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We investigate the spillover effects in farmers’ adoption decisions of a novel pesticide-free wheat production system. To this end, we exploit the variability and asymmetry in the social ties among neighboring farmers. We find evidence of spillover effects in farmers’ adoption decisions as well as in farm and farmer characteristics. Our results further highlight the importance of accounting for potentially heterogeneous social ties in farmer networks beyond pure measures of spatial proximity: spillover effects are only robust once we account for the strength of social ties through farmers’ stated tendency to consult peers on agricultural decisions. Our findings highlight the relevance of peer influence in the diffusion of sustainable agriculture practices even in contexts of well-functioned institutions and high interest in environmental protection such as European agriculture. We discuss implications for the design of policies and programs for sustainable agriculture, which are currently in the center of attention in agricultural policymaking., Agricultural Economics, 54 (2), ISSN:0169-5150, ISSN:1574-0862

Countries' agricultural systems have an important impact on biodiversity, for example bird populations. Here, we estimate such impacts by exploiting a natural experiment in the middle of Europe, where there is a naturally homogenous area that is divided into three countries: Switzerland, Germany, and France. These countries have markedly different agricultural systems and policies. Using a methodologically unified and unusually rich bird dataset available across these borders, both for the 2010s and 1990s, we analyze (a) whether there is a clear pattern that bird diversity systematically changes when crossing these borders and (b) whether this has changed over time. To assess bird populations, we focus on Shannon diversity, species richness and number of territories, as well as the individual effect on 29 common bird species. We find that Switzerland has systematically smaller and less diverse bird populations compared to Germany and France, driven entirely by agricultural differences. At the same time, we find that the difference between the countries was considerably more pronounced in the 1990s than in the 2010s. Yet, to reach the bird friendliness of Switzerland's neighboring countries, additional policy effort seems required, for example in the form of targeted agri-environmental payments., Ecological Economics, 209, ISSN:0921-8009

Reducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key to achieve overall climate policy goals. Effective and efficient policy instruments are needed to incentivize farmers' adoption of on-farm climate change mitigation practices. We compare action- and results-based policy designs for GHG reduction in agriculture and account for farmers' heterogeneous behavioral characteristics such as individual farming preferences, reluctance to change and social interactions. An agent-based bio-economic modeling approach is used to simulate total GHG reduction, overall governmental spending and farm-level marginal abatement cost of Swiss dairy and beef cattle farms under both action- and results-based policy designs. We find that total governmental spending associated with the compared policy designs depends on the cost and benefits of the considered measures as well as behavioral characteristics of farmers. More precisely, if farmers are reluctant to change, additional incentives are needed to increase adoption of a win-win measure. In such a case, targeting the payment on the cost of that particular measure (action-based design) instead of paying a uniform amount for abated emissions (results-based design) can lower governmental spending for agricultural climate change mitigation. Farm-level marginal cost of reducing GHG emissions are lower with results-based payments independent of the cost of measures. Moreover, we find that farmers' individual preferences and reluctance to change substantially lower the adoption of mitigation measures and hence overall GHG reduction potential of farms., Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, ISSN:2040-5790, ISSN:2040-5804

CONTEXT Climate change mitigation in the agricultural sector is a key policy goal. Marginal abatement cost curves allow comparing the cost-effectiveness of agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation measures. Existing studies often do not account for the heterogeneity of farms and interactions between mitigation measures. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to present a new approach that allows the calculation of a marginal abatement cost curve that considers farm level interaction effects of climate change mitigation measures. We assess the influence of farm structural heterogeneity on the greenhouse gas abatement potential and the corresponding abatement costs when measures are implemented jointly on the farm level. METHODS We use the bio-economic farm model FarmDyn to simulate farm-specific abatement potential and mitigation costs for a set of mixed dairy farms in a Swiss case study region (n = 66) and develop an approach to calculate a bottom-up, marginal abatement cost curve based on our sample of farms. Simulation results are used to identify and quantify the effect of heterogeneous farm structures (e.g., size, land use, etc.) on the interactions of climate change mitigation measures using regression analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS In our study, interaction effects reduce marginal abatement costs by 7% and the overall greenhouse gas abatement potential by 3% compared to a stand-alone consideration of four climate change mitigation measures. Our analysis of how the underlying farm structures affect interaction effects between climate change mitigation measures shows that complex processes on the farm level can have ambiguous effects (i.e., increasing or decreasing greenhouse gas emissions). We conclude that our approach can provide important knowledge about how heterogeneity affects marginal abatement costs when mitigation measures interact with each other. SIGNIFICANCE Knowledge about the effectiveness and efficiency of climate change mitigation measures and their interaction effects improves our understanding and development of bottom-up marginal abatement cost curves, which represent an important and widely used tool to inform policymakers and stakeholders on cost-efficient and cost-effective climate change mitigation in agriculture., Agricultural Systems, 207, ISSN:0308-521X

