Agricultural Economics - Latest articles

A tribute to Professor Vladimír Jeníček

Lukáš Čechura

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(8):473-474 | DOI: 10.17221/425/2026-AGRICECON  

Optimising the Stutzer ratio in multivariate agricultural portfolios

Dejan Živkov, Boris Kuzman, Jonel Subić

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(8):475-482 | DOI: 10.17221/377/2025-AGRICECON  

This paper evaluates the risk-adjusted performance of multivariate agricultural portfolios using the Stutzer ratio, an advanced measure that accounts for non-normal return distributions and downside risk. Three four-asset portfolios – grains, softs, and meats – are analysed in this study. The Stutzer ratio incorporates a risk-aversion parameter (θ) that penalises tail risk, providing a more accurate assessment of skewed and fat-tailed returns. Results show that Stutzer-optimised portfolios outperform naïve equal-weight portfolios in risk-adjusted terms, as optimisation effectively balances expected returns and downside exposure....

Cognition, adoption intensity, and environmental efficiency of the planting and breeding circular model: Evidence from Northeast China

Zhe Zhao, You Xu, Yi Zhang

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(8):493-512 | DOI: 10.17221/270/2025-AGRICECON  

Based on 1 051 survey observations from 83 villages in Northeast China and the conceptual framework of 'model cognition – whether to adopt – adoption intensity – adoption benefits', this study empirically analyses how farmers' cognition of the circular model of planting and breeding (CMPB) affects adoption decisions and adoption intensity, as well as the impact of adopting the CMPB on environmental efficiency. The results indicate that perceived economic benefits and perceived ease of use significantly increase farmers' adoption intensity. Moreover, adopting the CMPB has a significant positive effect on environmental efficiency; higher...

Temperature shocks could accelerate China's expansion of agricultural operations amid ageing trends

He Yang, HaoZhaoXing Liao, Shi Wu Li, Wei Huang, Hao Yang, Haixia Zhang, Chen GuangYan

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(8):513-526 | DOI: 10.17221/72/2025-AGRICECON  

The integration of smallholder land and expanded agricultural operational scale are global agricultural development trends. Using 2012–2020 longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) combined with satellite-derived meteorological records, this study examines how temperature shocks influence land rental behaviour, supplemented by rigorous robustness checks. Results indicate that temperature shocks reduce per-hectare net income, deteriorate working conditions, and increase smallholders' likelihood of transferring out land – particularly elderly farmers supported by their children. Notably, factor inputs (e.g. fertilisers...

Has the agricultural productivity increased after European Union enlargements in Central European countries? Evidence from four countries' cereal production

Lukáš Čechura, Štefan Bojnec, Jan Falkowski, Imre Fertő

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(8):483-492 | DOI: 10.17221/156/2023-AGRICECON  

It was widely expected that following European Union's enlargement in 2004, farmers in new member states would improve their performance by increasing the efficiency of their production processes. In this study, using the Farm Accountancy Data Network data, we look at changes in total factor productivity, a measure which captures how efficiently and intensely inputs are utilised in production, that took place in farms producing cereals in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia between 2004 and 2017. We find that in all four countries total factor productivity increased in the first years after the accession, but later declined. Overall,...

Empowering farmers through agricultural supply chains: An ESR and IVQR analysis of income effects in China

Zhao Ding, Qianyu Zhang

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(7):417-434 | DOI: 10.17221/366/2025-AGRICECON  

Integrating farmers into the modern agricultural industrial system is key to sustaining rural household income growth. Based on field survey data from rural areas in three western Chinese provinces, this study uses an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to analyse the impact of farmers' participation in agricultural supply chains on their income, and explores the heterogeneous effects of credit constraints and agricultural loans on the incomes of participating and non-participating farmers. The results show that supply chain participation significantly increases farmers' total and operational income, while driving the modernisation of agricultural...

Sustainable agricultural performance in the European Union in the context of ecological transition, economic fairness, and support policies

Valentin Marian Antohi, Jean Vasile Andrei, Costinela Fortea, Dumitru Nancu

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(7):435-460 | DOI: 10.17221/329/2025-AGRICECON  

This paper investigates the structural determinants of sustainable agricultural performance across the 27 European Union member states over the period 2012–2023, focusing on the interplay between economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Employing a panel quantile regression approach, the study captures the heterogeneous effects of organic farming practices, public support for agricultural research and development, income inequality, and environmental emissions on multiple dimensions of agricultural performance.  The analysis underscores the importance of empirical evidence in designing integrated agricultural policies...

