Climate Change and its impacts on Indian agriculture: An Econometric analysis

This study assessed the climate change impacts on land productivity for major food and nonfood grain crops in India. We compiled data for 50 years (1967–2016) using 15 crops across India to estimate the variation of agriculture production for each crop by different variables such as temperature and rainfall estimation. Our results indicate that land productivity decreases with an increase in annual average temperature in most of the crops. The adverse impact of climate change on agricultural production indicates food security threat to small and marginal farming households and adversely affected due to climatic fluctuations. Results show that a rise in temperature would reduce agricultural productivity and assessed sensitivity of Indian agriculture to climate change.     

Assessing the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture: Evidence from major crop yields

This study empirically examines the effect of climate change on the yields of primary food as well as non‐food crops in India. The present study uses annual time‐series data of seven major crops such as rice, wheat, pulses, rapeseeds and mustard, cotton, sugarcane, and groundnut for 58 years (1961–20 17) to assess the influence climatic variables namely rainfall, maximum, and minimum temperatures on crop yields. The empirical findings of the study indicate that a significant effect on major crop yields from rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, but the level of impact varies across the crops studied. A rise in rainfall has an adverse effect on food crops except for pulses, however it has a positive relationship with non‐food crops throughout the study period. Further, the average maximum temperature has a positive influence on food and non‐food crops excluding rice. The average minimum temperature has an adverse impact on non‐food crops, but it has a positive association with food crops. The adverse effects of climatic factors on crop yields may be likely to pose severe implications for food and nutritional security. Conclusively, this study recommends taking adaptation activities to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.     

新时代中国农业生产力布局调整思路研究

农业生产力布局是降低农业生产成本、提高农业生产效率和满足人民日益增长的关于农产品美好生活需要的重要因素。基于第一产业和农业的地理分布格局演变历程,本文提出目前我国农业生产力布局存在粮食总量保持稳定,但是未来存在安全隐患;农产品生产聚集程度总体较高,但是仍有进一步提高空间;农产品尤其是粮食生产成本较高,需要进一步降低生产成本;农产品市场价格较高且有上涨趋势,需要稳定其价格等四个特征。指出未来农业生产力布局调整应该遵循总量安全原则、比较优势原则、规模经济原则、产业链一体化发展原则,并提出相应的政策建议。     

A review of literature on climate change and its impacts on agriculture productivity

This paper provides a comprehensive review of various reports, articles documents and papers literature related to the assessment of climate change impacts on crop productivity, and will focus on how climate change and affects agriculture productivity. Agricultural practice is affected by climate changes because of its direct dependence on climatic changes. There are two methods of relationships between agriculture and climate change and has huge significance especially for developing and underdeveloped or low‐income countries, who are largely dependent on agriculture for subsistence and their lack of infrastructure for adaptation as compared with developed countries. Geographically high‐latitude areas with already existence of low temperature, by virtue of increasing temperature due to climate changes, could allow for the longer growing season. Agricultural fields are affected by the emission of GHG such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. Gasses have an effect on climate through the discharge of greenhouse gasses. Emissions mostly come from the tillage practices, fossil fuels, fertilized agricultural soils, and farm animal's manure in a huge amount and affected the agriculture sector. On the contrary, agriculture could be a solution for climate change by reducing emission and implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions widely. It will happen with the assistance of best management practices such as agroforestry practice, organic farming, rainwater harvesting, irrigation planning, and manure management.     

农业农村优先发展的资源配置逻辑与保障机制

农业农村优先发展是实施乡村振兴战略,加快推进农业农村现代化的根本保障。本文结合当前我国农业农村发展面临的现实矛盾和困境,深入阐述了农业农村优先发展的资源配置逻辑,提出了进一步推进户籍制度改革,加快劳动力非农转移、农民市民化进程;推动农村土地制度改革,促进农地流转及适度规模经营,提高农业劳动生产率;推动农村集体产权制度改革,适应城市资本下乡与农民财产性增收的现实需求;推进农村基本经营制度改革,促进农业社会化服务市场发育,构建小农户与现代农业产业经营的有效衔接机制等优先发展的实践路径和保障机制。     

Rice security in Southeast Asia: beggar thy neighbor or cooperation?