Land use intensity determines the provision of multiple important ecosystem services of agriculture. In Switzerland, agricultural policy developments have aimed and still aim to extensify agricultural systems and especially grassland use. We here provide a spatial and temporal analysis of changes in grassland use intensity and discuss them in the context of agricultural policy developments to assess potential policy impacts. We use farm-level census data over a period of 19 years. Spatio-temporal patterns of in- and extensification are investigated visually and by global and local Moran’s I measures. We find that while average changes in grassland use intensity are small, there is a substantial increase in the heterogeneity of grassland use intensity strategies over time, as indicated by increasing interquantile ranges of yearly boxplots. Our results suggest that both in- and extensification are profitable strategies for farmers within the given policy framework. Furthermore, Moran’s I measures show the emergence of regional clusters of in- and extensification. These intensification clusters possibly amplify environmental problems. Our analysis therefore highlights the need for spatial assessments of agricultural policies, i.e. local adverse environmental effects of intensive grassland use should be targeted by spatially tailored policy measures., Regional Environmental Change, 23 (1), ISSN:1436-3798, ISSN:1436-378X

Digitalisation is rapidly transforming the agri-food sector. This paper investigates emerging opportunities, challenges and policy options. We show that digital innovations can contribute to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. For example, digital innovations enable increased productivity, reduced environmental footprints and higher resilience of farms. However, these optimistic outcomes of increasing digitalisation of the agricultural sector will not emerge on their own, but this development comes with several challenges, costs and risks, e.g. in economic, social and ethical dimensions. We provide policy recommendations to explore opportunities and avoid risks. Moreover, we discuss implications for future research in agricultural economics. ISSN:0165-1587 ISSN:1464-3618

Calls for supporting sustainability through more and better research rest on an incomplete understanding of scientific evidence use. We argue that a variety of barriers to a transformative impact of evidence arises from diverse actor motivations within different stages of evidence use. We abductively specify this variety in policy and practice arenas for three actor motivations (truth-seeking, sense-making, and utility-maximizing) and five stages (evidence production, uptake, influence on decisions, effects on sustainability outcomes, and feedback from outcome evaluations). Our interdisciplinary synthesis focuses on the sustainability challenge of reducing environmental and human health risks of agricultural pesticides. It identifies barriers resulting from (1) truth-seekers’ desire to reduce uncertainty that is complicated by evidence gaps, (2) sense-makers’ evidence needs that differ from the type of evidence available, and (3) utility-maximizers’ interests that guide strategic evidence use. We outline context-specific research–policy–practice measures to increase evidence use for sustainable transformation in pesticides and beyond., Ambio, 52 (2), ISSN:0044-7447, ISSN:1654-7209

We analyze the impact of the glyphosate controversy in the European Union in the period 2015–2017 on share prices of pesticides producing companies. Following an event study approach, we use daily stock market data for nine pesticide producers to identify the impact of eight regulatory events on companies' stock returns from 2015 until 2017. More specifically, we examine whether and how i) public announcements of assessments of glyphosate's risk to human health, and ii) decisions by regulatory bodies with respect to glyphosate's approval extension have affected the share prices of publicly traded pesticide producers. We use share prices reflecting the firms' market value and consequently expected future profitability and firm performance. We find that, on average, pesticide producers' share prices have been affected weakly by the glyphosate controversy in the EU. However, the first assessment of glyphosate's risk to human health on 20th of March 2015 has a clear negative effect. Our results show considerable heterogeneity regarding the impact on the firm-level. For example, firms that are more focused on glyphosate sales tend to be affected more strongly. Our analysis provides first insights in pesticide industry implications of discussions on pesticide bans. We draw policy conclusions and derive firm-strategic recommendations., Ecological Economics, 212, ISSN:0921-8009

Farmers’ behavior towards sustainable agricultural production is key to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and conserving biodiversity. We investigate the causal effect of culture on pro-environmental behaviors of farmers, and how policy instruments interact with culture to influence behavior. We exploit a unique natural experiment in Switzerland, which consists of two parts. First, there is an inner-Swiss cultural border between German- and French-speaking farmers who share the same natural environment, economy, and institutions, but differ culturally in their norms and values. Second, we exploit the effects of an agri-environmental policy reform that increased the monetary incentives to enroll land into biodiversity conservation. Using a spatial difference-in-discontinuities design and panel census data of all Swiss farms between 2010 and 2017, we show the following findings: Before the reform, farmers on the French-speaking side of the cultural border systematically enrolled less land into biodiversity conservation, compared to the German-speaking side. With increased monetary incentives following the policy reform in 2014, the French-speaking farmers enrolled relatively more additional land than the German-speaking farmers, shrinking the discontinuity. These findings indicate that while there exist cultural differences in pro-environmental behaviors, increased monetary incentives can reduce the importance of cultural differences. We discuss the implications for policy., Food Policy, 120, ISSN:0306-9192, ISSN:1873-5657

Mit Verboten und einfachen Massnahmen allein lösen wir die Probleme im Pflanzenschutz nicht. Es braucht eine ganzheitliche Pflanzenschutzmittel-Politik. Diese muss messbare, transparente und verbindliche Ziele definieren, um Risiken zu senken und LandwirtInnen Pfade aufzuzeigen, die eine ökologisch, ökonomisch und sozial nachhaltige Umstellung der Produktionssysteme erlauben. Dies geht nur mit Bündeln von Massnahmen: von der Unterstützung diverser Anbau- und alternativer Pflanzenschutzmethoden, neuer Züchtungsmethoden und Digitalisierung bis hin zu verlässlichen ökonomischen Anreizen. Eine ganzheitliche Pflanzenschutzmittel-Politik muss zudem in einen übergeordneten Rahmen einer Ernährungspolitik eingebettet sein., Umweltrecht in der Praxis, 7, ISSN:1422-5522, ISSN:1420-9209

