Agribusiness - Science topic

Luiz Felipe Conrado

Several factors can significantly influence the implementation of new technologies in agribusiness, often referred to as Agro 4.0 or Agriculture 4.0. Here are some key factors:

1. Technological Infrastructure: The availability and accessibility of technological infrastructure, such as high-speed internet connectivity and sensor networks, play a crucial role in implementing new agricultural technologies. Regions with inadequate infrastructure may face challenges in adopting advanced agricultural practices.

2. Cost of Technology: The cost of implementing new technologies can be a barrier for many farmers, especially smallholders. Investments in hardware, software, sensors, and other equipment need to be justified by potential returns on investment. Government subsidies or financial incentives can help alleviate some of these costs.

3. Education and Training: Farmers and agricultural workers need to be adequately trained to use new technologies effectively. Education programs and training initiatives are essential for building the necessary skills and knowledge base to leverage Agro 4.0 tools and practices.

4. Data Management and Privacy: Agro 4.0 relies heavily on data collection, analysis, and sharing. Ensuring data security, privacy, and ownership are critical concerns that must be addressed to foster trust among farmers and other stakeholders. Clear regulations and standards for data management can help mitigate these concerns.

5. Regulatory Environment: Regulatory frameworks can either facilitate or hinder the adoption of new agricultural technologies. Policies related to land use, water management, environmental protection, and intellectual property rights can significantly impact the implementation of Agro 4.0 practices.

6. Market Access and Demand: The availability of markets for agricultural products and the demand for sustainably produced food can drive the adoption of technologies that improve efficiency, productivity, and environmental sustainability. Farmers may be more inclined to invest in Agro 4.0 solutions if they see potential market opportunities.

7. Collaboration and Networking: Collaboration among stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, technology providers, and policymakers, is essential for the successful implementation of Agro 4.0 initiatives. Building networks and partnerships can facilitate knowledge exchange, innovation, and the co-creation of solutions tailored to local contexts.

8. Environmental and Social Considerations: Sustainable agriculture practices and social acceptance of new technologies are increasingly important factors influencing their implementation. Technologies that promote environmental conservation, biodiversity, and social equity are more likely to gain support from both farmers and society at large.

In conclusion, the adoption of new technologies in agribusiness depends on a complex interplay of technological, economic, social, and regulatory factors. Addressing these factors effectively is essential for realizing the potential benefits of Agro 4.0 in improving agricultural productivity, sustainability, and resilience.

Yes, I am working in Biotechnology and precision Agriculture on the aspect of chilli pepper in south west Nigeria.

Si el pais es suficiente grande, la agricultura debe ser centralizada y su empresas grandes debe estar en manos del gobierno popular. Asi que los programas de desarollo economico debe centrarse en ayudar a esas empresas. En los paises pequenos - no importa.

In my opinion, vericulture can be an excellent alternative or complement to traditional agriculture if it is carried out in sustainable urban areas that strive to be self-sufficient in many respects, including food, and try to function as much as possible in accordance with sustainable development goals.

What do you think about this topic?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Discriminant function technique involves the development of selection criteria on a combination of various characters and aids the breeder in indirect selection for genetic improvement in yield. In plant breeding, the selection index refers to a linear combination of characters associated with yield.

The form is less important, than the content of your piece of work.

OK, Thank you

have seen people who raise chicken above a fish pond. The chicken droppings feed the fish and the fish feed the chicken and the farmer can sell both the fish and chicken to improve his economic situation.

Agree with Qamar Ul Islam.

Great thanks Dr Juan Carlos Torrico for this topic discussion.

Precision Agriculture (which means intervening at the right time and in the best place with the right dose) is becoming more and more important in the world not only in developed countries but also in developing countries in which it arouses interest.

Precision Agriculture, which is based on high technology, certainly has its advantages in increasing yields both in cultivated plants and in animals, especially on large farms. Thanks to drones and sensors in the field, several factors are controlled such as irrigation and fertilization. In animals and thanks to digital technology, it is possible to monitor the health and growth of livestock.