Abstract

High commodity prices in 2007–2008 and again in 2011, particularly for crops such as rice and corn, have forced countries in Southeast Asia to look more closely at their agricultural and trade policies for rice and grains. While all countries in the region are heavily dependent on rice for food security, there is significant variation in countries’ abilities to be self-sufficient in rice production. This paper examines the factors that contribute to food insecurity in SEA, which communities are hit hardest, and the diversity of responses to this situation. And, the paper asks what the prospects might be for greater cooperation in coordinating rice (and other crops more generally) policies so as to better ensure reliable access for more citizens in the region. Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are all major exporters of rice; whereas Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines are all importers of rice. Since the sharp spike in prices in 2008, countries which import rice have developed more comprehensive plans to become self sufficient in rice production. Individual country's policies will have dramatic effects on regional trade relations and dynamics. There have been some regional attempts to create a more cooperative framework for addressing food security, but these efforts have not yet played a significant role in reshaping domestic policies. This paper will assess the chances of further cooperation and success (or the chance of failure and less engagement) in the future.     

Retaining agricultural activities under urban pressures: A review of land use conflicts and policies

From a national perspective it is unclear whether the continued expansion of urban development seriously affects America's potential food production over the long run. Yet there are clearly regional biases toward conversion of farmland to urban uses and locally important changes in the appearance of the landscape at the rural—urban fringe. Urbanization also generates spillover effects causing the idling of farmland and the shifting from one type of agriculture to another.Land use controls aimed at directly addressing the use of the land may be effective in preventing some conversion of farmland to urban uses but the methods are costly and possibly very complex. Incentives to farmers to keep land in agriculture are generally too weak to be effective in retaining agricultural land in the face of strong urban pressures.This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Research Applied to National Needs) to the Regional Science Research Institute.     

Impacts of China's Rural Land Policy and Administration on Rural Economy and Grain Production

The distinctive changes in China's rural land policy and administration have exerted significant impacts on China's rural socioeconomic development and grain production, either positively or negatively. This article reviews the changes of China's rural land policy and administration in the recent 5 decades. After the land reform accomplished in 1952 and the people's commune system implemented during 1952–1978, China adopted a house responsibility system, which was proven to be effective for increasing grain output and peasants’ income. Yet, it preserved the urban–rural dichotomous economy, formed in the people's commune era, which placed agriculture in a secondary position. The low efficiency in agricultural production and the small‐scale household management, under the current rural land policy and administration, stimulated the transfers of agricultural laborers to the nonagricultural sectors and cultivated land to urban land. Grain production and cultivated land protection in China are conducted most times under the political mandates rather than the economic guidance. Although the previous rural land policies and the strict residence registration helped China to avoid problems prevailing in prime cities of other developing countries, compulsorily asking peasants to grow more grain and to stay in their native land resulted in outstanding social injustice, vulnerable grain production systems, and poverty in rural areas. There are also outstanding conflicts among the interests of central government, local governments, collectives, and peasant households. More flexible rural land policies and more strict cultivated land administrations could be solutions for improving the profitability of grain production and protecting the rapidly declining cultivated land. Compensations for the low profitability in grain production are also needed to encourage an increase in grain output and rural economy.     

Impact of labour productivity on structural transformation and economic growth: A state‐level analysis

During the 90th and 20th century, India underwent a remarkable phase of growth and employment generation. Unlike the usual pattern of structural shift, India experienced a shift away from agriculture to services, which become the backbone of India's growth trajectory. Using shift‐share analysis, this paper tries to find out the pattern of structural change in India's five Southern States and contribution of labour productivity towards this structural shift. I find that all the South Indian states witnessed a service lead growth with a high‐labour productivity growth. I also find that the main driver of productivity surge in all the Southern States of India was within‐sector productivity growth whereas sectorial reallocation effects being the important part of productivity growth.     