Replicability is a cornerstone of all scientific disciplines. While agricultural economists often provide recommendations to stakeholders that inform, among others policymaking, we currently lack replication papers published in leading agricultural economics journals. This increases the risk that published results are not replicable, which potentially can lead to inefficient resource allocation. In this article, we provide a framework for replications in agricultural economics and discuss challenges and opportunities with the objective to foster a replication culture. We provide pathways on how to untap this potential and provide guidance for enabling a stronger emphasis on replications in the field of agricultural economics. We present the first special issue on replications in agricultural economics, which consists of 11 articles that replicate various empirical analyses presented in published articles and advance the analyses that were used in the original work to provide further insights., Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, ISSN:2040-5790, ISSN:2040-5804

Digitalisation is rapidly transforming the agri-food sector. This paper investigates emerging opportunities, challenges and policy options. We show that digital innovations can contribute to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. For example, digital innovations enable increased productivity, reduced environmental footprints and higher resilience of farms. However, these optimistic outcomes of increasing digitalisation of the agricultural sector will not emerge on their own, but this development comes with several challenges, costs and risks, e.g. in economic, social and ethical dimensions. We provide policy recommendations to explore opportunities and avoid risks. Moreover, we discuss implications for future research in agricultural economics., European Review of Agricultural Economics, ISSN:0165-1587, ISSN:1464-3618

Regression discontinuity designs (RDD) are increasingly being employed in agricultural and environmental economics to identify causal effects. Here, we showcase recent applications, identify best practices, discuss commonly invoked identifying assumptions and show how these can be tested. We discuss basic empirical issues and more advanced topics, including how to exploit the availability of panel data, models to explain heterogeneous treatment effects and extrapolation of local estimates. Moreover, we show how agricultural economists can leverage RDD in combination with remote sensing and environmental modelling. Finally, we highlight three areas of emerging opportunities and draw conclusions for research and policy., European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50 (1), ISSN:0165-1587, ISSN:1464-3618

Drusen are hallmarks of early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) but their quantification remains a challenge. We compared automated drusen volume measurements between different OCT devices. We included 380 eyes from 200 individuals with bilateral intermediate (iAMD, n = 126), early (eAMD, n = 25) or no AMD (n = 49) from the MACUSTAR study. We assessed OCT scans from Cirrus (200 × 200 macular cube, 6 × 6 mm; Zeiss Meditec, CA) and Spectralis (20° × 20°, 25 B-scans; 30° × 25°, 241 B-scans; Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) devices. Sensitivity and specificity for drusen detection and differences between modalities were assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and mean difference in a 5 mm diameter fovea-centered circle. Specificity was > 90% in the three modalities. In eAMD, we observed highest sensitivity in the denser Spectralis scan (68.1). The two different Spectralis modalities showed a significantly higher agreement in quantifying drusen volume in iAMD (ICC 0.993 [0.991–0.994]) than the dense Spectralis with Cirrus scan (ICC 0.807 [0.757–0.847]). Formulae for drusen volume conversion in iAMD between the two devices are provided. Automated drusen volume measures are not interchangeable between devices and softwares and need to be interpreted with the used imaging devices and software in mind. Accounting for systematic difference between methods increases comparability and conversion formulae are provided. Less dense scans did not affect drusen volume measurements in iAMD but decreased sensitivity for medium drusen in eAMD.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03349801. Registered on 22 November 2017.

Heat stress can affect milk production in several ways. We here quantify overall farm-level heat effects on annual milk revenues, veterinary expenses, and feed purchases in Swiss agriculture. We combine farm-level accountancy panel data from 1314 representative Swiss milk producers and covering 13 years with high-quality weather data in a reduced-form two-way fixed effect model. Although we find that Swiss milk producers frequently encounter heat stress, we find no significant heat effects on annual milk revenues, veterinary expenses, or feed purchases. This finding implies that Swiss milk farms are on average robust to current heat exposure., Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 1 (3), ISSN:2769-2485

Precision farming technologies are expected to reduce nutrient surplus in agriculture. Uptake of these technologies in European farming systems, however, is low and policy incentives are needed to promote environmental benefits. We conducted a choice experiment with 418 Swiss farmers to elicit their preferences for site-specific nitrogen fertilization technologies. Using a split-sample approach, we elicit both willingness-to-accept and willingness-to-pay welfare measures. Results show that welfare measures for the nitrogen reduction potential vary significantly between the two samples. This indicates that the policy design affects farmers' preferences and willingness to adopt precision farming technologies that reduce nitrogen losses from agricultural production., Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 1 (3), ISSN:2769-2485

Smartphone-based fundus imaging (SBFI) is a low-cost approach for screening of various ophthalmic diseases and particularly suited to resource limited settings. Thus, we assessed how best to upskill alternative healthcare cadres in SBFI and whether quality of obtained images is comparable to ophthalmologists. Ophthalmic assistants and ophthalmologists received a standardized training to SBFI (Heine iC2 combined with an iPhone 6) and 10 training examinations for capturing central retinal images. Examination time, total number of images, image alignment, usable field-of-view, and image quality (sharpness/focus, reflex artifacts, contrast/illumination) were analyzed. Thirty examiners (14 ophthalmic assistants and 16 ophthalmologists) and 14 volunteer test subjects were included. Mean examination time (1st and 10th training, respectively: 2.17 ± 1.54 and 0.56 ± 0.51 min, p

