AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-12-14DOI: 10.1002/agr.70061
Marcelo Werneck Barbosa, Paulo Renato de Sousa, Marcelo Bronzo
{"title":"Government Support, Collaboration, and the Circular Economy: Impacts on ESG Performance and Firm Reputation","authors":"Marcelo Werneck Barbosa, Paulo Renato de Sousa, Marcelo Bronzo","doi":"10.1002/agr.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.70061","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Despite the growing emphasis on the importance of circular economy strategies in increasing a firm's performance, the relationship between Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and circular economy needs to be further justified. This study assessed the effects of government support and circular economy-oriented collaboration on the implementation of circular economy strategies. In addition, we investigated the effects of circular economy strategies adoption on firms' ESG performance and reputation. This study surveyed 235 Brazilian agri-food firms. Data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling method. This study found a positive and significant effect of circular economy-oriented collaboration on circular economy strategies and a positive but lower effect of government support on circular economy strategies. The study's findings also demonstrate that the adoption of circular economy strategies has a profound effect on ESG performance and firm reputation. We also identified a partial mediation of circular economy-oriented collaboration on the relationship between government support and circular economy. This study's findings contribute to advancing the theoretical discourse on CE and collaborative governance by validating their interconnected roles in enhancing sustainability outcomes. Moreover, our research contributes to the theoretical discourse on CE by showing how internal capabilities and relational assets jointly influence agri-food firms' sustainability transitions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"534-552"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147683796","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2024-10-21DOI: 10.1002/agr.21989
Yanyan Zhang, Tao Xiong
{"title":"More ESG Practices, Higher Financial Performance? The U-Shaped Pattern in China's Agricultural and Food Firms","authors":"Yanyan Zhang, Tao Xiong","doi":"10.1002/agr.21989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21989","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices, an internationally recognized concept of a firm's sustainability, can serve as a bridge to enhance effective communication between firms and various stakeholders. It is also a new tool for measuring firms' value. This study employs a balanced panel data set of 114 publicly traded agricultural and food firms in China from 2016 to 2022. It empirically investigates the relationship between ESG and financial performance based on shareholder primacy theory and stakeholder theory. Employing a two-way fixed effects (FE) model, our findings reveal a U-shaped nonlinear pattern in how ESG impacts financial performance. It differs from previous studies that found predominantly positive relationships: Specifically, the average ESG score for firms is 0.396, the median is 0.390, and the inflection point of the U-shape occurs at 0.53. When firms' ESG investments are less than 0.53, the high initial ESG cost makes it difficult to transform ESG into financial improvement. However, once this threshold is surpassed, good ESG can convey an excellent reputation to the public and increase anti-risk ability—which, in turn, significantly improves firms' financial performance and facilitates long-term development. Also, our study demonstrates that firms' ownership and different positions in the supply chain differentially affect the relationship between ESG and financial performance. This paper also offers insights into promoting the sustainable development of Chinese agri-food firms.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"641-652"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147684027","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-05-15DOI: 10.1002/agr.22059
Yanyan Zhang, Tao Xiong
{"title":"ESG Decoupling and Innovation: Are China's Agri-Food Companies Walking the Walk?","authors":"Yanyan Zhang, Tao Xiong","doi":"10.1002/agr.22059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22059","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Promoting sustainable, innovation-driven growth is crucial for achieving high-quality economic development in the new era. As a key indicator of companies' sustainability, ESG practices have gained significant attention. However, the lack of a unified ESG evaluation framework and standardized disclosure regulations has led some companies to exaggerate or misrepresent their ESG performance—an issue known as “ESG decoupling.” This study examines the impact of ESG decoupling on agri-food companies' innovation, using panel data from 2011 to 2022. The results show that ESG decoupling undermines a company's credibility, hindering innovation. However, independent directors mitigate the negative effects of ESG decoupling on innovation. Further analysis reveals that the impact of ESG decoupling is less severe in companies with low digital transformation levels and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In contrast, the negative effects are more significant in large companies and the food industry. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between ESG decoupling and innovation. It offers empirical evidence and expands the theoretical framework linking ESG behavior with innovation. Ultimately, the study highlights the need for improved ESG disclosure systems and enhanced companies' credibility to foster a more innovation-friendly environment.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"473-485"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147683715","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-03-14DOI: 10.1002/agr.22036
