Agricultural Economics - Latest articles

The impact of geopolitical risk on agricultural commodity prices

Kristína Hudecová, Miroslava Rajčániová

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(4):129-139 | DOI: 10.17221/374/2022-AGRICECON  

The escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had a detrimental effect on the global agricultural and food market and the price movements of essential commodities. In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of geopolitical risk on the prices of selected agricultural and food commodities using the linear and nonlinear ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) model. Our results show evidence of the asymmetric impact of geopolitical risk on the prices of rapeseed, sugar, sunflower oil, and wheat. The findings also show no long-term link between geopolitical risk and corn, cotton, lumber, milk, oats, rough rice, and soybean prices.

Network-based business model in the agri-food sector: A case study of Green Fingers

Sagit Barel-Shaked

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(4):162-170 | DOI: 10.17221/2/2023-AGRICECON  

Globalisation and reduced trade barriers have created a competitive business environment, requiring agri-food firms to adopt a new innovative perspective. This research study examines a network-based business model of a new venture offering services to avocado farmers and its potential impact on customer performance. A theoretical framework of a network-based business model in the agri-food sector was developed and implemented in the production of avocados. The Israeli agri-food firm, Green Fingers, was selected as the case study to analyse the value drivers of the network-based business model. The proposed business model can serve as a benchmark in evaluating...

Towards diverging land prices in agricultural districts? Evidence from Italy before and after the great crisis

Emma Bruno, Rosalia Castellano, Gennaro Punzo, Luca Salvati

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(3):119-127 | DOI: 10.17221/395/2022-AGRICECON  

In recent decades, farmland markets have risen sharply due to their attractiveness as safe investment and savings allocation instruments. This growth has occurred globally at different rates due to the uneven expected returns, and potential land uses in different regions. This paper provides evidence of the convergence of Italian farmland markets between 1990 and 2019 by using data on average land prices with a geographically detailed resolution that considers both administrative and altitude aspects of territories. The analysis combines traditional economic convergence approaches with spatial data exploration techniques. The results are consistent...

Assessment of the impact of agricultural support on crop diversity

Zdeňka Žáková Kroupová, Lukáš Čechura, Matěj Opatrný, Zuzana Hloušková, Iveta Mlezivová

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(3):89-100 | DOI: 10.17221/387/2022-AGRICECON  

This study examines the impact of agricultural support on crop diversity measured by a diversity index. Our results indicate that agricultural subsidies have a limited effect on agricultural biodiversity. By using unique farm-level data, we show that subsidies support the income of farmers rather than the agricultural biodiversity. The results are robust regarding the size, practice management and altitude of the agricultural holdings' operations and various measures of agricultural biodiversity. However, when interpreting the results, the limitations of biodiversity indices should be considered.

How to reduce the extreme risk of losses in corn and soybean markets? Construction of a portfolio with European stock indices

Dejan Živkov, Biljana Stankov, Nataša Papić-Blagojević, Jelena Damnjanović, Željko Račić

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(3):109-118 | DOI: 10.17221/371/2022-AGRICECON  

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, agricultural commodities had significant price increases, which inevitably implies high risk. In this article, we try to mitigate the extreme risk of corn and soybeans by constructing multivariate portfolios with developed and emerging European stock indices. We measured extreme risk via conditional value at risk. To address different goals that investors might prefer, we produced portfolios with the lowest risk and highest return-to-risk ratio. According to the results, corn and soybeans had relatively high portfolio shares. However, they are the riskiest assets because they have a very...

Agricultural commodity markets and the Turn of the month effect

Peter Árendáš, Jana Kotlebová

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(3):101-108 | DOI: 10.17221/17/2023-AGRICECON  

The Turn of the month (ToM) effect is a calendar anomaly when the majority of returns of an asset are concentrated into several days around the end of the old month and the start of the new one. Until now, the investigation of the ToM effect has mainly been focused on the stock markets. However, this paper investigates the presence of the ToM effect in eight key agricultural commodity markets (cocoa, coffee, corn, cotton, rice, soybean, sugar, wheat), using three different alternatives of the ToM window, during the 2001–2021 time period. The results show a statistically significant ToM effect in the rice, coffee, and sugar markets. Further...

Working capital management in the food and beverage industry: Evidence from listed European companies

Hakan Özkaya, Şebnem Yaşar

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(2):78-88 | DOI: 10.17221/383/2022-AGRICECON  

Optimizing current assets and their financing resources is of great importance for firms to sustain their existence with the highest level of profitability. However, empirical evidence from the food and beverage industry on the effects of working capital management (WCM) on profitability is scarce and mixed. This study aims to understand how various components of WCM affect the profitability of listed European food and beverage (F&B) companies. For this purpose, static panel data methodology was used to test the relationship between profitability and WCM measured by the cash conversion cycle and its components. The results were checked for...

