Agricultural Economics最新文献

{"title":"Fast Machines, Big Losses: The Hidden Costs of Agricultural Machinery Socialization Services","authors":"Ning An,&nbsp;Zongli Zhang","doi":"10.1111/agec.70085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70085","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Agricultural machinery socialization services (AMSS) are the primary channel for mechanized grain harvesting in China. Nevertheless, mechanical harvest loss rates for the country's three staple grains exceed thresholds set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), posing risks to national food security. This study examines the roots of opportunistic behavior among AMSS providers and its consequences for harvest losses. Using survey data from 649 rice farmers in Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Jilin provinces in China, we find that reliance on AMSS increases rice harvest losses, mainly because providers raise operating speeds—an expression of opportunism. Losses are higher when services are delivered by cross-regional rather than local providers. Cross-regional operators tend to work faster and find it difficult to build stable relationships with farmers; the one-time deal of these interactions encourages opportunism. Seasonal time constraints further amplify these effects. When the harvest window is tight, dependence on AMSS significantly worsens losses. The results suggest that effective policy interventions must address the fundamental incentive misalignment in AMSS markets through standardized operating protocols, enhanced monitoring systems, and mechanisms that transform one-time deal into repeated interactions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New Administrative Geospatial Data for Agricultural Policy Evaluation: An Application to EU Crop Diversity Obligations","authors":"Zelda Brutti,&nbsp;Marzia Freo,&nbsp;Luis E. Rojas,&nbsp;Laura Serlenga","doi":"10.1111/agec.70087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70087","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study performs an evaluation of the EU crop diversification obligation by leveraging administrative, geo-spatial data sourced from agricultural subsidy registers in Spain. The key features of GeoSpatial Aid Application (GSA) data include national coverage, accurate identification of land use and, crucially, the ability to group land parcels managed by the same farm, thus enabling causal analyses at the holding level. We provide novel empirical evidence of bunching at diversification policy thresholds. We calibrate a model of farmers' decision-making to GSA data and provide insights on the characterization of bunchers and compliers, finding stronger reactions among smaller-sized holdings. We concisely discuss implications for future research endeavors in the agricultural policy domain.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Armed Conflict and Climate-Induced Weather Disruptions in Agricultural Input Use: Evidence From Ethiopia","authors":"Hailemariam Ayalew,&nbsp;Guush Berhane,&nbsp;Meseret Wondale,&nbsp;Clemens Breisinger","doi":"10.1111/agec.70083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70083","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The recent surge in violent conflicts, intertwined with climate-induced drought shock, is jeopardizing decades of development progress in many low- and middle-income countries. This study investigates the compounded effects of armed conflicts and climate-induced disruptions on agricultural input use in Ethiopia, a country experiencing significant fragility due to both factors. Utilizing a unique household- and plot-level panel dataset collected before (2019) and after (2023) the onset of a widespread conflict, we examine how these disruptions affect the use of key productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs such as inorganic fertilizers, improved seed varieties, agrochemicals, compost, and manure. We find conflict exposure significantly reduces the use of productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs: inorganic fertilizer and improved seed use decline by 9% points, while compost and manure use fall by 11% and 13% points, respectively. These effects are magnified when conflict coincides with drought exposure, with fertilizer and improved seed use dropping by 25% and 22% points, respectively. We identify disrupted input markets—specifically reduced access to and availability of inputs, as well as rising prices—as key mechanisms. Conflict-exposed households also experience significantly higher food insecurity and lower consumption. These findings underscore the compounding risks that conflict and climatic stress pose to smallholder agriculture and rural welfare. They highlight the need for anticipatory and post-conflict resilience strategies that maintain functioning input markets and safeguard agricultural investment under fragility.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145887880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does Payment for Ecosystem Services Improve Technical Efficiency of Forage Production? Evidence From China's Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy","authors":"Toba Stephen Olasehinde,&nbsp;Zhongan Wu,&nbsp;Siyu Yue,&nbsp;Fangbin Qiao,&nbsp;Yubing Fan","doi":"10.1111/agec.70084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70084","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>China's Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is the world's most extensive grassland conservation program, based on a payment- for- ecosystem- services framework. Despite comprehensive studies on its impact, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using survey data collected from 1039 forage farmers in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in China, this study employs a propensity score matching approach to address selection bias from observable factors. A selectivity-corrected stochastic production frontier model was subsequently applied to correct for the bias due to unobservable characteristics. We find that GECP increased technical efficiency by more than 5.7%. Moreover, the unconditional quantile regression results demonstrate that farmers with higher TE quantiles benefit more from GECP than farmers with lower TE quantiles.