Corn price forecasts in the shadow of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict

László Vancsura, Arnold Csonka

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(7):461-472 | DOI: 10.17221/102/2025-AGRICECON  

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused serious disruption to agricultural markets, affecting both food prices and food security. In our study, we examine how global economic problems, such as COVID-19 or wartime conditions, affect corn prices and their predictability. We used deep neural network models [Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU)], experimenting with both simple and hybrid versions, as well as univariate and multivariate types. The results show that the GRU model outperformed the other models in predicting corn prices. It was also found that multivariate models tended to yield...

Effects of different tillage practices on cropland carbon efficiency in wheat–maize rotation cropping

Yu Wang, Boqian Wang, Xiuguang Bai

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(7):407-416 | DOI: 10.17221/96/2025-AGRICECON  

Enhancing cropland carbon efficiency (CCE) is vital for carbon-neutral and sustainable agricultural development. In this paper, we use the minimum distance to strong efficient frontier with undesirable outputs model and survey data from wheat–maize farmers in the Yellow River Basin of China in 2020 to investigate the effect and mechanism of different tillage practices on CCE. The results show that the average CCE in the study area is 0.592 6, which has large potential for improvement. Among the tillage practices, reduced tillage with straw returning (RTS) achieves the highest mean CCE, followed by no-tillage with straw returning (NTS), and conventional...

Assessing the links between climate change resiliency and food security in northwestern region of Bangladesh

Abhi Sarker, Salman Ibn Yasin, Bikash Chandra Ghosh, Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso, Asma Akter, Emmanuel Kiprop, Liu Zhenzhen, Farjana Eyasmin, Geng Xianhui

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(6):358-380 | DOI: 10.17221/218/2025-AGRICECON  

Climate change is intensifying threats to food security across the developing countries, pushing vulnerable nations like Bangladesh towards a breaking point – where resilience is no longer an option but a survival imperative. Despite growing concerns, however limited empirical research exists on how climate resilience influences food security across rural and urban farming households. This study examines climate resilience in northwestern Bangladesh and its impact on farming households' food security. Using multistage random sampling, 498 households across 16 villages in extreme climate zones were surveyed. A climate resilience index (CRI) was...

The impact and mechanisms of animal epidemics on pork prices and the mechanisms involved: Evidence from a multi-period DID model

Zhizheng Wen, Yi Li

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(6):381-393 | DOI: 10.17221/137/2025-AGRICECON  

This study employs the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak as a quasi-natural experiment to assess its impact on pork prices and the underlying mechanisms. Utilising panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from January 2017 to December 2022, we apply a difference-in-differences (DID) approach combined with a moderating effect model. Furthermore, through DID quantile regression models, we delve into the impact of the epidemic on price volatility under varying initial pork price growth rates and regional institutional conditions. The findings reveal that the outbreak triggered a significant increase in the pork price, which averaged approximately 6%. During...

Do farmers normalise land tenure insecurity? Evidence from a choice experiment in Uzbekistan

Davron Niyazmetov, Ilkhom Soliev, Insa Theesfeld

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(6):341-357 | DOI: 10.17221/62/2025-AGRICECON  

Land reforms can create tenure insecurity for farmers, a critical issue in developing countries with a dominant role of the state in agriculture. Our study focuses on Uzbekistan, characterised by a state-led transition from a more collective and socialist to a more individualistic and market-based approach to land allocation and management. To understand how farmers normalise tenure insecurity under land reallocation in Uzbekistan, we examine farmers' perceptions of tenure security under ongoing risks to their land tenure. We conducted a farm survey (n = 153), employing a novel approach to explore farmers' perceptions of tenure security and...