Debating Food Security Policy in Two Different Ideational Settings: A Comparison of Australia and Norway

Food security has emerged as a relatively new policy issue in agricultural policy making in developed countries. This policy problem is addressed within an institutional landscape in which agricultural ideas and institutions are well‐established. In this article, food security policy making in Australia and Norway is compared. In Australia, agricultural normalism (agricultural markets and production are considered to be similar to those of other economic sectors) has been dominant since the mid‐1980s, while Norwegian agricultural policy making has been dominated by agricultural exceptionalism (agriculture is considered a unique economic sector with special market and production conditions). It is demonstrated in the article how these two opposing institutionalised ideational foundations have influenced the nature of the food security debate in the two countries. In Australia, the debate emphasises the positive role of the market and trade in providing global food security. In Norway, the debate highlights the need to regulate market forces and restrict trade in order to allow countries to develop their own agricultural sectors.     

Vladimir Iowa Lenin,Part 2: On Rural Proletarianization and an Alternate Food Future

In the second of our two-part review of Vladimir Lenin’s 1917 study of American agriculture, we extrapolate upon Alexander Chayanov’s neoliberal appropriation, Giovanni Arrighi’s treatment of partial proletarianization, the propagandistic “family farm,” agribusiness’s fluctuating territorial embeddedness, agriculture as an industry, and land and rent as commodities themselves. We finish by deploying Lenin’s alternate history as a Benjaminian détournement in the face of what now appear insurmountable obstacles. An alternate food future is not only possible, it is already underway.     

The impact of climate change on maize yields and its variability in Telangana,India: A panel approach study

The present study explores the effect of climate change on maize yields and its variance in Telangana utilizing Just–Pope production function, spanning the period 1956–2015. The three‐step feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method is employed to estimate the Just and Pope production function. The empirical results of the work reveal that the average minimum temperature has a significant unfavorable effect on maize yield in Telangana. Maximum temperature and actual rainfall are positively related with maize yield; however, the maximum temperature is not statistically significant. Furthermore, rainfall and minimum temperature are risk‐shrinking factors, but the maximum temperature is a risk‐enhancing factor for maize yields during the study period. The study results have key implications for developing suitable local level adaptation policies in Telangana.     

Evaluating 'Australian Women in Agriculture': 1992–2002

Australian Women in Agriculture (AWiA) will be 10 years old this year. This paper draws on 20 interviews with members of AWiA to describe the changing nature of the group over this period and to examine its achievements and future in terms of its five stated goals. The group has been most successful in achieving its first aim: raising the profile of women in agriculture. AWiA has achieved its second aim: securing local, regional and international recognition; and its third aim: of being seen as a political force. There is, however, still much for the group to achieve in meeting its final two goals: addressing rural and agricultural inequities and ensuring the survival of agriculture for future generations. The AWiA, having achieved status and recognition, is now in a strategic position to address these goals. How it may do this and not unsettle the members' shared identity as 'women in agriculture' to the point where the future of the group is threatened is the challenge for AWiA as it begins its second decade.     

Feeding finance: a critical account of the shifting relationships between finance,food and farming

Abstract

Whether in the form of commodity index funds, farmland investment funds or commodities trading by agri-food companies, there is evidence of an increasingly close relationship between finance, food and agriculture. While these developments have received some critical attention of late, existing accounts of the ‘financialization of food’ are limited to the extent that they view finance as an external force with emphasis placed on the unnaturalness of its relationship with agriculture and its distortive effects on agricultural markets. Recognizing that finance and agriculture have a long history, this paper offers a more nuanced account of the place of financialization in the agricultural sector. Specifically, it examines how agriculture's emergence as an investment opportunity has reconfigured the terrain of agricultural interests and logics while creating new knowledge demands and agricultural visibilities. These dynamics are explored through a case study of the role of finance and processes of financialization in the recent demise of the Canadian Wheat Board as a state marketing agency. Through this discussion, the paper offers valuable insights into not only the reworking of agriculture as a particular type of financial space, but also the nature and limits of financialization itself as a way of engaging with the world beyond urban financial centres.     

The management of institutional innovation: Lessons from transferring the land grant model to India

The US and India collaborated on a successful institution building programme in the 1950s and 1960s to develop capacity for agricultural education, research and extension. This paper analyses that process for lessons that might bear on efforts to build similar institutions in other countries. India was an especially favourable environment due to the sophistication of its scientific base, the openness of its leaders to institutional innovation, the presence of public sector enterpreneurs to mobilize support for reform, and a food crisis that made it urgent to find new technology. The US did not fund institutional changes that had little demand in India, but it did influence Indian preferences over the long run by creating several mechanisms to exchange information about the American land grant system. These exchange mechanisms enhanced India's capacity for agricultural science and, less often noticed, contributed to the political support essential to new institutions.     