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving the Quality Competitiveness of Domestic Rice Relative to Imports: Experimental Evidence From Benin","authors":"Kofi Britwum,&nbsp;Rose Fiamohe,&nbsp;Matty Demont","doi":"10.1111/agec.70086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70086","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous research has shown that increasing food and nutrition sovereignty in sub-Saharan Africa through rice requires investment in quality upgrading to help domestic rice compete with rapidly increasing imports. To increase the quality competitiveness of African rice relative to imports, enhancing processing quality is essential. In Benin, modernizing parboiling techniques has shifted production from traditional methods that often yielded inferior-quality rice. Earlier studies found that consumers were willing to pay increasing price premiums for rice processed through locally improved and modern parboiling technologies. Since then, extensive video and radio campaigns on the nutritional benefits of improved parboiling have reached millions of processors and consumers throughout Benin, warranting a renewed assessment of the state of rice quality, as perceived, experienced, and valued by urban consumers. Using experimental auctions with tasting and collective induction rounds conducted in 2017, we assess the quality competitiveness of domestic rice processed with locally improved parboiling technologies and modern technologies such as GEM (Grain quality enhancer, Energy-efficient and durable Material) and optical sorting, relative to imported rice, and test whether its competitiveness can be further enhanced through information and tasting. Empirical results from double-hurdle models reveal that imported rice outcompetes domestic rice in terms of value and demand, despite the upgrading of domestic processing technologies. However, the quality competitiveness of parboiled domestic rice relative to imports is strengthened by taste experiences and, to some extent, by exogenous information conveying the nutritional benefits of improved parboiling. Whereas sensory experience shifted preferences from imported to domestic rice, endogenous information further redirected preferences from modern to local processing technologies. These findings suggest that promoting the experiential qualities of domestic parboiled rice, particularly its taste, can enhance its competitiveness against imports and increase food and nutrition security in Benin.</p>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/agec.70086","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital Agricultural Extension and Productivity Impacts in Rice Farming: Lessons From Nigeria","authors":"Eric S. Owusu,&nbsp;Aminou Arouna,&nbsp;Wilfried G. Yergo,&nbsp;Clare Narrod,&nbsp;Boris Bravo-Ureta","doi":"10.1111/agec.70079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70079","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The use of digital tools in farm management is increasing in developing countries, yet their effects on production, technology, and managerial performance remain underexplored. This study evaluates the impacts of RiceAdvice, a decision-support mobile app that provides personalized recommendations to rice farmers. Using a four-period experimental panel dataset from northern Nigeria, we estimate impacts on technology, technical efficiency, and frontier yields across a control group, a group receiving recommendations only, and a group receiving recommendations plus fertilizer. Results from panel stochastic production frontier models and analysis of covariance estimations show that RiceAdvice improves productivity by enhancing both access to improved practices and managerial performance. Gains are especially large and consistently significant when advisory services are bundled with fertilizer, while effects of the recommendation-only intervention are more fragile under attrition, as revealed by Lee bounds analysis. Productivity gains peaked in the second year before tapering off, highlighting potential sustainability challenges without continued support. Overall, the findings suggest that sustained access to RiceAdvice, especially when complemented with fertilizer, can strengthen managerial performance and raise productivity among smallholder rice farmers.</p>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/agec.70079","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146091061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do Cover Crops Reduce Downside Production Risk?","authors":"Serkan Aglasan,&nbsp;Roderick M. Rejesus,&nbsp;Maria Bowman,&nbsp;Barry K. Goodwin","doi":"10.1111/agec.70082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70082","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study examines whether cover crop adoption reduces downside production risk. A crop insurance loss measure is used as the main measure of downside production risk. To achieve the study objective, we utilize a unique county-level panel data set with information on cover crop adoption rate, crop insurance production losses, and weather variables. The data covers the main corn and soybean production regions in the Midwestern United States for the period 2005–2018. We employ linear fixed effects econometric models and a number of robustness checks in the empirical analysis (i.e., implementing different estimation procedures and a variety of empirical specifications). The different estimation methods employed leverage the panel nature of the data to address various specification and endogeneity issues. Our estimation results suggest that counties with higher cover crop adoption tend to have lower crop insurance losses and lower downside production risk. This finding supports the idea that the soil health benefits from cover crop use translate to a reduced likelihood of production losses.