Risk preferences are relevant for farmers’ decision-making (e.g., adoption of technologies and practices, crop selection, diversification, crop insurances). Although there is a rich literature on farmers’ risk preferences (e.g., Iyer et al., 2020), we lack systematic assessments as most of the surveys conducted are often i) cross-sectional ii) based on small samples or convenience groups, and iii) apply different elicitation methods. These aspects raise concerns regarding sampling noise, external validity, and the possibility to compare risk preferences across settings. For this reason, we aim at constructing a comprehensive dataset of farmers’ preferences to obtain generalizable results about its distribution and main correlates (i.e., determinants and outcomes), through an Individual Participant Data meta-analysis. We focus on the risk preferences of European farmers, building upon the work of Iyer et al. (2020) who conducted a systematic review. We expand this work in several directions: i) we increase the timeframe of studies included, ii) we identify the correlates of risk preferences, and iii) we conduct an Individual Participant Data meta-analysis, i.e., not only describe outcomes of individual studies but use the original underlying data that allows us to discuss distributional aspects of risk preferences systematically. Altogether, this analysis will allow us to address current questions in the literature regarding differences in farmers’ risk preferences and comparability across countries, agricultural activities, and farmers’ attributes. Method: The method is envisioned as a five-step procedure: i) A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature, i) followed by data extraction, iii) identification of suitable datasets, iv) harmonization and finally, v) a meta-analysis. The first step will rely on a search in different bibliographic databases, i.e., Scopus, Web of Science and Wiley Online Database. Keywords: Meta-analysis, Individual Participant Data (IPD), Risk preferences, Europe

Objective:To assess the reliability and discriminatory power of 5 simple chart-based visual function (VF) tests as potential measures for clinical trial end points with regulatory and patient-access intention in intermediate AMD (iAMD).

CONTEXT The use of pesticides implies negative effects on human health and the environment. Thus, the reduction in pesticide risks without harming food security and farmers' income is a key policy goal. OBJECTIVE The aim is to investigate the implications of policies that explicitly foster the large-scale adoption of pesticide-free, non-organic production systems at the national scale using Swiss crop production as an illustrative example. METHODS We develop a bio-economic modelling approach that combines agent-based modelling, a Delphi study to assess yield implications and a detailed representation of labour and machinery implications of pesticide-free, non-organic production. Using an agent-based modelling framework allows the consideration of heterogeneous farm-specific adaptation responses to voluntary direct payments for crop-specific conversion to pesticide-free but non-organic production systems. The modelling framework is used to assess the effects of changing pesticide policies on farm and sector levels and its implications for (crop-specific) food production in terms of area, volume, value and income. Our approach is illustrated using Switzerland as an example, where voluntary direct payments for a crop-specific conversion to pesticide-free but non-organic production systems will be implemented. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The results show that the extent of crop-specific yield losses has an especially significant effect on the adoption rate of pesticide-free cropping systems. The impacts of introducing voluntary direct payments for pesticide-free production at the national scale imply reduced food (volume) and calorie production but only minimal reductions in the production value, especially due to expected higher prices for pesticide-free products. The effects on farmers' income are small, as participation in pesticide-free production is compensated with direct payments and higher prices and often implies cost reduction in labour and machinery due to non-use of pesticides. To establish large-scale production systems between conventional and organic cropping systems and, thereby, reduce trade-offs resulting from both extremes, policy schemes need to be flexible, allowing the adoption of a pesticide-free paradigm for some parts of the crop rotation but not necessarily entire crop rotations. SIGNIFICANCE This is the first national-scale study on the implications of adopting a pesticide-free, non-organic crop production system by using Swiss crop production as an illustrative example., Agricultural Systems, 207, ISSN:0308-521X

Resilient and Sustainable Farming Systems in Europe: Exploring Diversity and Pathways, ISBN:978-1-009-09828-1

This chapter aims to synthesize key findings from the SURE-Farm project. We first discuss possible amendments to the framework to assess the resilience of farming systems. We then review why many of Europe’s farming systems face a formidable and structural resilience crisis. While emphasizing the diversity of resilience capacities, challenges and needs, we formulate cornerstones for possible resilience-enhancing strategies. The chapter concludes with critical reflections and suggestions for resilience-enhancing strategies that comprise the levels of farms, farming systems and enabling environments. We identify limitations of the research and suggest avenues for future research on the resilience of farming systems.

Background/aims:To further validate the Vision Impairment in Low Luminance (VILL) questionnaire, which captures visual functioning and vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) under low luminance, low-contrast conditions relevant to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Purpose:To analyze the intersession repeatability of structural biomarkers in eyes with early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD) within the cross-sectional part of the observational multicenter MACUSTAR study.

