Suchergebnisse

The objective of this paper is to examine how economists have
perceived the contributions of agriculture to the economic development
process and then to present the case for the critical role that
research, extension, and information can play in agricultural
productivity growth and thus in economic development, particularly in
low income countries. After a brief presentation of the framework
commonly used to examine productivity growth, a distinction is made
between technological change and technical efficiency. This distinction
is crucial for policy purposes because the major impetus behind
technological change are research and development, while education and
experience are critical to improving managerial capabilities to make
efficient use of a given technology. Empirical findings concerning the
returns on agricultural research, with special attention to studies that
have focused on Pakistan, are discussed. The paper then offers an
overview of alternative methodologies available to measure technical
efficiency, summarises the empirical literature, and finally focuses on
studies dealing with Pakistani agriculture. Once it is established that
improvements in technical efficiency could contribute significantly to
increases in farm output and income, the discussion moves to some issues
that have implications for the measurement and potential improvement of
farm efficiency. An overview of a model of privatised extension
services, currently being applied in some Latin American countries and
which could have some relevance to conditions in Pakistan and elsewhere,
is provided. The paper ends with the contention that significant
improvements are needed in the collection and organisation of farm
production data if we are to advance our understanding of the drivers of
productivity growth at the farm level.

This paper presents measures of technical (TE), economic (EE), and allocative (AE) efficiency for a sample of sixty peasant farmers in the Dajabon region of the Dominican Republic. Maximum likelihood techniques are used to estimate a Cobb‐Douglas production frontier, which is then used to derive its corresponding dual cost frontier. These frontiers are the basis for obtaining farm level efficiency estimates. The results reveal average levels of TE, AE, and EE equal to 70 per cent, 44 per cent, and 31 per cent, respectively. In a second step analysis, two‐limit tobit regression techniques are used to estimate three separate equations where TE, EE, and AE are expressed as functions of the following farm/farmer characteristics: contract farming, agrarian reform status, farm size, schooling, producer's age, and household size.

A significant feature of Dominican Republic agriculture is the dual structure of the land tenure system. This dual structure consists of large latifundios that produce traditional export crops, and small peasant farms that typically produce for subsistence and for local markets. A more recent feature of agricultural development in the country has been the expansion of non-traditional crops. The authors assess the possibilities for productivity gains by improving the efficiency of small-scale agriculture in the Dajabon region of the Dominican Republic. (DÜI-Sen)

El objetivo de este trabajo es medir el cambio de la productividad en la agricultura chilena durante el período 1961-1996. La Productividad Total de los Factores (PTF) fue calculada mediante índices Törnqvist. Los datos utilizados para estimar estos índices incluyen precios y cantidades de 51 cultivos, de la mano de obra, de la tierra, del capital y de factores intermedios. El análisis revela que mientras los productos crecieron un 2,69% anual, el uso de factores de producción bajó un 0,09%; por lo tanto, la PTF creció a una tasa promedio anual del 2,78% entre 1961 y 1996. Se realizó además un análisis para siete períodos correspondientes a diferentes regímenes políticos. La PTF creció a un promedio anual de 1,83% con Alessandri (1961-64), 3,12% bajo el período de Frei Montalva (1965-70), 1,52% durante Allende (1971-73), 6,11% en la primera parte del régimen de Pinochet y -0,28% en el segundo período de Pinochet (1981-89), 3,12% bajo Aylwin (1990-93) y 5,28% bajo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-96). Los resultados sugieren que el programa de reforma agraria implementado en los sesenta no tuvo un efecto negativo en el crecimiento de la PTF. ; The main objective of this paper is to determine the productivity growth in the Chilean Agricultural sector during the 1961-1996 period. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) was calculated using the Törnqvist index, which is a discrete approximation to the Divisia index. The data used to estimate these indexes are prices and quantities for 51 crops, and for four inputs —labor, land, capital and intermediate factors. The rate of annual growth for the period 1961-96 was 2,69% and –0,09%, for products and inputs, respectively. Therefore, the TFP grew at an average annual rate of 2,78%. Given a significant annual variability in TFP growth, an analysis was carried out for seven sub-periods corresponding to different political regimes. TFP grew at an annual average of 1,83% with Alessandri (1961-64), 3,12% under the period of Frei Montalva (1965-70), 1,52% during the Allende years (1971-73), 6,11% during the first part of the Pinochet regime and –0,28% in the second period of Pinochet (1981-89), 3,12% during Aylwin (1990-93) and 5,28% under Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-96). The results suggest that the land reform program implemented in the 1960s did not have a negative effect on TFP growth, as has been previously argued by some authors.

Enterprise budgets and linear programming techniques are used to determine the profitability of individual crops and optimal cropping patterns for typical farms located in Diourbel and Thiès, two regions in the center of the Senegalese Peanut Basin. An intensification analysis through the introduction of La Fleur 11, which is a relatively new ground-nut seed variety, and operating capital constraints are also included in this study. Finally, farm income is compared with two poverty line measures. The profitability results show that groundnut exhibits the highest gross returns and net profits per hectare and millet the lowest net profits per hectare. Moreover, La Fleur 11 exhibits a higher yield when compared to traditional groundnut varieties such as 55-437. The results of the linear programming model suggest that groundnut production is the most profitable use of agricultural land in Diourbel, while in Thiès sorghum shows the highest profitability. Excess labor is found in all the cases examined while the opportunity cost of land ranges from FCFA 25,551 to FCFA 318,612 (US $39.31 to US $490.17, at an exchange rate of FCFA 650/US $1 for 1997). The farm income analysis indicates that the level of poverty is severe in the area of the study. In addition, large farms are not as poor as small farms, and non-farm income could contribute to poverty alleviation.

The Heckman two-stage model for correcting selection bias was applied to analyze the determinants of fertility desire using DHS II (Demographic and Health Survey) data from Senegal. The study concludes that significant differences exist between women that report numeric answers and those who report non-numeric answers to a question relative to fertility desire. Therefore, excluding non-numeric answers from regression models produces biased parameter estimates. Furthermore, this study presents evidence that contraceptive methods in Senegal are primarily used to control undesired births as rural and urban residents share the desire for a large family size.