So as the name suggests, it's all about being precise about spacial location of information and thus producing more while applying less inputs and energy.

Many advantages of course, but some specialists emphasize the importance or even the necessity of the quality of the input data because the latter will necessarily impact the quality of the final decision. On the other hand, according to some specialists, because of all data is tainted with uncertainty it is that it is essential to be able to measure and quantify this uncertainty and also take it into account in the final decision / application.

Thus, it turns out that, precision agriculture requires learning new technological and environmental skills as well as managerial skills. Therefore, it is important to incorporate it into training systems for a good mastery of all its tools.

Finally, precision agriculture could be useful for the future and for the sustainability of agricultural production if it is done while respecting Diversity and protecting the Soil and the Environment. However and particularly in countries newly concerned by this type of agriculture, it is necessary before its implementation to take preliminary studies to assess its benefits and impacts on the environment and to decide on the locations of its implementation as well as the identification of the types of farms as well as the sensitization of farmers for this type of agriculture but also the estimate of its costs. In addition, its success also requires knowledge and permanent supervision by agricultural advisory services.

Dear Juan Carlos Torrico

I think you proposition is very common in coutries with large scale production and developped agriculture.

In small coutries, we only finding basic agriculture with limited production.

But, i think as ecologist or agro ecologist we must following this large-scale possibility?

For example, in Algeria we using a limited area without any network between production and agro systems!!!

Although the income losses and local supply chain disruptions associated with the pandemic undoubtedly has led to an increase in food insecurity in many developing countries, global food consumption is largely unaffected due to the inelastic demand of most agricultural commodities and the short duration of the shock. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-020-00473-6

Good question Dr. Juan Carlos Torrico, I follow.

Hi there sadhan

Try this site: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/

search the product you wish and it will give you its composition.

good luck

isaac

energy productivity and efficiency

check this link maybe help you

Will share this in my network.

The Brazilian government should give more importance to the environment, placing in the management of the Ministry of Environment more qualified people from the environmental area to allow the analysis and creation of environmental projects focused on the sustainable development of existing communities in the Amazon (Indigenous and other inhabitants of the area). ) through the rational use of forests (agroforestry, sustainable extractivism, creation of Conservation Units for sustainable use, etc.) not allowing the use of the area for agriculture, livestock and mining that require deforestation and vegetation burning. The Government of Brazil should provide more resources for environmental supervision to hire more technicians and logistical support for the control and monitoring of what is being done within the forest. The Amazonian Forest must be preserved in a sustainable way so that, besides protecting the high biodiversity present in this ecosystem, it can bring benefits to the natural communities that live in the region, thus not allowing any action that may conflict with the rational use of the forest.

Dear Anshuman Gunawat: I would advise you to open "warning.out" file and read to see where the model stops running, then you can correct

You may subscrip to the website www.conferencealerts.org

1. For Inputs Manufacturing companies, it is a way to pus their products.

2. For Agri Processing & Manufacturing companies, it helps them procure commodities as per their specifications.

No extension services are done as charity.

I'm a bit unclear what you want to do?

QGIS

Dear Haji Saediman,

As I go on writing the literature review, I find the nature of the questions and its outcome variable calling for categorical data analysis. And given the fact that awareness can be measured using ordinal scale with values ranging from low to high, then I am proposing to use Ordinal Logistic Regression. However, I am still open for any input and advise on the best analysis technique. Your advise will be received with due appreciations.

In any field of research required for workers in the agricultural sector, or for specific crops.

None is adequate but i can see how attempting to meet an editor‘s restriction on page or words will make one to squeeze in that. When one is writing to

other professional who understand restrictions by editor, one tries to get in the most Important results first before worrying about those that supports the null.

Respected Dr Saab Manpreet Jaidka

I think we are well aware of these facts and figures,

& also knowing that rice-wheat cropping system is deep rooted extensively in a major geographical area of both Haryana and Punjab.

