Agricultural Economics - Latest articles

Impact of production outsourcing on the adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies in China

Ruirui Du, Aftab Khan, Rui Shi, Yujie Shen, Minjuan Zhao

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(4):187-197 | DOI: 10.17221/385/2023-AGRICECON  

Adopting low-carbon agricultural technologies (LCATs) is fundamental to reducing carbon emissions in agriculture. Our study explores the factors influencing the adoption of LCATs and the roles of production outsourcing and specialised farming within the framework of off-farm employment. In this regard, survey data were collected from 1 040 farmers in the Yellow River region of China in 2020 to examine the effect of production outsourcing on the farmers’ adoption of LCATs. Potential mechanisms associated with specialised farming and off-farm employment are considered to comprehend this relationship. We also investigate the heterogeneous...

Corporate social responsibility and the relationship to stakeholders in large agricultural holdings in the Czech Republic

Marie Šimpachová Pechrová, Ondřej Šimpach

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(4):155-164 | DOI: 10.17221/369/2023-AGRICECON  

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also implemented in agriculture, where larger agricultural holdings have a higher influence. We focused on them and situated our study to a country with a large average farm acreage – the Czech Republic. The aim of the paper is to assess to what extent large agricultural holdings perceive socially responsible behaviour as being important and how it is manifested in their relationship to the stakeholders and the behaviour in economic, social and environmental areas using Carroll’s pyramid and concept of 3 ‘P’. It is also examined if the higher perception of CSR influences the assets....

Unravelling the bidirectional impact of Chinese agricultural subsidy policy on agricultural efficiency and farmers‘ income through panel data analysis

Yungang Tang, Haojie Liao, Ye Wu, Gang Lei

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(4):165-177 | DOI: 10.17221/335/2023-AGRICECON  

This study examined the bidirectional impact of Chinese agricultural subsidy policies on agricultural efficiency and farmers’ income. It employed panel data from 2004 to 2020 across 31 Chinese provinces, and the three-stage least squares method was used for simultaneous estimation. Different regions and farmer types were analysed separately. The findings revealed a significant bidirectional impact of the agricultural subsidy policy on agricultural efficiency and farmers’ income, signifying a strong positive feedback loop. Varied types and levels of subsidy policies differently impacted regions and farmer categories, showcasing diverse...

Indirect use value of improved soil health as natural capital that supports essential ecosystem services: A case study of cacao agroforestry

Yudha Kristanto, Suria Tarigan, Tania June, Bambang Sulistyantara, Pini Wijayanti

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(3):137-154 | DOI: 10.17221/281/2023-AGRICECON  

Multifunctional landscapes, such as agroforestry, that improve soil health are essential in sustaining terrestrial life by supporting various ecosystem services (ESs). However, decision-making often requires more attention to soil health because its parameters have no market value. In this study, we aim to evaluate soil health parameters in cacao agroforestry and monoculture and their degradation due to erosion and to estimate their indirect use value (IUV). We develop a soil health economic valuation approach bridged by ESs because the economic valuation of ESs tends to be better studied. We estimated the IUVs of the eight soil health parameters by...

Assessment of agricultural carbon emissions reduction potential and optimisation pathways based on a framework of equity and efficiency principles: Evidence from Fujian Province in China

Jie Ye, Renshan Xie, Xingwei Deng, Minling Lin, Yang Chen, Ketao Lin, Jianzhou Yang

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(3):125-136 | DOI: 10.17221/329/2023-AGRICECON  

Fujian Province, China was chosen as the study area for estimating the marginal agricultural abatement costs within the province based on data for 2010–2020. The study employed these estimations as a pivotal factor affecting the efficiency of carbon emissions reduction, constructed an index model to gauge the potential of agricultural carbon emissions reduction, and delved into the urban agricultural carbon emissions reduction potential from the perspectives of economic development rights (equity) and carbon emissions reduction difficulty (efficiency). Our findings indicated a marked regional disparity in the marginal abatement costs of agriculture...

Farm size and greenhouse gas emission: Do large farms in China produce more emissions?

Zhe Zhao, Fan Zhang, Yiqiong Du, Xin Xuan, Ying Cai, Gui Jin

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(3):112-124 | DOI: 10.17221/307/2023-AGRICECON  

Farms are key to agricultural advancement and carbon emission reduction. Understanding the influence of farm size on emissions is vital for eco-friendly farming. Our study used an econometric model with instrumental variable adjustments to examine the effect of farm size on greenhouse gas emissions, revealing an inverted U-shaped relationship. The findings revealed that emissions increased with farm size until a peak and then decreased. We identified an optimal farm size range (0.45 km² to 0.58 km²) for lower emissions, where the farm size maintaining the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per unit area was 0.58 km², while the lowest greenhouse...

Palm oil trade restrictiveness index and its impact on world palm oil exports

Hakimah Nur Ahmad Hamidi, Norlin Khalid, Zulkefly Abdul Karim

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(3):101-111 | DOI: 10.17221/332/2023-AGRICECON  

Despite numerous attempts to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, the average number of barriers in the agricultural sector, particularly in the palm oil sector, is rising. Non-tariff effects are subjective, which makes them challenging to quantify. A new palm oil trade restrictiveness index that considers each trade barrier imposed on palm oil exports, such as tariff and non-tariff measures, is necessary to facilitate the sector’s exports. Hence, this study aims to calculate the trade restrictiveness index (TRI) of palm oil and analyse its impact on Malaysia’s and Indonesia’s palm oil exports. This study uses a gravity model...