Grasslands cover a major share of the world’s agricultural land and their management influences ecosystem services. Spatially targeted policy instruments can increase the provision of ecosystem services by exploiting how they respond to spatial differences in environmental characteristics such as altitude, slope, or soil quality. However, most policy instruments focus on individual farms, where spatial differences are small. Here we assess the economic value of three grassland ecosystem services (i.e., forage provision, carbon sequestration, and habitat maintenance) and its variability in a Swiss region of 791 km2 that consists of 19,000 farmland parcels when managed at the regional and farm scale, respectively. Our spatially explicit bio-economic simulation approach combines biophysical information on grassland ecosystem services and their economic values. We find that in our case study region, spatial targeting on a regional scale management increases the economic value of ecosystem services by 45% compared to targeting at farm scale. We also find that the heterogeneity of economic values coming from prices and willingness to pay estimates is higher than the economic gains from spatial targeting that make use of the spatial difference in environmental characteristics. This implies that heterogeneity in prices and/or societal demand of these three ecosystem services is more important for grassland management than spatial heterogeneity in our case study region. The here applied framework allows for an ex-ante assessment of economic gains from spatial targeting and thus provides basic information for the implementation of incentive mechanisms addressing the nexus of food production and ecosystem service provision in grasslands., Scientific Reports, 12 (1), ISSN:2045-2322

The sustainable intensification of agriculture requires solutions for a large-scale reduction of pesticide use while sustaining agricultural yields. Pesticide-free production standards, which bring together the strengths of all the food value chain actors, could be a cornerstone of this transformation. In Switzerland, a non-organic, private–public standard for pesticide-free wheat production is currently being introduced by the producer organization IP-SUISSE. It is the first of its kind in Europe and may reach a market share of 50% of Swiss wheat production. We here assess the determinants of farmers' participation and willingness to participate in the future. For our analysis, we combine a survey of the entire population of IP-SUISSE wheat producers (4749 farmers, 23.3% response rate) with data on historical farm-level wheat yields, soil properties, weather, climate, weed pressure, and spread of herbicide resistance. Our results indicate that a large-scale establishment of pesticide-free wheat production in Switzerland is possible. We find that farmers' perceptions of positive environmental effects of the production program are key for adoption. Moreover, farmers' expectations of the program’s production effects play a central role. Farmers perceiving large yield losses and increases in production risks are less likely to enter the program. Based on our results, we discuss implications, leverage points, and challenges for designing and implementing large-scale pesticide-free production programs., Food Policy, 106, ISSN:0306-9192, ISSN:1873-5657

Schweizer Obst, 89 (1)

Purpose : Changes in lipid metabolism, chronic inflammation and increased oxidative stress have been discussed as patho-etiogenetic drivers in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Systemic medication, such as lipid-lowering drugs (LLD) and anti-diabetic drugs, affect these pathways and may therefore also play a role in AMD pathogenesis. We aimed to investigate associations of commonly used systemic drugs with AMD prevalence in the European population.Methods : We included 38,694 adults from 14 population-based studies from the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) consortium. We performed multivariable logistic regression modelling to examine medication use association with prevalence of AMD as well as late AMD. Analyses were carried out separately by study and results pooled using random effects meta-analysis. We conducted these analyses separately for LLD, anti-diabetic drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), and L-Dopa.Results : Between studies, mean age ranged from 61.5 ± 7.1 to 82.6 ± 3.8 years and prevalence ranged from 12.1% to 64.5% and from 0.5% to 35.5% for any and any late AMD, respectively. In the meta-analysis of our multivariable models, LLD and anti-diabetic drugs were associated with lower AMD prevalence (OR 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.79 - 0.91 and OR 0.78, 95% CI=0.66 - 0.91). We found no association with late AMD or with any other medication.Conclusions : Our study shows an association of LLD and anti-diabetic drug use with lower AMD prevalence across multiple European cohorts. Our findings support the importance of metabolic processes in the complex etiology of AMD.

Gewaltsame Konflikte führen direkt oder indirekt über Risikokaskaden zu Schocks, die sich auf das Welternährungssystem auswirken. Bevölkerungswachstum, soziale Spannungen und der Klimawandel verstärken die Gefahr von Hunger und Ernährungsunsicherheit, sie sind aber nach Meinung von Reimund Schwarze, Helmholtz- Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ, Leipzig, nicht deren Ursache. Diese liege in Nahrungsmittelsystemen, die nicht in der Lage seien, erschwingliche, vielfältige, sichere und nahrhafte Lebensmittel für alle zu liefern. Deshalb brauche es Strategien, um die Konfliktanfälligkeit der Nahrungsmittelsysteme der Welt zu überwinden. Robert Finger, ETH Zürich, zeigt die negativen Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf breite Teile der europäischen Landwirtschaft. Sie könnten jedoch durch die Kombination diverser Anpassungsmöglichkeiten abgefedert werden, wobei zusätzliche Instrumente des Risikomanagements (z.B. Versicherungen), aber auch innovative Produktionsformen oder neue technologische Möglichkeiten eine große Rolle spielen. Der Sektor werde sich erfolgreich an den Klimawandel anpassen, allerdings sei dies kostspielig. Reimund P. Rötter und Mareike Köster, Universität Göttingen, analysieren, welche Anpassungsmaßnahmen in der Landwirtschaft erforderlich sind, um weltweit Ernährungssicherheit herzustellen, die natürlichen Ressourcen zu schonen und aktiven Klimaschutz voranzubringen. Hierfür werden die bereits stattfindenden Anpassungen, wie z.B. frühere Aussaattermine oder die Wahl existierender früher reifenden Pflanzenvarietäten, nicht ausreichen. Vielmehr sei die Züchtung klimaresilienter Pflanzen sowie die Erhöhung der Agrobiodiversität und Reduzierung von Treibhausgasen notwendig. Klaus Müller, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, stellt das Konzept der Agri-Photovoltaik und Landwirtschaft 4.0 vor. In diesem Fall lassen sich mindestens 85% der für die Energiegewinnung genutzten Flächen mit einer angepassten Technologie weiter bewirtschaften. Dies bietet den Unternehmen eine Chance, sich sowohl an den Klimawandel anzupassen als auch einen Beitrag zur Energiewende zu leisten. Theresa Hübsch, Maria Waldinger, Franziska Wintersteller und Gerome Wolf, ifo Institut, stellen die Situation in Subsahara-Afrika dar. Nahrungsunsicherheit sei eine große Bedrohung für die Bürger Subsahara-Afrikas, die durch den fortschreitenden Klimawandel zunehmend ernster werde. Der Klimawandel erschwere die landwirtschaftliche Produktion. Hinzu kommen gewaltsame Konflikte, die oft mit Klimawandel einhergehen und Hungerkrisen hervorrufen. Die Nahrungsunsicherheit könne durch technische Fortschritte und durch institutionelle Faktoren wie politische Stabilität, finanzielle Ressourcen und geregelte Eigentumsrechte bekämpft werden. Ulrike Grote, Etti Winter und Robyn Blake-Rath, Leibniz-Universität Hannover, weisen auf die Rolle Südamerikas als weltweit größten Nettonahrungsmittelexporteur hin, aber auch auf seine herausragende Rolle für den Klimaschutz, den Erhalt von Biodiversität und die Funktionsfähigkeit von Ökosystemen. Lateinamerika werde diese Funktionen allerdings nur erfüllen können, wenn sich sein Agrar- und Ernährungssystem in Richtung Nachhaltigkeit transformiere und die unterschiedlichen Anforderungen auf integrative statt auf konkurrierende Weise erfülle.