But my main concern was that, what our universities should recommend to the farmers regarding this, so that a considerable portion goes into the pockets of farmers, rather than some other stakeholders who just sit in their Air Conditioned premises whole day, stealing the shares of farmers.

Try this link. Maybe it will help.

Interesting point, following

Please have a look of the attached files.

What does the survival mean? The form of the ownership survives or the co-operatives individually work for a long time?

I think co-operatives' issues are from several sources, and capitalization can be one of them. Without seeing the system I would not identify the mains problem. I suggest to explore the issues and make a comparison(s) between agricultural industry players and co-operatives. In this process, survey the perceived issues and advantages of co-operatives.

Based on these information it would be easier to rank the problems. I am sure the lack of capital is one of them. Uncertainty in yearly incomes and large value of assets compared to the revenue are also issues.

Why is the survival of co-operatives important or good or interesting? Maybe we should start with that.

Dears

1. Mirna Leko-Šimić

2. Masnat Al Hiary

3. Emmanuel Vijayanand Murray

4. Arshad Ali

5. Hamit Can

Many thanks for your helpful efforts

Best Regards

Here's a link to over 100 journal articles about SRI that relate to water management. https://www.zotero.org/groups/344232/system_of_rice_intensification_sri_research_network/items/collectionKey/4GQ55IQI/tag/Water%20Management

Sorry! I only saw this request just now...

You can also do a search of the whole database for other topics.https://www.zotero.org/groups/344232/system_of_rice_intensification_sri_research_network/items/

I agree with you Dr. Anoop Kumar Srivastava, we have to focus on the small farmers and disseminate the proven technologies which enhance food production and food security.

Hello Mr. Banson. I thank you firstly for your interest. I am conducting a project on barley marketing in Konya province in Turkey. I examine the process from barley production to marketing. I wondered if there were other studies or publications in other countries ...

I thank you very much ... I wish you good work

 Thank you very much professor Kochar for your valuable comment 

There  few studies done in SL refer following for tea

Assessment of impact of climate change on productivity of tea

(Camellia sinensis L.) plantations in Sri Lanka by Wijeratne et.al in 2007

There is a thesis from the University of Wisconsin using milk for virus control by James Burton Sinclair who was my graduate advisor. 

Also Broadbent, L. H. 1965. Epidemiology of tomato mosaic Ann. Appll. Biol. 52:225-232.

I used milk extensively in integrated control of maize pathogens transmitted by leafhopper. Usually the recommendation is the use skim nonfat milk in dry form with 10% milk solids to water volume 10 g per 100 ml water. In my maize work I used milk spray culling and micronutrient supplementation to eliminate zinc chlorosis and incidence was reduced from up to 80% to negligible. Zinc prevented chlorosis which attacted the leafhoppers, the mechanism of the milk is to interfere with the virus on the stylet tip it is thought. Culling is always a good method as is detracts the spread foci. 

Integrated fruit production (IFP) can be defined as the economic production of market

quality crops, giving priority to methods that are the safest possible to human health and the environment. IFP seeks to combine or ‗integrate‘ the best aspects of orchard systems whether they be conventional, organic or something in between. It is a pragmatic approach that recognises that orchard practices must be safe, sustainable and profitable for growers.IFP is a pro-active approach that aims to avoid problems if possible by, for example, planting disease-resistant varieties or using cultural management to reduce pest populations. Where intervention is necessary, the objective is to prevent potential problems from occurring. Pesticides remain an important component within IFP, but the choice of chemicals and their correct timing of application is crucial to the success of IFP. Natural enemies (predators and parasites) are encouraged by the minimal use of selective pesticides. IFP is a good resistance-management strategy because it promotes biological control and cultural management, and does not rely solely on chemicals. IFP growers should aim to be good neighbours by minimising air, water and soil pollution..

PDF enclosed fro further reading...

Dear Giorgo,

You can start from the FAO statistics and start building your own database. You have to be very careful about the analytical reliability of the data so that you can make a proper treatment of errors, then you can start playing with a statistics program like R.