Increasing Boro rice productivity through credit: Evidence from Bangladesh

Shah Johir Rayhan, Md. Sadique Rahman, Kaiyu Lyu

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(2):49-59 | DOI: 10.17221/341/2023-AGRICECON  

Rice productivity needs to be increased to feed Bangladesh’s growing population. Productivity can be increased by adopting improved varieties and management practices, which require additional capital inputs. In this article, we aim to estimate the effect of formal and semiformal credit on rice productivity in Bangladesh. We surveyed 500 rice farmers to achieve these objectives. We used descriptive statistics, propensity score matching and Heckman’s endogenous treatment effect model to analyse the data. The findings indicate that literacy, television ownership and training positively influenced access to formal credit. In general,...

Understanding the cross-cultural chicken consumers' behavior

Fallah Samuel Kassoh, Baichen Jiang, Achara Boonkong, Hui Li, Abdelrahman Ali, Tanapon Srisukwatanachai

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(2):73-90 | DOI: 10.17221/331/2023-AGRICECON  

Concerns for human health and food safety are gaining momentum in emerging and developing nations as well as in food research due to the reputations that products have established over time. Understanding cross-cultural consumers’ purchasing behaviour for chicken meat (CM) could provide valuable insights into the global food sector since it is the most consumed meat worldwide. This study examines the effect of buying features (BF), culture factors, behavioural attitudes (BA), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (BC) on CM actual purchase behaviour (APB) in China and Sierra Leone. Primary...

Valuation of an innovative investment project using real options approach: A case study of a viticulture company in Spain

Raisa Pérez-Vas, Javier Hervés-Estévez, María Dolores Garza Gil, Raquel Fernández-González

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(2):91-100 | DOI: 10.17221/299/2023-AGRICECON  

In Spain, the leader in pesticide sales in the European Union, a high-tech and innovative company provides services to the wine industry to optimise phytosanitary work, reduce crop losses and lower production costs. Although the nature of its business encourages the transition to a sustainable agri-food system, it also involves risks associated with uncertainty. The objective of this article was to perform the valuation of the company through the real options approach, including an expansion option, analysing whether this company will be able to increase the value of its project by expanding its activity to a larger number of vineyards. Results...

Research on the promotion effect and mechanisms of digital empowerment of food enterprises

Penglong Li, Xuan Ye

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(2):60-72 | DOI: 10.17221/271/2023-AGRICECON  

Based on panel data from 2010 to 2020 of 151 A-share listed food-related enterprises in China, this research uses a fixed-effect model to analyse the impact of digital transformation on total factor productivity (TFP) in food-related enterprises. Our findings indicated that digital transformation has a positive and significant catalytic effect on TFP improvement in food-related enterprises. The mechanism test revealed that both cost-saving and innovation capacity enhancement effects of digital transformation contributed to the promotion of TFP improvement in these enterprises. Moreover, our heterogeneity analysis suggested that digital transformation...

Does the payment method matter in online shopping behaviour? Study on the Romanian market of vegetables during the pandemic crisis

Ioan-Sebastian Brumă, Cristina Cautisanu, Lucian Tanasă, Simona-Roxana Ulman, Meda Gâlea, Alexandra Raluca Jelea

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(1):34-47 | DOI: 10.17221/314/2023-AGRICECON  

The present study, centred on customer online shopping behaviours, aims at analysing the frequency of vegetable acquisition and its main determining factors, while considering different methods of payment, i.e. cash, debit card, and bank transfer on the Romanian market. Using data obtained from a questionnaire applied nationwide, a descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed. An immature market in terms of digitalisation, characterised by the customers’ mistrust in online bank transfers, but also in products sold online was observed. In addition, the income, education, gender, and size of the household appeared to be significant...

The impact of fluctuating international fertiliser prices and exchange rates on domestic fertiliser prices in Türkiye

Ozgur Bor, Nihat Dagistan

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(1):12-23 | DOI: 10.17221/308/2023-AGRICECON  

This study aims to examine the relationship between domestic and international prices of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea fertilisers together with exchange rates in Türkiye using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model on monthly data for the period of January 2011 to September 2022. The result of the study provides empirical evidence about the presence of asymmetries in the short and long-run among these fertilisers. The findings of the study confirm that international prices of di-ammonium phosphate and urea fertilisers have a symmetric effect in the long-run and exchange rate of the Turkish lira to US dollars has an asymmetric...

Beef, lamb, pork and poultry meat commodity prices: Historical fluctuations and synchronisation with a focus on recent global crises

Massimiliano Calvia

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(1):24-33 | DOI: 10.17221/361/2023-AGRICECON  

This work addresses short-run fluctuations of nominal global meat commodity prices, that is, beef, lamb, pork, and poultry, from January 1980 to October 2023, thus including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. It tries to answer the following questions: how do fluctuations in meat commodity prices behave historically? Are meat commodity prices synchronised? Do their co-movements show specific features during recent global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war? Using a ‘classical’ framework of cycle analysis, the work provides a series of turning points upon which statistics on phase and...

Impact of external shocks on international corn price fluctuations

Shuai Liu, Dingyu Liu, Sibo Ge

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(1):1-11 | DOI: 10.17221/318/2023-AGRICECON  

In recent years, the external shock represented by COVID-19 has caused significant fluctuations in global corn prices. Based on the weekly data on international corn prices from 2020 to 2023, this paper constructs autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) class and time-varying parameter – vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) models. After analysing the characteristics of corn price fluctuations, it further analyses the influence of external uncertainties such as COVID-19, international finance, the corn futures market, and international exports of corn on corn price fluctuations. The results show that international corn price fluctuations...

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