Specialization, diversification, and productivity: a panel data analysis of rice farms in Korea

Kriščiukaitienė

2013

Agricultural Economics

This article presents insights into the efficiency of Lithuanian family farms. The research covers the years 2004-2009 and is based on farm-level Farm Accountancy Data Network data. Bootstrapped data envelopment analysis was employed to obtain efficiency scores, whereas stochastic kernels and multivariate methods, viz. fuzzy clustering and nonparametric regression, were utilized to assess the impact of selected determinants on efficiency. Clustering analysis indicated that the efficiency change paths specific for the analyzed sample differed in both their average levels and ranges. Furthermore, it was concluded that Lithuanian agricultural policy should focus on increasing the efficiency of crop farms. Cluster analysis suggested that production subsidies might be having a negative effect on efficiency.JEL classifications: C440, C610, Q100, Q120

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A nonparametric analysis of the determinants of family farm efficiency dynamics in Lithuania

Kriščiukaitienė

2013

Agricultural Economics

“…cultivated by small-scale and subsistence farmers (Fraser 2006;Kim et al 2012). cultivated by small-scale and subsistence farmers (Fraser 2006;Kim et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing links between crop diversity and food self-sufficiency in three agroecological regions of Nepal

Pant

Fraser

et al. 2015

Reg Environ Change

Increasing on-farm crop diversity is one agroecological approach to enhancing food self-sufficiency that helps small-scale farmers keep their food systems stable by reducing risks associated with stressors, such as a pest outbreaks or droughts. But understanding how crop diversity and food self-sufficiency are related is unknown. To explore this complex relation, this study presents household data (n = 1664) from Nepal to test the hypothesis that families with high crop diversity enjoy greater household food self-sufficiency. Data are presented for three districts that are representative of three distinct agroecological regions of the country: (1) Sarlahi, which is affluent, market-oriented, and on the plains; (2) Makwanpur District in the hills, which has well-developed integrated farm production; and (3) the mountainous District of Humla, which has the poorest quality environment and is the most remote. Results show that in the Humla District, families with greater crop diversity were more self-sufficient. In contrast, farmers in Makwanpur, who have already established a high degree of crop diversity based on vegetable production, do not benefit from additional crop diversity in terms of their ability to provide for themselves. Finally, data from Sarlahi show that families' food selfsufficiency benefits from crop diversification. We conclude that boosting crop diversity is a viable strategy for maintaining stability in food systems, but this varies depending on the accessibility of a farm and, in particular, access to markets.

“…During the past 60 years, changes in the agricultural industry have led to a global agrifood system dominated by large, capital-intensive farms [1][2][3]. These farms are increasingly specialized in terms of the crops they produce, and hence are dependent on inputs from other sectors of the economy [4][5][6]. This change in agriculture has been driven by the search for increased economic efficiency, economies of scale, and reduced marginal costs of production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape diversity and the resilience of agricultural returns: a portfolio analysis of land-use patterns and economic returns from lowland agriculture

2013

Abstract

Background

Conventional agriculture is increasingly based on highly specialized, highly productive farms. It has been suggested that 1) this specialization leads to farms that lack resilience to changing market and environmental conditions; and 2) that by decreasing agricultural diversity, the resilience of the farming system also decreases.

Methods

We used agricultural gross margin (GM) forecasts from 1966 to 2010 and remote sensing data from agricultural landscapes in the lowland UK, in conjunction with modern portfolio theory, to test the hypothesis that decreasing land-use diversity results in landscapes that provide higher, but more volatile, economic returns. We considered the role of spatial scale on the expected levels of volatility and resilience of agricultural returns.

Results

We found that: 1) there was a strong linear trade-off between expected GMs and the expected volatility of those GMs in real lowland agricultural landscapes in the UK; 2) land-use diversification was negatively correlated with expected GMs from agriculture, and positively correlated with decreasing expected volatility in GMs; 3) the resilience of agricultural returns was positively correlated with the diversity of agricultural land use, and the resilience of agricultural returns rose quickly with increased land-holding size at small spatial extents, but this effect diminished after landholdings reached 12,000 hectares.

Conclusions

Land-use diversity may have an important role in ensuring resilient agricultural returns in the face of uncertain market and environmental conditions, and land-holding size plays a pivotal role in determining the relationships between resilience and returns at a landscape scale. Creating finer-grained land-use patterns based on pre-existing local land uses may increase the resilience of individual farms, while maintaining aggregate yield across landscapes.