Environmental Stressors and Food Security in China

This article considers the immediate forces influencing China’s food system and food security. By immediate is meant events of the reform period, from the late 1970s to 2008. It begins by asking the question that has preoccupied specialists since the publication of Lester Brown’s Who Will Feed China? in 1995: How much arable land does China have? Is that land area sufficient to insure grain sufficiency? To insure food security? The article focuses on the human pressures on the food production environment, and then treats the effects of socioeconomic change: land, air, and water degradation. The core of the article examines six responses of the state to both perceived and actual environmental stressors: policy restricting arable land conversion, China’s one-child policy, investment in irrigation systems, the South–North Water Diversion Project, large-scale afforestation and reforestation campaigns, and the program to convert marginal agricultural lands to forests and grasslands.     

The cost disease and government growth: Qualifications to Baumol

Changes in real world wage movements across sectors account for about a third of the rise in the cost of U.S. government services between 1959 and 1989, while relatively slower productivity in the public sector accounts for the remaining two-thirds. Even though it is slower, however, the productivity record still is positive even in the labor intensive government sector. Consequently Baumol argues that the public's likely future objection to necessary increases in the share of expenditures over the next 50 years will betray a fiscal illusion unless policymakers take pains to dissolve it. But slower productivity may be equally due to the structural organization. Removing public monopolies, reducing bureaucracies, and undertaking privatization in education for example, are other policy options that could radically change the productivity record. Meanwhile in his recent calculations of dramatic government expenditure increases expected in the next half century, Baumol omits reference to the marginal welfare cost of public funds, which on our estimates, will increase at least ten times to reach 1.71 by the year 2040.     

Food security and access to healthy foods in Indian country: Learning from the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

Food access, food security, and nutrition‐related health disparities have long been recognized as particular challenges for Native Americans living on tribal land. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides nutrition assistance to tribal communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). In 2016, we completed a study of the FDPIR program for USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. This was the first national update since 1990. We found that FDPIR continued to serve people of all ages. However, since 1990, participation by children decreased whereas participation by elders increased. Consistent with the 1990 study, we found that FDPIR households are a very low‐income population. Households reported significantly higher rates of food insecurity than national averages—34% experienced low food security, and about 22% experienced very low food security. Changing demographics call for continued attention to the diverse nutritional needs of young and elderly program participants in tribal communities. Although barriers to food access persist in Indian country, FDPIR and locally sourced food initiatives help to meet needs. Nutrition and wellness education addresses health disparities and fosters healthy lifestyles. Partnerships operating at multiple levels support food production and distribution, improve access to healthy foods, and encourage healthy diets. From a policy and practice perspective, the study findings offer insights for tribal communities and rural areas that have limited access to healthy food options and illustrate how nutrition assistance programs can coexist with local initiatives to provide practical approaches to ensure healthy and adequate nutritional support.     

Changing Roles for a State Agriculture Department: Driving Forces and Organisational Responses in the 21st Century

This article examines the forces of change that have been operating on a state agriculture department over recent decades. These forces of change include pressures for the department to meet community expectations on issues such as animal welfare and ecological sustainability — issues which were not emphasised in its former focus on agricultural production. The article then goes on to look at the responses that have occurred in a public sector agency to these forces and what these may mean for the future of this traditionally conservative arm of government in terms of changes to what have been its primary client groups and its most important priorities.     

Trading in the secretive commodity

Over the past century and a half, a handful of transnational corporations have built fortunes trading commodity crops such as corn, soy and wheat. Graded and standardized, these commodities are considered uniform and therefore fungible; information about their origins need not accompany them to market. But in recent years major food brands, as part of broader ‘sustainable sourcing’ commitments, have begun to ask about the places and practices that produce these crops. Their inquiries have exposed the limits of the commodity traders’ supposedly unrivalled market intelligence. They also raise questions about how the advent of agricultural grades and standards made knowledge of crop origins seem unnecessary in certain commodity supply chains, and about how those supply chains might henceforth change, now that lack of such knowledge has become a liability.