The opinions of first adopters in the introduction of Bt maize in Spain: A success story

Maria Mercè Clop-Gallart, Esther Estruch-Bosch, María Isabel Juárez, Montserrat Viladrich-Grau

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(6):394-405 | DOI: 10.17221/482/2024-AGRICECON  

Spain is one of the few EU countries that adopted genetically modified maize as a crop (1998) and has continued to harvest it ever since. This article aims to contribute to the history of the adoption of transgenic maize in the EU, where the Mediterranean (Sesamia nonagrioides) and European (Ostrinia nubilalis) corn borers are two of the most destructive pests. Our aim is to identify Spanish farmers' motivations and opinions on adopting this technology. Our model is a binary logistic regression that estimates the probability of adopting Bt maize. Our results reveal that the odds of adopting Bt are at least 44.0 times greater if the farm...

Club convergence in cereal exports: Is climate change an important dynamic?

Fatih Kaplan, Ahmet Koluman, Ali Rıza Aktaş

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(5):273-291 | DOI: 10.17221/142/2025-AGRICECON  

In view of the increasing negative impacts of climate change, international cereal trade has become a growing concern. This study examines the impact of climate change on cereal exports. The analysis consists of two stages. In the first stage, we investigate convergence in cereal exports across countries and identify potential clusters of similar export behaviour. To this end, club convergence analysis was conducted using export data from 95 countries for the period 2000–2022. The results reveal that countries are grouped into seven distinct clubs, indicating shared convergence paths. In the second stage, the impact of climate change on the formation...

Does participation in agricultural GVCs impede manufacturing growth?

Hüseyin Alperen Özer, HalitYanıkkaya, Taner Turan

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(5):292-301 | DOI: 10.17221/25/2025-AGRICECON  

This study investigates whether participation in agricultural global value chains (GVCs) leads to slower growth in manufacturing for the period of 1995–2022 in 44 countries. Our baseline estimations indicate that forward GVC integration in agriculture, crop cultivation and animal production supports manufacturing growth. We further explore whether the income level of countries influences the impact of agricultural GVCs on manufacturing growth. Forward participation in agriculture, crop cultivation, and animal production in developing countries increases growth. However, in developed countries, deeper forward integration in animal production and...

The effect and dynamic transmission mechanism of African swine fever on pork prices in China: A study based on the staggered DID model and SVAR model

Yi Li, Yu Wang, Liling Zhu, Beining Yan

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(5):314-339 | DOI: 10.17221/350/2024-AGRICECON  

African swine fever (ASF) has spread rapidly, substantially disrupting the pork market. In this study, we treat the 2018 ASF outbreak in China as a quasi-natural experiment, using staggered difference-in-differences (DID) and spatial DID methods to assess its effect on pork prices. We use a structural vector autoregression model to identify the sources of price fluctuations. In the study, we also explore the mechanisms and heterogeneity in the effects of ASF on pork prices. The results show that (i) ASF significantly raises pork prices across various provinces; (ii) live pig prices are positively correlated with finishing pig feed prices,...

Eating 'green' and being 'green': A cross-sectional study among Italian adults through Mediterranean diet adherence

Fjona Zeneli, Alessia Cavaliere, Lucia Baldi, Elisa De Marchi, Alessandro Banterle

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(5):302-313 | DOI: 10.17221/77/2024-AGRICECON  

This study examines the factors influencing adherence to the Mediterranean diet from a socioeconomic perspective, focusing on Italy as a representative Mediterranean country. The observed decline in adherence to this diet in favour of Western dietary patterns highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the factors influencing this trend. Specifically, the analysis investigates sociodemographic and economic variables that may influence adherence to the Mediterranean diet. On the other hand, it assesses the role of individual characteristics related to environmental concerns and pro-environmental behaviours, considering that the Mediterranean diet...

Price shocks without borders: Cross-sectional dependence and transmission of international agricultural prices to domestic markets

Kemalettin Ağızan, Zeki Bayramoğlu, Süheyla Ağızan

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(4):225-237 | DOI: 10.17221/206/2025-AGRICECON  

This study investigates the extent to which international agricultural price shocks are transmitted to domestic agricultural markets in both developed and developing economies. Using panel data from 13 major agricultural trading countries from 1990 to 2022, we applied cross-sectional dependence tests, fixed-effects panel regressions, and panel Granger causality analyses to examine the degree of interdependence and directionality in price movements. Our results reveal significant cross-sectional dependence, suggesting that global price shocks reverberate across the national markets. The panel regression estimates indicate a statistically significant...