Recent development of economic indicators on Czech dairy farms

Jan Syrůček, Luděk Bartoň, Dalibor Řehák, Magdaléna Štolcová, Jiří Burdych

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(2):45-54 | DOI: 10.17221/381/2022-AGRICECON  

A reassessment of factors related to milk production economics is needed because of continuing genetic improvements within the main dairy breeds and changes in farm management and the economic environment. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the development of economic indicators between 2016 and 2020 on Czech dairy farms that kept either Czech Fleckvieh or Holstein breeds and that had different average milk yields. We used a questionnaire to obtain data from 66 dairy farms from different regions of the Czech Republic. The farms were divided into four groups according to breed and 2016 milk yield. Production costs increased during...

A methodological proposal for the sociocultural valuation of ecosystem services

Óscar González-Yebra, José Ángel Aznar-Sánchez, Juan Francisco Velasco-Muñoz, Belén López-Felices

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(2):68-77 | DOI: 10.17221/298/2022-AGRICECON  

In recent years, progress has been made towards incorporating the sociocultural perspective in the assessment of ecosystem services (ES) to identify the relevant services according to the different needs and perceptions of the populations consulted. New sociocultural assessment methods are being explored to respond to this emerging line of research, without a generally accepted alternative being found thus far. Aiming to contribute to this line of research, this article proposes a new methodological approach for the sociocultural assessment of ES. The new methodological approach is based on combining two different measurement procedures: a traditional...

Decomposition of variations of direct payments rates on the example of selected support instruments applied in Poland

Adrian Sadłowski

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(2):55-67 | DOI: 10.17221/285/2022-AGRICECON  

In this paper, an original analysis of the direct payment rate shaping mechanism – in terms of the process and from the perspective of game theory – has been carried out. The factors determining the direct payments rates were identified. The results of measuring the impact of these factors on payments rates fluctuations were presented. The territorial scope of the study is Poland. The time range covers the years 2016–2020. The objective scope of the analysis includes four direct support instruments. It was found that the rates of sectoral area payments vary to a greater extent than the rates of general payments due to fluctuations...

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Editorial Department

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(1):I-II  

The economic well-being of smallholders and challenges during COVID-19 pandemic: A review

Nurul Atiqah Binti Mohd Suib, Norlida Hanim Mohd Salleh, Mohd Fazim Ahmad

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(1):35-44 | DOI: 10.17221/344/2022-AGRICECON  

The challenges smallholders face in agricultural management between developed and developing countries differ and can also impact the smallholder's well-being. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect the well-being of smallholders. We conducted a systematic literature by applying the Preferred Reported Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) and extracted 30 articles from Scopus and Web of Science. These articles show three main factors that drive well-being: technology, optimal resource, and insurance, and two additional factors: market pricing and tax policy. Findings show that all the above factors will first impact...

Simulation of the impacts of the proposed direct payment scheme – The case of the Czech Republic

Jana Lososová, Radek Zdeněk

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(1):13-24 | DOI: 10.17221/328/2022-AGRICECON  

The draft Strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the Czech Republic has provoked the displeasure of many entrepreneurs in agriculture due to the redistributive payments, to which 23% of the total volume of direct payments will be directed instead of the originally planned 10%. According to the creators of the Strategic plan, this should support the fairer distribution of payments, respecting the benefits arising from the scale of production of large companies. Critics of the plan claim that operating subsidies are already degressive and fear an adverse impact on medium-sized companies, which, given the structure of the companies...

Sustainably produced butter: The effect of product knowledge, interest in sustainability, and consumer characteristics on purchase frequency

Dominika Jakubowska, Tomáš Sadílek

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(1):25-34 | DOI: 10.17221/294/2022-AGRICECON  

Understanding buying behaviour for sustainable products is important for food producers and distributors. This study aims to examine the effect of knowledge of the product, interest in sustainability, and characteristics of consumers on the frequency of buying sustainably produced butter using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model. In this study, two different types of butter were used, one produced by a well-known brand and the other by a less-known dairy. Data were collected through a structured online survey of 825 respondents from Poland. The research found that knowledge about the product and the sustainability-related product attributes...

Sustainable innovation in agriculture: Building competitiveness and business sustainability

Pavla Vrabcová, Hana Urbancová

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(1):1-12 | DOI: 10.17221/321/2022-AGRICECON  

To understand and promote the importance of business sustainability in agriculture as an important societal issue, one must use the circumstances to force modern-minded management to abandon the classical model of only complying with statutory obligations and to structure the knowledge to coordinate interdisciplinary approaches to ensuring sustainable innovation. The paper analyses the role of business sustainability in promoting sustainable innovation in agriculture. The study used a factor analysis applied to a sample of 183 companies (n₁ = 183) and qualitative research through focus groups (n₂ = 5). The...