However, measuring the impact is not easy, for example the impact of agrochemicals, although it is a controversial issue is important to analyze, you can check the following article:

De Roos, A.J., Blair, A., Rusiecki, J.A., Hoppin, J.A., Svec, M., Dosemeci, M., & Alavanja, M. C. (2005). Cancer incidence among glyphosate-exposed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 49-54.

It can also be interesting to attack the issue using simple calculations on food production, amount of water used, cost of production (use of agrochemicals, machinery, etc.) and do so with respect to a graph of demographic evolution. I think it is also interesting to include how technology has impacted new chemicals, seed industrialization, and ecological effects. It is probably the most difficult impact of measuring environmental impact.

Statistics at FAO

The R Project for Statistical Computing

I have attached the article and a statistical work from FAO.

Regards,

Ender Araujo.

You can use the theory of planned behaviour to measure the attitudes of consumers towards organic food by construction questions using the likert scale. 

Though it depends on your targeted objectives to attain; yet :-

RMA(Rapid market appraisal), PRA (participatory rural appraisal) and PDM (pictorial description methods) can help for descriptive analysis but agricultural marketing problems identification goes beyond the farmers like encompassing all the chains of supply or demand across the marketing system until the consumer household or firm. On such a cases it needs further investigation sometimes going to policy systematic review, time series analysis, multi variable regression, value chain and value addition set up, price stipulation so many forwards and backward retrieval analysis might be taken to consideration.

If your objective is related to arbitrage in the market may be consider the Error; VAR and other models. 

If only determinants to price or market benefits it good to consider GLM; GMM;TGMM; and other marketing margin and concentration ration are good to identify the competitiveness of the market to benefit farmers or suppliers.  

As per my views, Agri-start ups will have the following positive implications.

1. It will encourage more buying and selling within the rural boundary.

2. Contractual buying and contractual farming within the aegis of the the boundary will be there.

3. Farmers will be more confident and assured in selling their products.

4. It will encourage local rural economy.

5. If proper local rural economy is shaped than there will be less flow of people from rural to urban or rurban areas.

6. In overall it will provide boost to the local village economy by eradicating the problem of uncertainty in farmers as well as the rural economy.

                                  As the question is on the positive side , only the brighter side has being emphasized but I want to mention its not only the rosy side attached with the Agri-startups but at the same time some thorny issue may erupt in the long run.

We sometimes use an imputed cost for land, taking the interest on the cost of capital, if we had to buy the land.

In India we have different insurance plans. Life and non-life (crops/ iivestock) are not taken together. Humans have long life cycle whereas plants have short life cycle. Premiums also differ accordingly.

Happy to see a scientific discussion on the topic. As an example, a soil test indicating an EC of 8 dS m-1 with high pH. What could be base that correlates plant tolerances to various levels of salinity (ECs). So, how exactly does soil salt level influence plant survival and growth? Water is absorbed into plants because of a gradient that exists between the soil solution and the cell sap of the interior root cells (both passive and active systems are involved). As the concentration of neutral salts such as sodium chloride and sodium sulfate increases in the soil solution, its water potential becomes more negative, making water movement to the root cells more difficult. If the soil solution potential becomes negative enough, water may actually migrate out of the plant cells and into soil solution. There may be ample available soil moisture for plant growth; it ís just that the plant cannot extract it because of the strong negative potential. The effect is essentially the same as drought - the plant can not get enough water to maintain proper growth, or it takes so much plant energy extracting the water that growth suffers. The situation is exacerbated under water stress conditions, particularly on fine-textured soils where it takes more pull for the plant to remove water at a given soil moisture level. In addition to the osmotic effect, certain ions are directly toxic to plants. Also, ions such as Na can influence soil chemistry and biology to such a degree as to limit plant nutrient availability as previously described. Lastly, certain ions negatively influence soil structure and permeability characteristics, thereby retarding plant growth.

