This paper investigates the impacts of non-traditional exports on household outcomes in rural Zambia. Traditionally, Zambia has been an exporter of copper and only recently has the increase in agricultural exports been observed. Potential products include cotton, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, food processing, and textiles. International markets for these nontraditional exports have generated new opportunities for vulnerable and poor households. While the current literature focuses more on the income dimension of adjustment, in this paper we explore non-monetary outcomes as well. Concretely, we study the impacts of export opportunities on income, child health and education in rural households. We find positive income differentials of households involved in market agriculture over subsistence agriculture. While we find that children living in households involved in cotton tend to show better longrun anthropometric outcomes, no systematic differences are observed in households engaged in other agricultural activities. Finally, we find that households in market agriculture tend to educate their children more than households in subsistence. There is some evidence that boys are benefited more than girls.

Technical regulations are a form of non-tariff barrier that is becoming increasingly visible in agricultural trade disputes. A distinguishing feature of technical barriers is their legitimate use by governments to protect consumers' health, recognize citizen preferences in packaging and labeling, and protect the environment from the establishment of non-indigenous pests and diseases. When legitimate externalities or other market failures are addressed technical barriers have the potential to increase national welfare, even without consideration of terms-of-trade effects. Governments may also impose technical barriers to isolate domestic producers from international competition. In these cases under the small-country assumptions, technical barriers are welfare decreasing policies. Despite GATT rules designed to limit the misuse of technical barriers, continued disputes indicate that this type of regulatory measure can not always be justified on the basis of unambiguous scientific evidence and suggests that governments may still widely apply technical barriers of questionable merit. Political economy is one paradigm that explains government intervention in markets, even when the result is a loss in net welfare. The 1996 USDA Survey of Technical Barriers to U.S. Agricultural Exports provides a systematic source of primary data on technical measures which caused actual or projected export revenue losses to U.S. firms in 1996 and which might be subject to challenge under the Uruguay Round Agreements. Although no questionable technical barriers to 1996 U.S. agricultural exports were reported for 71 countries included in the Survey, there were a total of 302 barriers identified among 63 countries. The estimated trade impact of the barriers reported was $4.9 billion, or approximately seven percent of the total value of 1996 U.S. agricultural exports. Two sets of empirical models are estimated to identify the political economy determinants of questionable technical barriers as they are applied to U.S. agricultural exports. The incidence of questionable technical barriers is measured by the presence or absence of such barriers by country. The impact of questionable technical barriers is measured by the reported estimated trade impact as a percentage of 1996 U.S. agricultural exports to that country. Results indicate that, despite strengthened GATT disciplines, political economy considerations continue to influence the incidence and impact of technical barriers in international agricultural markets. / Ph. D.

Since the 1970s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been promoted as an alternative to the singular reliance on pesticides to control agricultural pests. IPM involves the combination of chemical and non-chemical pest management practices to minimize pest damage to crops and reduce overall pesticide use. Although IPM has been promoted in both industrialized and Third World countries to reduce environmental and human health problems associated with pesticide use, it has not been widely adopted, particularly among small-scale farmers in the Third World. An important technical constraint to the adoption of IPM is the lack of simple, effective IPM techniques that farmers can easily incorporate into their existing farming systems. However, numerous non-technical constraints discourage farmers from adopting those IPM practices that have already been shown to be effective. Non-technical constraints to the adoption of IPM are the external political-economic forces and location-specific environmental, social and economic factors that may create obstacles to the adoption of IPM practices at the farm level. This thesis will use a political ecology approach to identify and examine the non-technical constraints to the adoption of IPM in the community of Denbigh Kraal in Jamaica. / Master of Science

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aims to analyze trade flows of the main products of the agricultural sector (soybean, tobacco and meat) exported by the Southern Region of Brazil, its main market destinations (Argentina, China, United States and European Union), through a gravity model for estimation of panel data, with the approach of ordinary least squares (OLS - pooled) in the period 2000-2012. Finally, the estimation of the gravity model results showed that the estimates follow the seminal works of economic literature, demonstrating that the flows of the agricultural sector of the Southern Region suffer negative influence of the distance between countries and, on the other hand, positively, in relation to mass population and the real exchange rate on trade flows between countries/regions considered in the analysis period. / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os fluxos de comércio dos principais produtos do setor agropecuário (soja, fumo e carnes) exportados pela Região Sul do Brasil, a seus principais mercado de destinos (Argentina, China, Estados Unidos e União Europeia), através de um modelo gravitacional, por estimação de dados em painel, com a abordagem de mínimos quadrados ordinários (MQO pooled), no período de 2000 a 2012. Enfim, a estimação do modelo gravitacional apresentou resultados, que seguem as estimativas dos trabalhos seminais da literatura econômica, onde se demonstra que os fluxos do setor agropecuário da Região Sul sofrem influência negativa da distância entre os países e, por outro lado, positivamente, em relação à massa populacional e a taxa de câmbio real sobre os fluxos comerciais entre os países/regiões consideradas, no período analisado.