An assessment of climate risks on the stability of biomass supply and biofuel production

Chih-Chun Kung, Kaige Ma, Juan Li

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(4):207-224 | DOI: 10.17221/119/2025-AGRICECON  

Global warming has altered regional temperatures and precipitation, potentially leading to deviations from planned biofuel production and emission-reduction targets. This study revisits the market equilibrium of agricultural and biofuel production under climate risk, using updated IPCC projections. It employs a two-stage stochastic programming model to examine the overall effect of climate change on Taiwan's biofuel production. The results indicate that biofuel production depends on the level of climate impact and emission prices. In addition, total input use is generally between 2.79 and 4.72 million tonnes. The higher the gasoline price, the sooner...

Optimisation of agricultural logistics: A systematic review of modelling techniques and economic potentials

Nikolas Bublik, Sebastian Hess

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(4):253-271 | DOI: 10.17221/76/2025-AGRICECON  

Agricultural logistics face unique challenges such as seasonal demand fluctuations, perishability, and geographic dispersion. The paper systematically analyses 63 peer-reviewed articles from 2013 to 2025, focusing on key optimisation techniques, including multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), vehicle routing problems (VRP), and path planning problems (PPP). The findings highlight how logistics optimisation can reduce operational costs, improve resource utilisation, and enhance supply chain resilience. Additionally, the study identifies gaps in inbound logistics research and emphasises the need for further integration of digital technologies. Future...

Impact of digital economy on agricultural land use in sub-Saharan African countries

Zhaohui Qin, Manana Gaddis Elia, Mihasina Harinaivo Andrianarimanana, Tiavina Andriamahenina Nasolomampionona, Tarir Duok Gai Dhornor, Winnie Kudzai Mazheti

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(4):238-252 | DOI: 10.17221/470/2024-AGRICECON  

This study investigates the effects of digital economy (DE) on agricultural land use (ALU) in seven sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, specifically from 2006 to 2022. Using a moderating mediation model on panel data, the work explores the extent to which the DE, as proxied by fixed telephone subscriptions, internet usage, and mobile penetration, influences the degree and intensity of ALU. The results indicate that ALU is often supported by DE, as technology will lay the groundwork for improved land management and agriculture. Results show that DE has a positive influence on ALU, with a more substantial effect being observed in countries...

How do green finance, digital technology, trade openness, and climate change interact to shape food production in sub-Saharan Africa?

Abdul Salami Bah, Yongqiang Wang, Yuchun Zhu, Saffa Mohamed Massaquoi, Nomore Nkhoma

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(3):135-155 | DOI: 10.17221/227/2025-AGRICECON  

The promotion of sustainable food productivity through innovative technologies remains a central priority in economic development, attracting increasing attention from scholars, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. With the continuing rise in global food demand, resource-efficient solutions are essential to ensuring long-term agricultural growth and stability in food production. This study examines the impact of green finance, agricultural innovation, digital technology, trade openness, and climate change on food production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) and the generalised method of moments...

Subsidies and farming: A microempirical analysis of financial allocation to promote agricultural production

Congxian He, Lulu Yu, Huwei Wen

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(3):156-170 | DOI: 10.17221/187/2025-AGRICECON  

Agriculture's stable development is vital to the national economy, and its vulnerability justifies fiscal support. On the basis of data from the China Family Panel Studies from 2012 to 2022, this study examines how fiscal allocation affects agricultural production, particularly rural households' grain-growing enthusiasm and their productive income. Results show that public expenditure significantly boosts agricultural production, supported by ordered probit and ordinary least squares fixed effect models and confirmed in robustness tests. Mechanistic tests indicate that agricultural public expenditure promotes agricultural production by improving agricultural...