Dear Rana, these articles maybe useful http://www.fao.org/3/a-aq291e.pdf

To me, your question seems not straightforward to answer. But it made me think. I suggest you make the question more specific. I came up with the following preparatory steps - they may be useful and perhaps you have already done them:

1.       Define what in your research is understood to be a ‘positive social externality’ (in relation to truck farming)

2.       Define the criteria for selection of a positive social externality for measurement

3.       List all externalities that are or are suspected to comply with above points 1 and 2

4.       Order these according to their importance (and explain why they are more or less important)

5.       From this list, select the positive social externalities to be measured

6.       For each of these, establish its objectively verifiable indicator(s)

7.       For each indicator, design the way to measure it

Now, for each positive social externality (as listed under point 5) you could ask which would be the most useful indicator(s) and way(s) to measure (points 6 and 7)

While I know I didn't answer your question, I hope this is useful as an approach to get to it. Good luck!

Dear Dr. Victor, let me share common facts. In India area operated by small and marginal farmers has increased from about 19% to 44% and the average size of small holdings is 1.29 ha. Some of the interesting facts about small and marginal farmers are that multiple cropping index is higher for marginal and small farmers than that for medium and large farmers. The small and marginal farmers allocate larger proportion of their cultivated land to high value crops like fruits, and vegetables ; small and marginal farmers seem to have comparative advantage in growing vegetables than fruits because of quick returns in the former;  small and marginal farmers allocate larger proportion of rice and wheat than other farmers; small and marginal farmers allocate lower proportion of land to pulses and oil seeds. In terms of production, small and marginal farmers also make larger contribution to the production of high value crops. Small farmers contribute to both diversification and food security.  Some of common issues faced by small-marginal farmers are,  imperfect markets for inputs/product leading to smaller value realizations; absence of access to credit markets or imperfect credit markets leading to sub optimal investment decisions or input applications; poor human resource base; smaller access to suitable extension services restricting suitable decisions regarding cultivation practices and technological know-how; poorer access to ‘public goods’ such as public irrigation, command area development, electricity grids; greater negative externalities from poor quality land and water management. 

The question is quite generic (what is it exactly intended for "cheaper"?). However, we can identify two main reasons for higher costs of unprocessed food and cheaper costs of processed food respectively:

1. fresh (unprocessed) food products are for the most high perishable products, whose supply chain for comercialisation in urban markets is costly (transportation, storage, cold chain, high percentage of discards, etc.);

2. scale economies are easier to be set in the food processing industry than in the fresh food supply chains;

Dear Eteri,

your question is depend on which region you want developing sustainable agriculture and have you time for that (high density of population, hunger and so on, quick social development and changing of surrounding etc.). At U.S. Department of Agriculture and connected departments you can find a very good summary of it. About sustainable agriculture take place a lot conferences and workshops worldwide also 2016. This is the best way to share experiences and you can compare the conditions, under which the developments grow.

Literature: Altieri, Miguel A. (1995) Agroecology: The science of sustainable agriculture. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.

Best wishes

Michael Lersow

In short no, you can't really calculate the mean of a categorical variable. Sure you could assign a single value for each of the  intervals but how to do that well especially for the first and last interval is not really trivial and it will require knowledge about the actual research question. However  if you are comparing groups there are methods to use for comparing a categorical variable like this (non-parametric tests) 

For the variable like it is now you can say what the median answer is like "the median willingness to pay was $1-$3 dollar" I think the question you should ask yourself is "do I need the average, and why do I need it" most likely you do not actually need it.

Your study will be more useful if you can also look at impact of small holders farming systems on social  and cultural sub processes. As nature of impact on on social and cultural sub systems will determine behavior pattern of small holders which then will influence their actions and actions will then influence  ecological sustainability.

Dear Isa,

DNA is certainly the most accurate one, provided it could be accessible in a non invasive way.

Best,

Laurent

Please fill in the survey - link:

Congrat Kiran Rs. I will suggest that you organize a workshop involving stakeholders in each district or region to explain the innovation and how it will benefit them especially, farmers. Then you can show or teach them how it work and tell them you have a special discount for participants and you may sell some at the workshop but they will also communicate it to those who couldn't attend and this is the platform for first awareness creation, then you can advertise it on the local radio if possible to create repetition and as a reminder.

