. Specifically, it focused on comparing costs of production, determining factors influencing smallholder irrigated rice farmers’ choice of inputs provider and analysing production cost efficiency. Data were collected from four cooperative irrigation schemes in Pwani and Morogoro regions involving 200 farmers. Production costs were quantified using enterprise budgeting technique and differences analysed using T-test. Factors influencing choice of inputs provider were determined using Logit model. Translog stochastic cost frontier was used for cost efficiency analysis. Study findings indicate that, costs of production stands at 315.47USD/MT. Farmers purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative had lower production costs than farmers purchasing from other input providers. Factors influencing choice of production inputs provider were distance from the cooperative to nearest town, membership in other organizations, extension services, input quality satisfaction and availability of cash and credit payment mode (p<0.05). Rice output and prices of labour, fertilizer and irrigation water significantly affected costs of production with unit cost of production being decreasing by increasing rice output (p<0.05). Inefficiency in production was significantly influenced by farming experience, planting methods, frequency of weeding, degree of specialization and source of purchased inputs and accounted 82.08% of variability in costs of production (p<0.05). The study concludes that, there is loss of efficiency in production due to high production costs attributed by rice output produced, input prices, source of purchased inputs and other agricultural practices. It is recommended to use labour saving technologies, purchasing inputs through irrigation scheme cooperative and gaining more economies of scale by increasing specialization

The Determinants of Farmers’ Choice of Markets for Staple Food Commodities in Dodoma and Morogoro, Tanzania

Institutional and policy-induced factors affect farmers’ decisions on the choice of the marketto sell their staple foods. This results in low motivation to participate in the production and agriculturalcommodities’ commercialization. This study determines specific institutional and policy-inducedfactors affecting the farmers’ decisions regarding the staple food market choice in Tanzania. The studyuses household survey data collected from 820 farmers raising staple food crops (maize, rice, sorghum,and millet) randomly selected from the Dodoma and Morogoro regions, Tanzania. The indexmethod, descriptive statistics, and choice model (multinomial logit model) are used for data analysis.Qualitative policy analysis is used for analyzing policy-induced factors. Findings show a low levelof integration of farmers into staple food markets, with female-headed households facing morehurdles in accessing markets than male-headed households. Age, formal training, the value ofagricultural production, membership in organizations, access to credit, contractual arrangements,and distance to markets are significant factors driving farmers to choose a particular market tosell their produces. Restriction of selling and use of staple food commodities, instability of foodpolicy administration, and procedural operation obstacles are found to be key policy-induced factorsaffecting the marketing of staple food commodities in Tanzania. The scale of production, as depictedby the value of production, and supply contract arrangement with buyers are important factors toensure that farming households excel in lucrative markets through increased economies of scale andthe ability to reach critical volumes for supplying to various markets. Supporting market linkage andinfrastructure, as well as enforcing transparent and non-restrictive food marketing policies, wouldhelp many farmers enter into contractual arrangements that increase market access and improvemarket choices.Peer Reviewe

Dynamics of Coffee Certifications in Producer Countries: Re-Examining the Tanzanian Status, Challenges and Impacts on Livelihoods and Environmental Conservation

Certification is increasingly becoming necessary for accessing coffee export markets and practicing environmental conservation, especially at this time when many of the farmers in developing countries strive to achieve agricultural transformation. Using data from 400 randomly selected coffee farmers in Tanzania, the study determined the status, constraints, key drivers, and impact of coffee certifications. Descriptive statistics and the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model were used for data analysis. Results indicated that the level of coffee certification is low, being constrained by unawareness and inaccessibility, the prevalence of coffee diseases, failure in realizing price advantages, and certification not being cost effective. Economies of scale, experience, and participation in collective actions are significant factors affecting coffee farmers’ decision to join certification schemes. Additionally, the study rejects the hypothesis of certification to improve household income. However, certification improved awareness and practices of environmental conservation among coffee farmers. It is thus important to embark on awareness creation and make certification services accessible and cost effective to coffee farmers for increased access to niche export markets. Easing transmission of price premiums to coffee farmers will also increase the supply of sustainably grown coffee, improve coffee farmers’ livelihood, and help in the attainment of environmental sustainability goals within the coffee supply chain

Towards a Successful Post COVID-19 Transition of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning in Complex Sustainability Science Research-to-Policy Projects

There is an emerging body of literature focusing on the COVID-19 livelihoods and environmental impacts, as well as the effects of the pandemics on evidence generation. However, little attention has been paid to how COVID-19 has&mdash;and is likely to continue to&mdash;affect monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, specifically in the context of large sustainability science research-to-policy project consortia. Here, we provide a conceptual framework of MEL responsiveness to COVID-19 effects and discuss the specific pathways to successful MEL transition. Using the UKRI GCRF TRADE Hub as a case study, we provide some examples of possible adjustments within the new context