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146099420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effects of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project on Agriculture in China: A Tale of Two Routes","authors":"Yulong Chen,&nbsp;Sophie Xuefei Wang,&nbsp;Xu Wang","doi":"10.1111/agec.70080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70080","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study investigates the impacts of China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) on agricultural production using city-level data from 2009 to 2019. Utilizing the Synthetic Control Difference-in-Differences method, we find heterogeneous impacts along the eastern and middle routes of the SNWTP. The operation of the eastern route increases agricultural output by 3.7%, primarily driven by an increase in fishery and aquaculture output. In contrast, the middle route decreases agricultural output by 10.8%, mainly due to the reduction in outputs of crop cultivation and animal husbandry. This unexpected decrease in agricultural output in the water-receiving cities along the middle route can be attributed to the stricter environmental regulations aimed at preserving the quality of the diverted water. The heterogenous effects of the SNWTP on agricultural production highlight the complex consequences of large-scale water infrastructure projects, underscoring the importance of incorporating environmental considerations into the evaluation of such initiatives.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146096399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unpacking the Effects of Conflict on Fertilizer Use and Maize Yields: Empirical Evidence From Nigeria","authors":"Mulubrhan Amare,&nbsp;Kwaw S. Andam,&nbsp;Bedru Balana,&nbsp;Opeyemi Olanrewaju,&nbsp;Steven Were Omamo","doi":"10.1111/agec.70078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70078","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Conventional recommendations emphasize increasing the use of inorganic fertilizer to enhance maize yields in African countries south of the Sahara, but it is not clear how smallholders’ exposure to violent conflicts affect demand, yield responses, and the profitability of fertilizers. Our study tackles this question. We analyze how maize yield responds to fertilizer use and assess the profitability of fertilizer use in conflict-affected settings. We then investigate how conflict impacts the profitability of fertilizer, given that armed conflicts are likely to increase input costs, logistical difficulties, and market uncertainties. Our study reveals that yield responses to nitrogen are very low in Nigeria. We also show that exposure to conflict reduces input use rates and decreases the marginal physical productivity of nitrogen in maize production, making investment in fertilizer less profitable. Recognizing this effect of conflict on input use and maize yield response is crucial for targeting and resource allocation decisions among smallholders in similar conflict-affected regions. Moreover, the effect of conflict highlights how external factors, beyond the scope of agronomic practices, influence the economic incentives for fertilizer application and the resulting yield outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/agec.70078","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146096400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dairy Trade Reconsidered: Gravity and the Distributional Effect of Non-Tariff Barriers and Distance","authors":"Magda Kondaridze,&nbsp;Xin Liu,&nbsp;Jeff Luckstead","doi":"10.1111/agec.70081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70081","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study examines the average and distributional effects of trade policy and friction variables on dairy trade flows. To capture average effects, we utilize the recently extended Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) methods, which rigorously address potential bias for coefficient and standard error estimates due to the incidental parameter problem in two-way and three-way gravity models. Additionally, we are among the first to apply a new distribution regression method to study counterfactual distributional effects in a two-way gravity model. Using PPML methods, we find that sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures hinder dairy trade, while technical barriers to trade (TBT) boost it on average. Findings show that the model specification with separate intranational and international distance variables better fits the dairy trade data than using a combined distance variable. Using the distribution regression method, we find that the effect of TBT is positive but statistically insignificant. In contrast, trade agreements exhibit positive and heterogeneous effects, particularly in the upper quantiles of dairy trade flows. Additionally, distance shows a strong negative heterogeneous impact on the upper quantiles of dairy trade flows. Our findings could guide policymakers in formulating trade policies to improve global dairy trade.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50837,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Economics","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146091167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}