Contains fulltext : 249581.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of physical activity (PA) on the incidence or progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the general population. DESIGN: Meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies. METHODS: We included 14,630 adults with no or early AMD at baseline from 7 population-based studies and examined associations of PA with AMD incidence and progression using multistate models (MSM) per study and subsequent random effects meta-analysis. Age effects were assessed using meta-regression. The main outcome measure was the hazard ratio (HR) for incident early or progression to late AMD. RESULTS: At baseline, mean age was 60.7 ± 6.9 to 76.4 ± 4.3 years, and prevalence of early AMD was 7.7% (range, 3.6%-16.9%) between cohorts. During follow-up, 1461 and 189 events occurred for early and late AMD, respectively. In meta-analyses, no or low to moderate PA (high PA as reference) was associated with an increased risk for incident early AMD (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01-1.40; P = .04), but not for late AMD. In subsequent meta-regression, we found no association of age with the effect of PA on incident AMD. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests high levels of PA to be protective for the development of early AMD across several population-based cohort studies. Our results establish PA as a modifiable risk factor for AMD and inform further AMD prevention strategies to reduce its public health impact. 01 april 2022

Reducing nitrogen losses and the associated negative impact on the environment is a major challenge in agricultural production. Precision agricultural technologies are supposed to help solving this challenge. Since the adoption rate of such technologies in small-scale farming systems is still rather low, additional policy measures are needed to support their adoption. In this study, we investigate the efficiency of such measures using an agent-based modelling framework that combines cognitive and dispositional farmers’ characteristics with a bio-economic optimization model. We simulate the effect of different policies on the adoption decisions of farmers in a Swiss case study. We use census, choice experiment and survey data from Swiss crop farmers to calibrate the agent-based model. Our results help to better assess the impact of different policy measures on the adoption decisions regarding site-specific fertilization and to inform policy makers on the most efficient measures.

Wirtschaftlich tragfähige landwirtschaftliche Betriebe sind die Voraussetzung für die Bereitstellung der breiten Palette an gewünschten Leistungen aus der Landwirtschaft und tragen zu resilienten Agrar- und Ernährungssystemen bei. Das Einkommen landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe ist eine oft verwendete Masszahl für diese Tragfähigkeit. Wir präsentieren hier verschiedene Perspektiven zum Einkommen in der Landwirtschaft, zeigen neue Entwicklungen und Ansätze auf, und ziehen Schlussfolgerungen für die Agrarpolitik. Das Einkommen wird häufig produktionsseitig, aus einer Wertschöpfungsperspektive heraus betrachtet, die abbildet, welches Einkommen auf Betriebs- oder Sektorebene mit dem Einsatz von Produktionsfaktoren wie Arbeit, Boden und Kapital erzielt wird. Diese Perspektive sollte jedoch häufiger durch eine konsumseitige Betrachtung des Einkommens der Landwirtschaft ergänzt werden, in der die Konsummöglichkeiten der Familie eines landwirtschaftlichen Haushalts im Fokus stehen und das Einkommen eines landwirtschaftlichen Haushalts sowohl das landwirtschaftliche als auch das nichtlandwirtschaftliche Einkommen umfasst. Drei Facetten des Einkommens sind dabei für die Agrarpolitik besonders relevant: i) das (durchschnittliche) Einkommensniveau, ii) die Einkommensvariabilität bzw. das Einkommensrisiko und iii) die Einkommensverteilung bzw. die Einkommensungleichheit. Nur die Kombinationen dieser drei Facetten erlaubt relevante Rückschlüsse auf die Tragfähigkeit des Sektors und eine umfassende Bewertung der Agrarpolitik auf Betriebs- und Sektorebene. Dazu braucht es Paradigmenwechsel und neue Kennzahlen und Methoden für die Einkommensmessung und -Analyse., Agrarforschung Schweiz, 13, ISSN:1663-7852, ISSN:1663-7909