CSA is farmer-based or cooperative based that gas good link with community level small agricultural companies (SACs). A vibrant CSA and credible SAC can be mutually benefited from each other. Timely delivery of available inputs at fair price helps farmers. On the other hand guaranteed selling opportunity of adequate products maximize benefits of companies. Contract system is more sustainable in that case that highly depends on fidelity on both parts.

I'd say it depends if your objective is trade analysis or macroeconomics (balance of payments).

 The ratio (X+M)/GDP is often presented as a trade openness indicator, which is wrong from a trade policy perspective. This indicator is actually derived from the macroeconomics of small open economies and describes the relative importance of external shocks (id est, the gap between actual macroeconomics and the old textbook case of a closed economy).

 It is not a good indicator of trade policy: Economic size (GDP) is more important in defining its value than trade policy (an economy with low tariffs like the USA will have a lower ratio than a high tariff small economy).

 (X-M)/GDP is also a macro indicator, derived from the demand side GDP identity:

GDP = I + C + X - M

 From a macro perspective, this trade deficit is part of the current account deficit and it is important to know how it is financed and it is transitory or structural. Because of balance of payments identity, any inflow of capital, not compensated by an increase in international reserves, will have to be balanced by a current account deficit. If the additional imports correspond to investment goods, the deficit is expected to be followed by increased exports. If the additional capital is used to finance the import of consumption goods, well, here you may have an issue is the hard currency flows are volatile. Note that many poor developing countries receive expatriated workers remittances that are used to sustain household consumption and imports of consumer goods. A policy issue is to divert some of these remittances to finance productive investment instead of consumption, but it is easier said than done and should be put into perspective as increasing access to food, housing and health remain priorities for poor households.

 M/X (import coverage by exports) can be interesting for sectoral studies, in particular linked to food security. I would not use it for trade analysis, as countries tend to specialize on some production according to their comparative/competitive advantages and import products for which they are not competitive. And contemporaneous trade theory (the new "new" trade theory) puts a lot of emphasis on trade in varieties: countries with different comparative advantages may nevertheless trade similar products, but with different characteristics (e.g., France will export small cars to Germany and import luxury berlins: the net trade may appear balanced but industrial specialization is different).

 Worst; trade along global value chains indicates that, to be able to export, you need to import. So a low M/X may signal a poor integration into the global economy.

So, the final answer is that "it depends". Cheers.

Hubert

cold stress during seedings

Dear discussants,

The processing industry of major commodities such as wheat, corn, rice etc. is not able to stimulate the development of the area used unless it receives supplies locally. On the world market of large commodities any one industry is a drop in the sea, and it has little or no influence.

The situation is different if you are experiencing waves of optimism and pessimism in all industries that work the same product. Then these may increase or decrease the demand and simultaneously create an impact on prices in the sense of increase or decrease, respectively.

The increase or decrease in prices gives signals to farmers to cultivate respectively more or less of those commodities with an impact of the cultivated land.

In the recent past a great impetus was given to energy crops like corn as fuel or as iatropha.

Greetings

Ting Fa Marg

Dear Ángeles Pereira,

I refer you to the publications and files hope could help you.

Regards

Peyman

A smallholder model in mathematical programming is usually a deterministic  LP model with the models’ parameters fixed for the duration of the planning horizon, which is a single year.  

It is commonly assumed that two objectives guide smallholders’ decision-making: food production and net income. These two objectives are included in the LP model in various ways and given different weight. This depend on  the main research question of the specific study. 

For example: The food-security objective can be modeled as a constraint. Household behaviour is then governed by a safety-first rule that compels households to produce a minimum amount of staple foods. It is assumed that, having met the first objective, the household maximizes net income from crop production activities.  Thus a constraint is used to “force” the household to produce enough staple food to feed itself before other crop activities can be selected to maximize the net value of production.

