Agricultural Economics, 2014 (vol. 60), issue 6

The perspectives for genetically modified cellulosic biofuels in the Central European conditionsOriginal Paper

Pavla BLAHOVA, Karel JANDA, Ladislav KRISTOUFEK

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2014, 60(6):247-259 | DOI: 10.17221/96/2013-AGRICECON  

This paper connects the biofuels literature with the genetic modifications literature by considering the potential of genetic modifications for increasing the efficiency of the cellulosic biofuels production. This is done for one particular case through analyzing the effect of genetically modified corn adoption on the overall yields of corn for silage. Our econometric model confirms that the use of genetically modified corn with the inserted MON810 gene increases the overall corn biomass yield in the production and environmental conditions of the Central Europe, in particular in the Czech Republic.

Less favoured area payments - impacts on the environment, a German perspectiveOriginal Paper

Katja RUDOW

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2014, 60(6):260-272 | DOI: 10.17221/74/2013-AGRICECON  

In the European Union, the support of Less Favoured Areas (LFA) has a long tradition as a part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Above all, it is the objective of the subsidies to maintain the agricultural production in LFAs, but also to consider the environmental aspects in LFAs and its funding schemes. Investigations of the latter are subject of this article. After having discussed the theoretical possibilities to influence environmental impacts by the funding scheme, several analyses are compiled and complemented by own calculations. The research has shown that agricultural practices within Less Favoured Areas are more environmentally friendly...

Farmers' willingness to switch to ecological agriculture: A non-parametric analysisOriginal Paper

Chang Hwan YU, Jin Chae YOO, Shun Bo YAO

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2014, 60(6):273-278 | DOI: 10.17221/82/2013-AGRICECON  

The present study estimates the farmers' willingness to switch to organic agriculture by using the one-and-one-half-bound dichotomous choice contingent valuation method. We survey 200 farmers in the Kwangsi-myeon, Yesan-gun (Chungnam, Korea) and ask them at what revenue level (based on a 40 kg bag of eco-friendly rice) they would be willing to switch from the conventional agricultural methods to organic agricultural methods. The Turnbull model, a non-parametric method, was then used to estimate the willingness to switch to organic agriculture. The presented results show that farmers would be willing to convert to organic agriculture if their revenues...

The foodstuffs market in the CR and its regulation within the framework of the EU agricultural policyOriginal Paper

Milan VOŠTA

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2014, 60(6):279-286 | DOI: 10.17221/103/2013-AGRICECON  

The food market is created by the farmers, whose importance arises from their production of the raw materials from which food is made. These products are processed and supplied to the retail chains, where they are offered to the end consumers. The food market is further regulated, and in a certain sense limited, by the EU organs, as well as by the domestic agricultural policies, by the means of a whole host of directives, norms and regulations. The aim of this article is to define the individual organs on the food market in the CR, to evaluate their work in the food chain from the production of the primary raw materials to their distribution to the...

Economic losses from soil degradation in agricultural area in AlbaniaOriginal Paper

Agim BINAJ, Pirro VEIZI, Enkeleida BEQIRAJ, Fran GJOKA, Elian KASA

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2014, 60(6):287-293 | DOI: 10.17221/12/2013-AGRICECON  

Soildegradationis aserious and widespread problemin Albania. Itmanifests itselfin manyformsandcauses arange ofeffects. The aim of this study was to analyze the economic losses from soil erosion and compaction in relationship to agriculture in Albania. On-site effects of these two degradative processes affect farmers directly through reducingproductionand increasingthe costsof farming. Calculation ofeconomic losses was performed by using the replacement and lost production methods. According to our assessments, the wheat and maize yield losses due to the soil compaction are112 164 tons or US$ 40.2 million, and the plant nutrient...