Imagine a region of the world where all food and agricultural products are sourced from international markets, and domestic agricultural sectors have disappeared. This "world without agriculture" is not imaginary. For many of the world's poorest countries, especially in Africa, a future without agriculture is increasingly being urged as the efficient path to development. Mark Rosenzweig, the new Director of Harvard's Center for International Development, asks at the broadest level: "Should Africa do any agriculture at all?" (Harvard Magazine, 2004, p. 57). Adrian Wood, Chief Economist for the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom, envisions a "hollowed out" Africa, with most of the population on the coasts where they could more effectively produce manufactured exports (Wood 2002). Many macro economists, convinced of the power of rapid economic growth to lift populations out of poverty, see resources devoted to slow-growing agriculture as wasted. In a world of ample food supplies in world markets (some of it free as food aid) and increasingly open borders for trade, what is the role of agriculture in pro-poor growth?
Using a bivariate probit model, the study jointly determines the factors underlying the probability of Bangladeshi farmers adopting a diversified cropping system and/or modern rice technology. Results reveal that the availability of irrigation is the single most important determinant of the decision to adopt modern rice technology, and adoption is higher among the tenant farmers. The exact opposite is true for the likelihood of adopting a diversified cropping system, which is significantly higher in areas with no irrigation as well as among the owner-operators. Furthermore, the diversified cropping system has a significantly higher rate of adoption in regions with developed infrastructure. Farmers' education, farming experience, farm asset ownership, and non-agricultural income all positively influence crop diversification. Also, small farmers are more likely to adopt a diversified cropping system. Significant regional variation exists in the level of crop diversification as well. The decision to adopt a diversified cropping system and/or modern rice technology is significantly correlated, implying that a univariate analysis of such decision is biased. Crop diversification can be promoted by investing in farmers' education as well as rural infrastructure development. Also, land reform policies focusing on delegating land ownership to landless and marginal farmers, and tenurial reforms are noteworthy.
This study aims to estimate the demand for insecticides in soybean farms in Java, Indonesia, and to analyze the impact of the integrated pest management (IPM) technology on insecticide use. It uses aggregate cross-section time series data during the period 1990-1998, when the IPM technology was disseminated in Indonesia. By using recursive and simultaneous equation models, it estimates the impact of the IPM technology on the demand for insecticides. The study finds that the IPM technology has reduced significantly the use of insecticides in soybean farming.
Given the growing prominence of Vietnam's fishery products in the world market, this study examines data on shrimp aquaculture in the country, as practiced through intensive and semi-intensive methods, in two provinces in the Mekong River Delta region. The study estimates the comparative and competitive advantage of the shrimp industry using various approaches, namely: 1) the RCA or revealed comparative advantage; 2). the Policy Analysis Method (PAM) method to calculate the resource cost ratio (RCR) and RCR* indices; and 3) the Net Social Profitability (NSP) and Net Private Profitability (NPP). To identify the effects of changes in key factors affecting competitive and comparative advantage, a sensitivity analysis is conducted.
The results show that Vietnam's shrimp products maintain a strong competitive position in the world market, as evidenced by an RCA greater than 1. The RCR and RCR* estimates bordering on zero also indicate the strong comparative and competitive advantage of the shrimp industry. These findings are bolstered as well by the resulting NSP and NPP estimates. Furthermore, in terms of farming methods, the lower RCR and RCR* estimates for the intensive farms confirm their higher comparative and competitive advantage, compared to the semi-intensive model. Finally, the sensitivity analysis shows that the comparative and competitive advantage of shrimp is strongly sensitive to the price of feed, exchange rate, shrimp yield, and export price. The wage rate also exhibits a slight effect on the industry's standing in the world market.
Improving the productivity and quality of shrimp is shown to be vital to the MRD shrimp industry because this would translate into a higher export price and higher yield of shrimp, which will further enhance the industry's comparative and competitive advantage.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC Fourth Assessment report has highlighted the role of tropical forests in mitigating climate change. Deforestation, especially in tropical countries, contributes about 20 percent to total global greenhouse gas emissions. Development projects geared to reduce the rate of deforestation and forest degradation, and to establish forest plantations will help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and significantly contribute to mitigating climate change.
Three cases of forestry carbon projects underway in the Philippines are presented to illustrate the constraints facing project developers in undertaking these climate change mitigation efforts. Among the key lessons identified are: the difficulty in establishing land eligibility, the need for partners or buyers from industrialized countries to shoulder the transaction costs, and the crucial role of the local communities, including indigenous peoples, in the development effort.
This paper is an attempt to remind us that the maxim "RICE IS LIFE" does not show itself only in irrigated rice paddies but also in topographically, ecologically, and climatically challenged rice-growing places, where rice probably should not be but it is. This paper describes briefly the "harvests" from the investments of CURE (or the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments) in these less valued rice lands.
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