The current research considers the capacity of a local organic food system for producer and consumer empowerment and sustainable development outcomes in western Guatemala. Many have argued that the forging of local agricultural networks linking farmers, consumers, and supporting institutions is an effective tool for challenging the negative economic, environmental, and sociopolitical impacts associated with industrial models of global food production. But does this work in the context of agrarian development in the developing world? Despite the fact that there is extensive literature concerning local food system formation in the global north, there remains a paucity of research covering how the principles of local food systems are being integrated into agricultural development projects in developing countries. My work critically examines claims to agricultural sustainability and actor empowerment in a local organic food system built around non-traditional agricultural crops in western Guatemala. Employing a mixed methods research design involving twenty months of participant observation, in-depth interviewing, surveying, and a self-administered questionnaire, the project evaluates the sustainability of this NGO-led development initiative and local food movement along several dimensions. Focusing on the unique economic and social networks of actors and institutions at each stage of the commodity chain, this research shows how the growth of an alternative food system continues to be shaped by context specific processes, politics, and structures of conventional food systems. Further, it shows how the specifics of context also produce new relationships of cooperation and power in the development process. Results indicate that structures surrounding agrarian development in the Guatemalan context give rise to a hybrid form of development that at the same time contests and reinforces conventional models of food production and consumption. Therefore, participation entails a host of compromises and tradeoffs that result in mixed successes and setbacks, as actors attempt to refashion conventional commodity chains through local food system formation.

Thesis (MA. Agricultural Management (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The role of agricultural exports to agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Africa is of extreme importance and exhibits strong interest from all parts of the economy. Many believe that agriculture can salvage the declining economic growth under such global economic conditions. The decision to diversify and expand exports of these avocados, apples, mangoes and oranges will improve the South African economy’s unstable conditions. This study accounts for all the factors that are truly unique to South African’s economy. Therefore, the study will help to shift the focus of avocado, apple, mango and orange growers to export more due to the international market demand for such produce. The aim of the study was to analyse the link between avocado, apple, mango and orange exports and agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product in South Africa. The specific objectives are to determine the correlation between avocado, apple, mango and orange exports and the agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product in South Africa, investigate the contribution of avocado, apple, mango and orange exports and the agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product in South Africa, determine the growth rate (trends) of avocado, apple, mango and orange exports and determine the volatility of avocado, apple, mango and orange exports. The study used secondary time series data that covered a sample size of 17 years (1994 - 2011) of avocado, apple, mango and orange exports in South Africa. Two Stages Least Square models and Growth rate and Volatility models were used for data analysis. i Empirical results for agricultural exports equation revealed that agricultural economic growth in South Africa was significant with a positive coefficient. While a negative relationship between the Net Factor Income (NFI) and the agricultural exports in South Africa was noticed. Real Capital Investments had a significant positive coefficient. Consequently, results from agricultural economic growth equation revealed that agricultural exports were significant with a positive correlation. A relationship between NFI and agricultural GDP was also witnessed. Like other variables, Real Capital Investment was significant but negatively correlated. The results of growth rate and volatility models showed positive trends. Furthermore, results showed that the quantity of agricultural exports was positively related to agricultural economic growth. Another point of interest was that while these exports were positive and significantly related, the magnitude of its coefficient is smaller than the coefficients of Real Capital Investments. It is in this framework that the positive correlation exists between agriculture economic growth and agricultural exports. It is recommended that investment opportunities in the agricultural sector need to be investigated further because there is limited knowledge of the subject. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery and the private sector need to join hands and build a mutual relationship to aid develop an agricultural economy which can be able to exports more than what it imports. This can also be done by subsidising farmers with capital to relieve them of other expenses.

Desde fines de los años 2000 se ha hecho más agudo el problema de la escasez de agua en la cuenca del río Ica. Los factores que causan esta situación son el fuerte crecimiento agroexportador, el crecimiento poblacional y los efectos del cambio climático. Asimismo, la política pública desde los años 90 ha promovido la inversión privada y la agro-exportación en la costa peruana; y es responsable en parte de la escasez de agua en Ica y deterioro de los acuíferos. Sin embargo, dado el problema, la capacidad de Estado para enfrentar la emergencia hídrica está relativamente neutralizada dentro de las relaciones de poder existentes en Ica; y presenta debilidad incluso para el cumplimiento de sus propias disposiciones como es el caso de la restricción a perforar nuevos pozos de agua a fin de garantizar la sostenibilidad de los acuíferos.