Crop activities are divided into monthly periods to reflect the seasonality of crop production and labor requirements.

In addition, resource allocation decisions are subject to seasonal labor constraints and household decisions depend on the level of available technology, the amount of available cash and land, and the availability of input and output markets (i.e., timeliness of delivery).

For a literature overview of modelling approaches see: http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/CCAFS/ilri_household_modeling_review_final.pdf

this article may helps you (in french):

there could be several reasons attributing to this:

first, they may be adopting herd behavior, where a decision by a few farmers is followed blindly by the rest

secondly, they may not have the capacity to adopt or pay for the services of well known risk management techniques

My name is wassie Haile, assistant professor in soil science, with sufficient backround and expertise in various fields of agriculture.

Before discussing which option: agricultural extensification or intensification is best for farmers, first we have to agree on the meaning or definitions of  these terms. 

As far as I am concerned by agricultural extensification means increasing agricultural productivity and production through expansion of agricultual land or simple more and more areas should be broght under cultivation to increase productivity. On the other hand by agricultural intensification mean increasing agricultural producivity per unit area than that normally be obtained. In the later case we definitely need to use more technologies, more imputs, knowldge and skill to achieved increased productivity per unit area. And agricultural intensification is the only vialble option for increasing agricultul producivity especially in in Africa as the option for expansion of agriculural alnd is no more possible. However, with intensification appraoch, every care must be employed to avoid the negative effects of high inputs on the sustainability of the land.

The internal rate of return (IRR) is a measure of profitability much contested. The values it provides are always overestimated. The use of the modified internal rate of return (MIRR) shows more reliable results.

At a very general level, agricultural cooperatives consider working capital relative to sales.  On average an agricultural cooperatives needs working capital equal to 1.5% of grain sales and 2.5% of farm supply (fuel, fertilizer, etc) sales.  That would obviously not reflect the seasonal cycle. 

In developing monthly budgets we calculate the historic  relationships between accounts receivable,accounts payable and inventory as a ratio with farm supply sales.  That allows us to forecast the monthly inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable as a function of the projected monthly sales.  On that basis you can get a pretty good monthly forecast of working capital needed.

Hi all,

This is a very general question, and does not specify what kind of TAX we are referring to. That's why I asked what kind of TAX we are talking about: Direct or Indirect.

Most Constitutions and Tax Laws identify these taxes and I will cite a Public Finance lecturer: "Traditionally taxes have been classified between Direct and Indirect. Direct taxes are those those that tax immediate expressions of taxable capacity: net profit or Net equity. On the other hand, Indirect Taxes, tax mediate expressions of taxable capacity, such as consumption...It was thought that the defining criteria consisted in the transfer of the tax: direct taxes would be those that cannot be transferred,  while indirect taxes can be transferred. This is not necessarily true" (Public Finances, Nunez Minana, pages162-163)

This same idea can be read in Musgrave & Musgrave, Public Theory and Practice and in Due & Friedlander, Government Finance-Economics of the Public Sector.

Laffer Curve explains why the base tax rate and the final tax rate are important, locating the tax increase/decrease on a specific point/section on the curve.

It's not the same a TAX over families and firms, over inputs (factors) or products, or over buyers and sellers. The economic effect will differ. The TAX specification is important to forecast its economic impact on social welfare and profit.

Regarding tariffs, they may be imposed on IMPORTS or EXPORTS, not solely on IMPORTS; the economic effects being different.

Quotas are quantitative restrictions on Imports or exports, and represent an absolute variable, not a proportional variable as a RATE. QUOTAS are not TAXES.

Regarding the INCOME TAX, Due & Friedlander state that "traditionally economists said that a tax over a net profit could not be transferred forward and that's why this should decrease the income of the firms' owners. This conclusion is ONLY valid under conditions of PERFECT COMPETITION in the product markets...This is not valid in cases of Imperfect Competition, and the Income Tax over commercial firms will be transferred forward" (Chapter 13 of the Spanish Edition)

Most Lecturers in TAXATION and PUBLIC FINANCES would say that empirical studies regarding tax transfers are not conclusive, and that apparently most taxes are transferred forward in the long run.