Ting Xu, Chante Jian Ding, Kunqian Zhao
{"title":"Trade and Sustainability: The Green Dividend of Grain Trade","authors":"Ting Xu, Chante Jian Ding, Kunqian Zhao","doi":"10.1002/agr.22036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22036","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study delves into the potential influence of China's grain trade on carbon emissions from grain production in 169 countries during the period 2001–2020. The investigation utilizes data on grain trade between China and these nations, along with corresponding data on carbon emissions from grain production. The results reveal that China's grain trade contributes, to a certain extent, to the reduction of carbon emissions from grain production in partner countries. This conclusion withstands various robustness tests conducted. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the impact of grain trade in driving the reduction of carbon emissions from grain production is more notable in developing countries. Moreover, soybean trade emerges as particularly advantageous in promoting carbon emission reduction from grain production in these trading partner countries. Mechanism tests conducted to explore further aspects indicate that the establishment of free trade areas (FTAs) plays a crucial moderating role in China's grain trade, fostering carbon emission reduction. This is deemed beneficial for advancing efforts in reducing carbon emissions from grain production. The increased use of fertilizers has intensified carbon emissions in the grain production and distribution process. The findings not only offer fresh insights into understanding China's role in global grain trade and its impact on carbon emissions from global grain production but also provide strategic considerations for global grain security governance, international collaboration addressing climate change, and avenues for accessing green dividends.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"677-693"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147683736","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-09-09DOI: 10.1002/agr.70034
Su Liu, Bingjie Huang, Zhiyang Shen
{"title":"Climate Risk and Green Productivity in African Agriculture: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications","authors":"Su Liu, Bingjie Huang, Zhiyang Shen","doi":"10.1002/agr.70034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.70034","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>As climate change intensifies global challenges, agricultural systems face escalating risks, with vulnerable zones like Africa bearing heightened exposure. Climate risks refer to the economic and financial impacts arising from extreme weather events and the global transition to a low-carbon economy. This study investigates how climate risk impacts Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) in African agriculture, using a balanced panel dataset with 630 observations from 30 African countries spanning from 2000 to 2020. The regression analysis reveals a significant stimulatory effect of climate risk on GTFP, primarily by fostering infrastructure development and accelerating digital transformation. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that this effect is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and in resource-dependent economies. Additionally, vulnerabilities related to water resources and infrastructure enhance the positive relationship between climate risk and GTFP. These findings offer a novel perspective on advancing sustainable and high-quality agricultural development in Africa in the face of climate challenges, providing a scientific basis for policy optimization and bolstering the resilience of African agriculture.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"733-747"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147683574","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-06-16DOI: 10.1002/agr.70000
Julia B. Block, Michael Danne, Oliver Mußhoff
{"title":"Who Are the Farmers Participating in a Carbon Sequestration Program? Results of a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany","authors":"Julia B. Block, Michael Danne, Oliver Mußhoff","doi":"10.1002/agr.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Agricultural soils offer great potential for carbon sequestration through humus formation. One way to motivate farmers to build up humus is through humus programs. These are still at an early stage of development, poorly explored, and the number of participating farmers is low. Our aim is to explain the heterogeneity of farmers' willingness to participate in humus programs by typologizing them according to different design preferences and socioeconomic backgrounds. To this end, we conducted a survey with German farmers including a discrete choice experiment and questions about environmental awareness, profit orientation and farm characteristics. We summarized farmers' attitudes towards for example, climate change with a factor analysis and included the results into the latent class model we used to analyze the discrete choice experiment. The farmers surveyed can be divided into four classes. The results show that the classes differ in the farmers' preferences for the characteristics of a humus program, for example, type of reference value and program duration, and according to the factors of the factor analysis, for example, advocacy of humus programs. The classes distinguish between disinterested and motivated farmers, farmers focusing on safe money and farmers focusing on quick money. With this study, we improve the understanding of farmers' acceptance of humus programs, which is essential before starting targeted (political) efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"590-602"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agr.70000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147683744","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2026-04-10Epub Date: 2025-05-23DOI: 10.1002/agr.22062
