Thesis (M.A. in agricultural economics)--Washington State University. / Includes bibliographical references.

The Japanese vegetable market is characterized by a general tendency towards the concentration of production by region. Amongst all vegetables, potato production has the highest level of concentration. Eighty-six percent of the total market quantity is accounted for by Hokkaido, the largest production prefecture amongst the 47 prefectures in Japan. The Herfindahl Index for prefectures in the Japanese potato market was 0.74 in 1994, indicating that the fewness of producers was equivalent to a market where total output was shared equally by only 1.35 producers. Under this highly concentrated situation, existence of monopolistic power, or more generally, oligopolistic power, of the large scale producers can be suspected. / In this thesis, the level of competition in the Japanese Potato market was evaluated employing conjectural variations analysis based on a monthly data for 1989 to 1995 to reveal the nature of the market. Four wholesale markets, in four large consumption areas, and eight production areas in differ ent geographical locations in were analyzed. / The conclusion from the results of the empirical analysis is that, despite the high level of concentration in production, all producing regions including the dominant producer, Hokkaido, seem to have behaved competitively. / One implication for the competitive behavior of these large producers is the imperative to maintain their share in the market against potential competitors, resulting in price setting close to the marginal cost.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Clark University, 1987. / Typewritten manuscript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 351-370).

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Poor quality seed is the major constraint limiting both the productivity of potato crops and the expansion of the potato industry in Vietnam. Despite numerous attempts to establish a certified seed system, the most practical solution is to import clean foundation seed of the desired variety and physiological age. With imports from Europe and North America proving to be immature and too expensive, Western Australia (WA) has emerged as a potential source of high quality seed. While seed imports from WA are unique in that the varieties imported have been selected by researchers in Vietnam as being suited to the agro-ecological environment in the Red River Delta (RRD), no assessment of the economic benefits to smallholder potato farmers from the use of WA potato seed has been undertaken. In 2006/08, the yield and profitability of three potato varieties Eben, KT3 and Atlantic in two locations were compared where the crops had been derived from new seed imported from WA (VN0), seed derived from crops cultivated in the RRD after one generation (VN1) and two generations (VN2). There was a significant difference in the yield produced between the three different seed sources but not between the locations. For all varieties, and in both years, the yield decreased with the number of multiplications in Vietnam. Furthermore, the marketable yield declined significantly from the first crop (VN0) to the third crop (VN2). The decline in yield and tuber quality with each successive generation was associated with an increase in PVY and PVX infection. Not unexpectedly, differences in yield and marketable yield between the seed generations had a significant impact on the gross income for each variety. / VN0 seed of all varieties produced the highest gross income (VND 2.4 to 4.1 M/sao) compared to VN1 (VND 1.9 to 3.1 M/sao) which was significantly higher than VN2 (VND 1.4 to 2.4 M/sao). However, while high quality seed is more productive, it is also more expensive. As a result, significant differences were observed between the seed costs. VN0 seed was almost two times more expensive (VND 10,500 – 11,000 per kg) than VN1 and VN2 seed (VND 6,000 – 6,500 per kg). Despite the higher costs, VN0 seed provided the highest net incomes compared to VN1 which was significantly higher than VN2. Farmers who retained seed received a higher net income (VND 0.13 – 0.6 M/sao) than those who did not retain seed. Ways to improve the accessibility of affordable, high quality potato seed to farmers in the RRD are discussed.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

The introduction of democracy in country of post-Apartheid South Africa precipitated both economic and social changes. These changes have led to the liberalisation of the economy and the movement of the agricultural sector from being highly regulated to a market-based sector. Consequently, the country‟s economy has become exposed to global uncertainties. These changes brought about the need for role players to understand the dynamics of the agricultural sector in order to forecast possible future trends and assess their impact on agricultural production and consumption. Projecting economic and environmental uncertainties in agriculture is essential to make informed decisions and sustain agribusinesses.</li> In an attempt to combat the challenges and to understand the dynamics mentioned above, a system of equations with the ability to simulate the dynamic interaction between production and consumption at a regional level for South African potato producers, policy makers and wholesalers, is developed in this study. Existing methodology on partial equilibrium modelling is applied to develop a tool that can be used to analyse the potential impact of relative environmental shifts on the South African potato industry. Individual equations, which are | vi collapsed into a single system of equations, are estimated by means of Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The specific objectives of this study are as follows: <ul> <li> To estimate the potato area planted, yield and consumption of various categories of potatoes, in order to determine the price elasticity of demand and elasticity of supply.</li> <li> To develop a system of equations that will be used to generate baseline projections of demand and supply in the industry.</li> <li> To undertake impact analysis of various scenarios over the period 2011 to 2015. Although the model developed is mainly South African focusing on regional production and national consumption, the dissertation will recommend the possibility of future studies that use this study as a springboard for further research. These recommended studies include the linking of other models to improve and simulate relations between the potato sector and other sectors, thereby emulating the actual economy.</li> <li> One such requirement is to connect the vegetable and potato industries, a move which agricultural sector experts believe will benefit the outcomes of the potato industry.</li></ul> Consumption is estimated at national level, and is conducted according to the use of informal fresh and formal fresh potatoes for processing and seed potatoes. It is advisable for future research and study to estimate and project production and consumption at regional level. The baseline projection will be developed, and then the study will further undertake several scenarios which will lead to various possible future outcomes, discusses and document the response. Eventually, the model shows possible relationships, uncertainties and interactions between potato productions, consumption and prices. And that the domestic price, quantity demanded, the supply and the net exports actually determine the South African market equilibrium price and the decision to export in the South African potato industry. This is also called the near autarky situation. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The purpose of this thesis is to design a computer model which compares three sprinkler irrigation systems---portable pipe with volume gun, traveller with volume gun and towable/non-towable centre pivot---for potato production. The model user is required to enter a set of basic data: crop and field conditions, irrigation technical parameters and basic economic data, following which the model establishes the preliminary irrigation system and a comparative investment analysis. The model was applied and tested on a potato farm situated in Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix (southwestern Quebec). Based on a 14-year climatic analysis, supplemental irrigation for a normal rainfall growing period (368 mm) was estimated at 250 mm. The application of the model indicates that for a normal rainfall period with an assumed yield increase of 25% over non-irrigated production, all three systems provide net profits (increases of 11% to 50%). However, when determining the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on a 10-year period, the maximum rate attained by the more profitable systems---portable pipe and non-towable centre pivot (both with an electric pump)---was 14%, a rate inferior to the IRR for non-irrigated production (17%). The Net Present Value (NPV) analysis for the two most profitable irrigation systems provided a slightly higher NPV value for irrigated than for non-irrigated production ($10,942---irrigated vs $10,522---non-irrigated production). The payback period for those two irrigation systems was 7 years. Greater gains of irrigated over non-irrigated yields would be expected for a dry period because of low and unpredictable yields in non-irrigated conditions. A farmer planning to invest in an irrigation system must carefully investigate all technical and socio-economic aspects. The model presented gives the farmer a useful tool with which to do this.

