14 research outputs found

    Short-Term Global Crop Acreage Response to International Food Prices and Implications of Volatility

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    Understanding how producers make decisions to allot acreage among crops and how decisions about land use are affected by changes in prices and their volatility is fundamental for predicting the supply of staple crops and, hence, assessing the global food supply situation. The innovations of the present paper are estimates of monthly (i.e. seasonal) versus annual global acreage response models for four staple crops: wheat, soybeans, corn and rice. We focus on the impact of (expected) crop prices, oil and fertilizer prices and market risks as main determinants for farmers’ decisions on how to allocate their land. Primary emphasis is given to the magnitude and speed of the allocation process. Estimation of intra-annual acreage elasticity is crucial for expected supply and for input demand, especially in the light of the recent short-term volatility in food prices. Such aggregate estimates are also valuable to verify whether involved country-specific estimations add up to patterns that are apparent in the aggregate international data. The econometric results indicate that global crop acreage responds to crop prices and price risks, input costs as well as a time trend. Depending on respective crop, short-run elasticities are about 0.05 to 0.25; price volatility tends to reduce acreage response of some crops; comparison of the annual and the monthly acreage response elasticities suggests that acreage adjusts seasonally around the globe to new information and expectations. Given the seasonality of agriculture, time is of the essence for acreage response: The analysis indicates that acreage allocation is more sensitive to prices in northern hemisphere spring than in winter and the response varies across months

    IFAD-ICARDA Strategic Partnerships: Achievements and Impacts

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    Linking Research with Development: Scaling-up Approaches for Effective Technology Dissemination

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    Sources of technical efficiency of sheep production systems in dry areas in Syria

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    A random sample of sheep producers in the dry areas of Syria were surveyed in 2002. Based on sheep movement, four production systems were identified; migratory, transhumance, semi-sedentary and sedentary. The survey data was analyzed using a single-stage model for estimating the technical inefficiencies of each production and its determinants. Technical efficiency ranges from 0.67 to 0.97, with considerable variation within each of the four production systems. The sedentary production system was the most efficient, and the migratory system the least efficient. The major factors causing inefficiencies included high abortion rate, low fertility, high lamb mortality, and long distances to markets and water sources. Improving the physiological conditions of the sheep and selecting the appropriate system of sheep production according to the location of the farm would improve efficiency of the sheep production substantially. Efficiency of sheep production in Syria can be improved by encouraging producers to shift to more intensive systems. As production and market conditions are fairly stable in Syria, the results and their implications are still valid. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

    Historical and current perspectives of AKST

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    In McIntyre, B. D.; Herren, H. R.; Wakhungu, J.; Watson, R. T. (Eds.). Agriculture at a crossroads: IAASTD-CWANA report. Vol.1. Washington, DC, USA: Island Pres

    An integrated agro-ecosystem and livelihood systems approach for the poor and vulnerable in dry areas

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    More than 400 million people in the developing world depend on dryland agriculture for their livelihoods. Dryland agriculture involves a complex combination of productive components: staple crops, vegetables, livestock, trees and fish interacting principally with rangeland, cultivated areas and watercourses. Managing risk and enhancing productivity through diversification and sustainable intensification is critical to securing and improving rural livelihoods. The main biophysical constraints are natural resource limitations and degradation, particularly water scarcity and encroaching desertification. Social and economic limitations, such as poor access to markets and inputs, weak governance and lack of information about alternative production technologies also limit the options available to farmers. Past efforts to address these constraints by focusing on individual components have either not been successful or are now facing a declining rate of impact, indicating the need for new integrated approaches to research for development of dryland systems. This article outlines the characteristics of such an approach, integrating agro-ecosystem and livelihoods approaches and presents a range of empirical examples of its application in dryland contexts. The authors draw attention to new insights about the design of research required to accelerate impact by integrating across disciplines and scales
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