ifo Schnelldienst, 8/2022, ISSN:0018-974X, ISSN:2199-4455

Agent-based models are important tools for simulating farmers’ behaviour in response to changing environmental, economic or institutional conditions and policies. This article introduces an agent-based modelling approach that combines behavioural factors with standard bio-economic modelling of agricultural production. More specifically, our framework integrates the cumulative prospect theory and social interactions with constrained optimisation decisions in agricultural production. We apply our modelling approach to an exemplary bio-economic model on the assessment of weed control decisions. Results show the effects of heterogeneous farm decision-making and social networks on mechanical weed control and herbicide use. This framework provides a generic and conceptually sound approach to improve the scope for representing farmers’ decision-making and allows the simulation of their decisions and recent advances in behavioural economics to be aligned with existing bio-economic models of agricultural systems., Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73 (1), ISSN:0021-857X, ISSN:1477-9552

Clinical discrimination of posterior uveitis entities remains a challenge. This exploratory, cross-sectional study investigated the green (GEFC) and red emission fluorescent components (REFC) of retinal and choroidal lesions in posterior uveitis to facilitate discrimination of the different entities. Eyes were imaged by color fundus photography, spectrally resolved fundus autofluorescence (Color-FAF) and optical coherence tomography. Retinal/choroidal lesions' intensities of GEFC (500-560 nm) and REFC (560-700 nm) were determined, and intensity-normalized Color-FAF images were compared for birdshot chorioretinopathy, ocular sarcoidosis, acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPPE), and punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC). Multivariable regression analyses were performed to reveal possible confounders. 76 eyes of 45 patients were included with a total of 845 lesions. Mean GEFC/REFC ratios were 0.82 ± 0.10, 0.92 ± 0.11, 0.86 ± 0.10, and 1.09 ± 0.19 for birdshot chorioretinopathy, sarcoidosis, APMPPE, and PIC lesions, respectively, and were significantly different in repeated measures ANOVA (p

Quantification of the relative ellipsoid zone reflectivity (rEZR) might be a structural surrogate parameter for an early disease progression in the context of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Within the European multicenter, cross-sectional MACUSTAR study, we have devised an automatic approach to determine the mean rEZR [arbitrary units, AU] at two independent visits in SD-OCT volume scans in study participants. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to analyze the association of AMD stage and AMD associated high-risk features including presence of pigmentary abnormalities, reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), volume of the retinal-pigment-epithelial–drusenoid-complex (RPEDC) with the rEZR. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were determined for rEZR reliability analysis. Within the overall study cohort (301 participants), we could observe decreased rEZR values (coefficient estimate ± standard error) of − 8.05 ± 2.44 AU (p = 0.0011) in the intermediate and of − 22.35 ± 3.28 AU (p < 0.0001) in the late AMD group. RPD presence was significantly associated with the rEZR in iAMD eyes (− 6.49 ± 3.14 AU; p = 0.0403), while there was a good ICC of 0.846 (95% confidence interval: 0.809; 0.876) in the overall study cohort. This study showed an association of rEZR with increasing disease severity and the presence of iAMD high-risk features. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the rEZR’s value as a novel biomarker for AMD and disease progression.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture requires the adoption of new production techniques, tools, and programmes on a large scale. This implies substantial shifts in established ways of farming under uncertain information about potential economic and environmental outcomes. Research can support stakeholders such as farmers, industry, and policy in this transformation by providing evidence-based information. The provision of such information can be improved by combining ex-ante and ex-post assessment tools at different stages of policy cycles and projects. We here present a unique combination of ex-ante bio-economic modelling analysis and ex-post econometric analyses based on survey data using the example of a novel pesticide-free wheat production programme in Switzerland. We exemplify how ex-ante and ex-post evaluation can be combined to increase the robustness of results for stakeholders, e.g. on yield losses from pesticide-free production or farmer typologies important for adoption. Further, we show how their alignment can improve future assessments in project and policy cycles, e.g. through the choice of suitable variables explaining farmer decision-making and priors on the distribution of their characteristics. Despite the identified synergies between assessments, we also find that their integration is limited by the timing and information requirements of stakeholders at different stages in the project. Finally, potential synergies in our case study strongly depended on the type of ex-ante models chosen for evaluation and their alignment with ex-post methods. Especially integrating farmer behaviour in ex-ante assessments seems to be crucial to arriving at holistic evaluations of large-scale programmes for sustainable agricultural practices and providing useful information to stakeholders., Q Open