Evaluation of the environmental commitment of all large and medium-sized Spanish wineries based on objective information from their websites

Asunción Agulló-Torres, Francisco-José Del Campo-Gomis, David-Bernardo López-Lluch, Irene Arias-Navarro

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(3):190-206 | DOI: 10.17221/41/2025-AGRICECON  

In the contemporary era, organisations have embraced the internet as a platform through which they disseminate information about their economic activities and their corporate social responsibility, including their environmental responsibility. Consequently, the extent to which an organisation's actions are visible on its website can be taken as an indicator of its commitment to environmental issues. The present article proposes a model for evaluating the environmental commitment of agri-food companies through the visibility of objective information on their environmental actions on their websites. The information is presented in tabular form, consisting...

What drives post-acquisition farm growth? Empirical evidence from Ukraine

Igor Ostapchuk, Taras Gagalyuk

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(3):171-189 | DOI: 10.17221/385/2024-AGRICECON  

This study contributes to the limited body of research on mergers and acquisitions in primary agriculture by examining how large corporate agroholdings achieve profitable post-acquisition growth for the farms they acquire. Using System GMM estimation, we analyse farm-level data from 648 farms acquired by agroholdings in Ukraine between 2005 and 2016. Our findings show that agroholdings facilitate post-acquisition growth and performance improvements by employing several integration strategies. Specifically, they leverage horizontally integrated structures to: (i) consolidate land resources of acquired farms to achieve scale economies; (ii) reallocate...

Nexus of agricultural informatisation and sustainable practices: Food security implications for drought-affected maize farmers in Zambia

Shangao Wang, Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso, Xianhui Geng, Emmanuel Kiprop, Jotham Bett, Dancun Kibiwott Kimwei

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(2):101-119 | DOI: 10.17221/84/2025-AGRICECON  

Agricultural informatisation (AgI) is hailed as a 'game-changer' for farmers worldwide, even as climate change increases agriculture's vulnerability to climatic risks and threatens sustainable agrifood production. While AgI aspires to help alleviate hunger and poverty in smallholder farm households by improving on-farm productivity through the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs), limited empirical evidence exists on the AgI–SAPs nexus, particularly under severe environmental stress such as drought. We analysed data from a survey of maize farmers in central Zambia – a country exemplifying the impact of severe drought,...

Sustainability performance evaluation of tropical fruit supply chain in Indonesia using the best-worst method

Anisa Aprilia, Syafrial, Djoko Koestiono, Fitria Dina Riana, Silvana Maulidah

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(2):120-134 | DOI: 10.17221/46/2025-AGRICECON  

Studies on the sustainability assessment of supply chain performance in tropical fruit still have limitations, whereas similar studies are more widespread in the manufacturing sector. This study aims to assess the sustainability performance of the tropical fruit supply chain in Indonesia. Performance evaluations were conducted for three producer organisations of tropical fruit with members ranging from 70 to 200 people in Banyuwangi Regency, the largest production centre in Indonesia. This study proposes a new approach, the best-worst method (BWM), to prioritise supply chain performance criteria derived from the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference)...

The impact of the integration of science, technology, and finance on innovation in listed agricultural enterprises through the lens of digital transformation

Fanye Kong, Huini Zhong, Nana Chai, Baofeng Shi

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(2):84-100 | DOI: 10.17221/22/2025-AGRICECON  

Digitisation enables the integration of science, technology and finance, and this trend toward integration can in turn enhance the innovation efficiency of listed agricultural enterprises. By leveraging the quasi-natural experiment of China's 2011 pilot program for technology finance – also known as science, technology, and finance, this paper uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model to demonstrate that the science and technology finance policy positively impacts the innovation levels of agriculture-related listed enterprises. That said, the policy's effect varies across different regions and enterprise sizes. Furthermore, moderating-effect...

Shared knowledge and competitive advantages for economic diversification through olive oil tourism

Edianny Carballo-Cruz, José Domingo Sánchez-Martínez

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(2):69-83 | DOI: 10.17221/344/2024-AGRICECON  

The economic diversification of rural territories specialised in olive growing is key to the sustainability and resilience of these communities. In this context, olive oil tourism is presented as an innovative strategy to add value to the olive sector, attract visitors and promote public–private synergies. This study aims to determine the competitive advantages of olive oil tourism in the province of Jaén, Spain, using strategic analysis tools that align tourism resources with effective management strategies. Hence, in addition to a questionnaire completed by experts and a specialised literature review, we used the Quality Function Deployment...

List of reviewers 2025

Editorial Department

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(1):I-II