And I would again say: "IF THIS is the CASE", in the "long run" the profit rate or margin would not suffer any variation, no matter which kind of TAX we are talking about.

This has been a very general answer, to a very general question with the only intention of CLARIFYING this issue.

Yes, you can develop an agribusiness model for rice and what i am very familiar with and also very accurate is the use of the Bayesian Belief network Model.  You can read the attached material to know more about how to use the BBN.

Regards,

Banson

Not much, as it is very difficult to bring the farmers together and make them work as a group. It requires a lot of capacity building and training initially to form a group of like minded farmers. Even after the groups are formed, they require a prolonged period of hand holding support by the agency promoting the group. Unfortunately, there are not many sincere and qualified agencies working in this area on a long term basis. Having said that there are of course some good examples here and there, but up-scaling the concept would require a sound public policy and support on a long term basis, because group approach to farming is the need of the hour in countries like India, where average size of land holding is going down sharply.

Jean Pierre Paul

3 minutes ago

Dr Umachandran,

There are loads of marketing tools available. What is important for the grower is to adopt the one which is more suitable to his production unit or style or else to adopt his production to the market demand. For example the sophistication of produce packaging which is defined by the market or outlet.

Product certification has a strong impact on marketing of agricultural produce consumers want to have guaranteed produce. Unfortunately this is seldom accessible to small growers. The latter should consider regrouping themselves into cooperatives that are regulated by authority where production standards are set out at an early stage (as it is for contracted services by multinationals) for the growers with regular stewardship and audits, the two limiting or weaknesses in most small farms production.

Thank you Rohitha for your response. We appreciate your perspective regarding cultural and language differences. An important focus of the project is to ensure a standardized global food safety curriculum will meet the local needs of different stakeholders. This will include having a regional component in the programming which would address specific issues unique to that area.

We are very interested in hearing more from you. Please consider taking one of our surveys to provide us with additional insight.

Best

Susanna Rosebush

For high value added agricultural products, with high input prices, I do not see large margins to increase competitiveness. However, competitiveness is the aility to be competitive in the market.

I would suggest to focus the attention on the marketing. Let me explain better.

If the product is high value added, it should contain characteristics that the consumer would appreciate, or at least that would be apprecated by a niche of concumers.

A strategy of input costs reduction seems not feasible (as you said input prices are high), neither reducing the final price of the product (I assume that you alreay sell at the lowest possibile price to be in the market). In this framework, strategic marketing may make the ifference and increase competitiveness.

Let the consumers know why these proucts are high value added, why are different, why they can satisfy their needs. You will gain market shares and increase your competitiveness.

One of the best mathematical software for optimization is GAMS platform which uses so many solvers to get the optimal answer. I recommend you trying it but read some of its template examples first.

Meanwhile, using the 'min(q,d)' means both q and d are parameter and not variable! Can you explain your problem more?

Regards,

Morteza

Within the ERA-Net project ICT-Agri a Strategic Research Agenda has recently been coordinated/elaborated: http://db-ictagri.eu/ict-agri/content/SRA.php . This Agenda shows important fields with research needs in the ICT in agriculture (including robotics) research area. It was elaborated with the participation of an expert panel covering a range of disciplines.

What does a dairy cows greenhouse gas emissions really have to do with a draught animal power? Seldom are in-production dairy cows ever used for draught purposes. A young neutered male cow being raised for meat is the norm if we are talking about cattle. Horses or ponies are not ruminants and the equasion wouldn't work, they produce less greenhouse gas than the ruminant. They are also seldom used for feeding people in most parts of the world. Goats can be used for their draught power and produce less gas and their feces break down faster then cattle.

What kind of draught animal?

See http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/ghgemissions/US-GHG-Inventory-2012-Chapter-6-Agriculture.pdf