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In 1958, China under Mao Zedong embarked on a nationwide political project to increase agricultural productivity by collectivizing small farms across the country and forcing them to share agricultural tools. [...]

The explanation and assessments to the arguments presented by Mark Tauger in response to the series of arguments and evaluations made by Davies and Wheatcroft in The Years of Hunger: Soviet Agriculture, 1931-33 (2004) and other articles of Wheatcroft are presented.

The effect of the location of dams on the trends of agricultural productivity and income distribution in India is described.

The role of transgenic crops in improving agricultural productivity and diversity in underdeveloped countries is discussed.

Implications of land conflicts of Uganda on agricultural productivity are examined. Influence of land reforms laws on frequency of conflicts is also analyzed.

Large-scale industrial production dominates the rural communities shifts in US agriculture. Data of agriculture-dependent counties in the US indicates that counties in the states with laws that limit nonfamily corporate entry into farming score higher on welfare indicators, and the laws mitigate negative impacts on rural communities from industrial farming.

Byline: Catherine Paul (1), Richard Nehring (2), David Banker (2), Agapi Somwaru (2) Abstract: The structural transformation of agriculture in recent decades has raised serious concerns about the future of the family farm. This study examines the economic performance of U.S. farms, to explore the potential of smaller farms to compete with larger entities, and ultimately to survive in this rapidly changing environment. We use deterministic and stochastic frontier methods and survey data to measure and evaluate factors underlying scale economies (SEC) and efficiency (SEF) of corn-belt farms for 1996--2001. Our results suggest that family farms are both scale and technically inefficient. Potential for the exploitation of significant scale and scope economies, and some greater technical efficiency, seem to be driving trends toward increased farm size and dwindling competitiveness of the small family farm. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Member of the Giannini Foundation, University of California, U.S.A (2) Natural Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, DC, U.S.A Article History: Registration Date: 30/12/2004

Byline: Timo Kuosmanen (1), Thierry Post (2), Timo Sipilainen (3) Keywords: index numbers and aggregation; total factor productivity (TFP); Fisher ideal index; Malmquist index; data envelopment analysis; shadow prices Abstract: This paper explores an intermediate route between the Fisher and the Malmquist productivity indexes so as to minimize data requirements and assumptions about economic behavior of production units and their production technology. Assuming quantity data of inputs and outputs and the behavioral hypothesis of allocative efficiency, we calculate the exact value of the Fisher ideal productivity index using implicit shadow prices revealed by the choice of input--output mix. The approach is operationalized by means of a nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. Empirical application to Finnish grass silage farms suggests that the Malmquist and the Fisher productivity indices yield similar results when averaged over firms, but there can be major differences in the results of the two approaches at the level of individual firms. Author Affiliation: (1) Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN, Wageningen, The Netherlands (2) Tinbergen Institute and Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (3) Agrifood Research Finland, MTT Economic Research, Luutnantintie 13, 00410, Helsinki, Finland Article History: Registration Date: 18/10/2004

Byline: L. A. Kurkalova (1), A. Carriquiry (2) Keywords: stochastic production frontier; Bayesian estimation; input efficiency; transition agriculture Abstract: We propose estimation of a stochastic production frontier model within a Bayesian framework to obtain the posterior distribution of single-input-oriented technical efficiency at the firm level. All computations are carried out using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The approach is illustrated by applying it to production data obtained from a survey of Ukrainian collective farms. We show that looking at the changes in single-input-oriented technical efficiency in addition to the changes in output-oriented technical efficiency improves the understanding of the dynamics of technical efficiency over the first years of transition in the former Soviet Union. Author Affiliation: (1) Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, t560A Heady Hall, Ames, IA, 50011-1070 (2) Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, 222 Snedecor, Ames, IA, 50011-1210 Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

Byline: V. Eldon Ball (1), Jean-Christophe Bureau (2), Jean-Pierre Butault (2), Richard Nehring (1) Keywords: Agricultural productivity; multilateral comparisons; production accounts; purchasing power parities Abstract: This articlefocuses on the relative levels of farm sector productivity forthe United States and nine European countries for the period1973 to 1993. At the beginning of the period, Belgium had thehighest level of productivity relative to the United States at1.689. Ireland had the lowest relative productivity at 0.759.By 1993, the range of levels of productivity had narrowed significantly,from 0.709 for Ireland to 1.392 forthe Netherlands. Further evidence of convergence can be seenin the coefficient of variation, which fell steadily from 0.261in 1973 to 0.227 in 1993. Results based on regressionanalysis show a highly significant inverse relation between therate of productivity convergence and the initial level of productivity,consistent with the ``catch-up'' hypothesis. The results generallysupport the existence of a positive interaction between capitalaccumulation and productivity growth, suggesting embodiment. Author Affiliation: (1) U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1800M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036-5831, USA (2) UMR INRA-INAGP Economie Publique BP1, 78850, Grignon, France Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

'The Future of Meat' (Issues, Fall 2013) explores the intersection of food, resources, and an emerging technology with the potential to completely transform our society and economy. The authors appropriately [...]

Byline: Munisamy Gopinath (1), Terry L. Roe (2) Keywords: growth; USagriculture; externalities; spill-overs; public R and D Abstract: Growth in U.S. agriculture is linked to the non-farm economy through domestic terms of trade and factor market adjustments. With almost stable input growth, the relatively large contributions from growth in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) are passed on to intermediate and final consumers in the form of declining real prices for primary farm products. The resulting net growth in the real value of farm output (GDP) is relatively low (0.25% per annum). The decomposition of TFP suggests that public agricultural stock of knowledge and infrastructure are 'robustly' associated with TFP growth, while spill-overs from private agricultural and economy wide research and development (R and D) are positive but, relatively small. Author Affiliation: (1) Dept of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331 (2) Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108 Article History: Registration Date: 29/09/2004

Agricultural production must continue to grow to meet the needs of the future population. It is necessary to create policies that focus on promoting sustained agricultural growth and managing food demand. These policies should also promote population control. People should also be encouraged to have low-fat diets to improve health and lower the need for more agricultural production. The increase in food demand can also be limited by minimizing food waste during harvesting and marketing. Furthermore, there is a need for more research on genetic plant stock.

FAO's main policy document is full of contradictions, half-truths and fallacies. Most importantly, it concentrates on increasing world food production without adequately addressing how to make food available to those who need it. The document basically calls for a continuation of 'business as usual' -- the continuation of its promotion of unsuitable modern farming technologies, the conversion of tropical forests to farmland, the spread of hugely expensive irrigation schemes, and the export of the produce of the Third World to the well-fed of the North. The policies outlined would inevitably further indebtedness, impoverishment, environmental degradation and famine in the Third World.