Xiaoyu (Ross) Zhu, Ashok K. Mishra, Wenbiao Sha
{"title":"The Fallacy of Sustainability: Evidence From Yangtze River Fishing Ban","authors":"Xiaoyu (Ross) Zhu, Ashok K. Mishra, Wenbiao Sha","doi":"10.1002/agr.22062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22062","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study examines the impact of a sustainability policy, the 2015 Chinese ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, on economic outcomes. Utilizing Chinese county-level data and the DID approach, results reveal that the policy has a negative consequence, reducing growth in the agricultural sector by 3% in counties located within prefecture-level cities adjacent to the Yangtze River. Notably, the largest adverse effects is found in the central Yangtze River Basin, compared to the western and eastern regions. The findings remain robust across a variety of econometric specifications. However, results show that the extended fishing ban does not induce significant job losses or income reductions, suggesting that the policy facilitated a shift from traditional fishing to other sectors, thereby reducing income volatility for workers within the agricultural industry.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"42 2","pages":"500-515"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147684049","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2025-10-05DOI: 10.1002/agr.70038
Federico García-Suárez, Francisco Rosas
{"title":"Introduction to Special Issue on Agribusiness and Sustainable Development in Latin America","authors":"Federico García-Suárez, Francisco Rosas","doi":"10.1002/agr.70038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.70038","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"41 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145366413","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1002/agr.22018
Pedro Soares, Humberto Francisco Silva Spolador
{"title":"The Role of Technical Efficiency Gains on Greenhouse Gas Emissions: An Analysis of Brazilian Sugarcane Production","authors":"Pedro Soares, Humberto Francisco Silva Spolador","doi":"10.1002/agr.22018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22018","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This article aimed to investigate the contribution of technical efficiency gains to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in Brazilian sugarcane production and to estimate the monetary compensation that producers should receive to reduce pollution. Using an output distance function and its duality with the revenue function, we estimated the technical efficiency of sugarcane production in Brazilian municipalities and the shadow price of reducing carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions from the production of this crop. The main result was an overall technical efficiency average of 81%, which indicates that if producers adopt better management practices, the sugarcane production could be expanded by 19% with a contraction by the same magnitude in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. We also estimated a mean shadow price of R$9.18 per ton of carbon dioxide, with the highest estimated values in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Mato Grosso, and Bahia. However, in the state of São Paulo, the most representative national producer, the estimated shadow price is R$6.34 per ton of carbon dioxide. In this sense, public policies, especially through public financing and public technical assistance, could potentially mitigate the producers' losses in the short run since pollution decline usually requires more mechanization.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"41 4","pages":"956-968"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145366270","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}
AgribusinessPub Date : 2024-12-21DOI: 10.1002/agr.22007
Yuri C. D. Calil, Luis Ribera
{"title":"Economic Feasibility of Crop-Livestock Integration System in Brazil","authors":"Yuri C. D. Calil, Luis Ribera","doi":"10.1002/agr.22007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.22007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigate the economic feasibility of the Brazilian crop-livestock integration system. Under this system, the Brazilian farmer can produce soybeans, corn, and graze for cattle on the same land during one crop year. This technology can substantially increase agricultural production in the country. We contrasted the stochastic net present value of traditional farming with the integrated system under four different scenarios. To rank the scenarios, we use stochastic dominance methods. The results suggest more significant economic gains for crop-livestock integration scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":55544,"journal":{"name":"Agribusiness","volume":"41 4","pages":"1028-1038"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agr.22007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145366473","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}