This study relates market reforms to agricultural trade performance, in particular the export performance of South Africa’s potato industry. The market reform considered here is the deregulation of South Africa’s potato market. Changes in producer prices and volumes of exports and imports are the most important outflows of deregulation that the study focuses upon. In the first part, this study provides an overview of deregulation in the potato industry. The objective of this study is to analyse the impact of deregulation on the competitiveness and the level of integration of the South African potato industry in relation to potato markets in the SADC region. Competitiveness is perhaps the most fundamental idea in economics. Agricultural industries often fight to protect or increase their market share both domestically and internationally. The method used here to measure competitiveness is the Revealed Trade Advantage (RTA), a measure based on the share of a country’s net trade in a specific commodity relative to its total international trade. The impacts are investigated individually for the three sub-categories of potatoes: fresh/table, processed and seed. Comparisons are made between South Africa and selected countries in the Southern African region. Basic trend analysis illustrates that domestic potato production has increased significantly over the past decade. Exports as a percentage share of production have increased consistently from the late nineties to reach 8% of domestic production by 2003. However, from 2004 onwards exports have decreased as the domestic informal market for fresh potatoes expanded at a tremendous pace. The results of the Real Trade Advantage (RTA) analysis reveal that South Africa’s potato (fresh) exports are the most competitive in the SADC region. Yet, the competitiveness of the potato supply chain in South Africa was found to be marginal as far as regional competitiveness is concerned. Thus, the potato supply chain exhibits a negative trend in competitiveness when moving from the primary to the processed product. Another approach to gain a better understanding of the possible impact of deregulation on agricultural markets is to analyse the extent to which domestic commodity markets respond to changes in international prices. Hence, the level of price transmission between local and foreign markets can be analysed. The analysis consists of a set of econometric applications. Annual producer prices of various trading nations are analyzed by testing mostly for the existence of long run equilibrium between the price series of the various nations and the dynamics of the relation between the prices and their causality. The results of the price transmission analyses show that the South African potato market is not well integrated with other regional potato markets, despite some trade occurring. This can partly be explained by the fact that over the past decade on average only 6 percent of all potatoes in the local market were exported into the region. Further more one has to take the tradability of the good into consideration when analysing the level of price transmission and, therefore, the level of integration of markets, In other words; can the good be traded or not? Potatoes (fresh) are perishable and bulky and therefore not easy to transport. Export trade in fresh potatoes involves high transport and transaction costs which complicate the process of price transmission across markets. Even in the exceptional cases (Mozambique and Mauritius) where market integration was detected, price transmission was found to occur from South Africa to these countries and not vice versa. Hence, from the empirical evidence of this study it seems as if domestic prices are determined by domestic supply and demand dynamics and regional exports do not influence the formation of prices in the domestic market. Although the liberalization of the South African potato market has led to the lowering of tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers, only weak evidence was found that there is some level of market integration between South Africa and its main trading partners in the SADC region. Copyright / Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Spatial shifts and structural changes continue to occur in the United States agricultural industry. Researchers have documented that the potato industry has changed in response to demands of consumers, expectations of producers and improvements in research and development. The aim of this study was to provide empirical evidence that both institutional and infrastructural factors are important to potato production in North Dakota. Using secondary county-level potato production data for North Dakota, an empirical model was designed to estimate the direction and impact of growers' expectations of prices, yields and costs on their decision to produce potatoes. The results confirmed that institutional relationships established between growers and processors, as well as the infrastructure that growers have in place from one growing season to the next, are statistically significant in determining the total number of potato acres planted.