Beiträge aus dem Agrarpolitik Blog 2021, Agrarpolitik Blog

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We test and quantify the (in)stability of farmer risk preferences, accounting for both the instability across elicitation methods and the instability over time. We used repeated measurements (N=1530) with Swiss fruit and grapevine producers over 3 years, where different risk preference elicitation methods (domain-specific self-assessment and incentivized lotteries) were used. We find that farmers’ risk preferences change considerably when measured using different methods. For example, self-reported risk preference and findings from a Holt and Laury lottery correlate only weakly (correlation coefficients range from 0.06 to 0.23). Moreover, we find that risk preferences vary considerable over time too, i.e. applying the same elicitation method to the same farmer in a different point in time results in different risk preference estimates. Our results show self-reported risk preferences are moderately correlated (correlation coefficients range from 0.42 to 0.55) from one year to another. Finally, we find experiencing climate and pest related crop damages is associated with farmers becoming more risk loving.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is an important contributor to cognitive impairment and stroke. Previous research has suggested associations with alterations in single retinal layers. We have assessed changes of all individual retinal layers in CSVD using high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the first time. Subjects with recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) underwent macular and peripapillary retinal imaging using OCT for this case-control study. Number and volume ratio index (WMRI) of white matter lesions (WML) were determined on MRI. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression models. 27 CSVD patients and 9 control participants were included. Ganglion cell layer (GCL) volume was significantly reduced in patients with CSVD compared to age-matched controls (p = 0.008). In patients with CSVD, larger foveal outer plexiform layer (OPL) volume and decreased temporal peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were significantly associated with a higher WMRI in linear regression when controlling for age (p ≤ 0.033). Decreased foveal GCL volume and temporal-inferior RNFL thickness at Bruch's membrane opening (MRW), and increased temporal MRW were associated with a higher WML burden (p ≤ 0.037). Thus, we identified alterations in several OCT layers in individuals with CSVD (GCL, OPL, MRW and RNFL). Their potential diagnostic value merits further study.

CONTEXT The ability of a farm to cope with challenges is often conceptualised as resilience. Although improving resilience of farms is a major policy goal in the European Union, the current state of resilience is often unknown. Previous resilience assessments have been based either on pre-defined indicators or on perceptions. In particular, empirical research of perceived resilience is still limited and usually restricted to one specific resilience capacity, one challenge, or one function. OBJECTIVE We investigate how European farmers perceive resilience capacities of their farms. Extending beyond previous research, we cover all three resilience capacities (robustness, adaptability, and transformability), consider a broad range of short-term shocks and long-term stresses, and include multiple functions. Furthermore, we analyse farms from diverse farming systems across Europe and investigate whether farms and farmers with similar perceived resilience capacities share characteristics. METHODS We address the complex nature of resilience capacities by accounting for multiple scales formulated as analytical steps of a resilience assessment framework. More specifically, these are ‘resilience of what’ (farms and farming systems), ‘resilience to what’ (challenges), ‘resilience for what purpose’ (functions), and ‘what enhances resilience’ (resilience attributes). These steps guided the development of a survey with farmers across eleven European farming systems. Based on three indices for each farmer indicating perceived robustness, adaptability, and transformability of their farms, we identified two classes of farmers with particularly strong and weak resilience profiles respectively. Using nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests, we furthermore compared other parameters collected via the survey across the identified classes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Our data sample outputs two classes of similar size characterised by all three perceived resilience capacities being above (below) regional average. This finding suggests that the perceptions of robustness, adaptability, and transformability are mutually dependent. Furthermore, we found that farmers who perceive their resilience above the regional averages are characterised by lower risk aversion, greater focus on providing public goods, a higher number of implemented risk management strategies, more active involvement in networks, and greater openness to innovation. SIGNIFICANCE The revealed links between particular characteristics of farms and farmers and different levels of perceived resilience capacities can support policy-makers in developing more targeted resilience-enhancing strategies, as well as in understanding farmers' responses to challenges. Finally, our results can serve as a basis for further research, e.g., for formulating and testing hypotheses on causal effects between perceived resilience and its components, and on links between perception- and indicator-based resilience assessments. ISSN:0308-521X

Os agregados familiares agrícolas viáveis contribuem para a resiliência dos sistemas agroalimentares. Em termos de política, o rendimento agrícola é um indicador importante dessa viabilidade. Neste artigo, abordamos três aspetos fundamentais do rendimento agrícola: primeiro, a questão do rendimento, que se centra nos respetivos níveis (médios); segundo, a questão da variabilidade, que aborda os riscos relativos ao rendimento que os agricultores enfrentam; e terceiro, a questão da desigualdade, que foca a heterogeneidade e as (des)igualdades entre rendimentos agrícolas. Esta edição especial da European Review of Agricultural Economics (ERAE) apresenta novasperspetivas sobre medição, modelização, desenvolvi-mento e políticas relacionadas com o rendimento dos agregados familiares agrícolas na Europa, sobretudo tendo em conta a crescente complexidade tanto das explorações e políticas agrícolas como da exposição ao risco., CULTIVAR, 23

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is associated with changes in the retinal vasculature which can be assessed non-invasively with much higher resolution than the cerebral vasculature. To detect changes at a microvascular level, we used optical coherence tomography angiography which resolves retinal and choroidal vasculature. Participants with CSVD and controls were included. White matter lesions were determined on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The retinal and choroidal vasculature were quantified using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography. Data were analysed using linear regression. We included 30 participants (18 females; patients, n = 20; controls, n = 10) with a mean age of 61 ± 10 years. Patients had a higher mean white matter lesion index and number of lesions than controls (p ≤ 0.002). The intraindividual deviation of choriocapillaris reflectivity differed significantly between age-matched patients (0.234 ± 0.012) and controls (0.247 ± 0.011; p = 0.029). Skeleton density of the deep retinal capillaries was significantly associated with the number of lesions on MRI (β = - 5.3 × 108, 95%-confidence interval [- 10.3 × 108; - 0.2 × 108]) when controlling for age. The choroidal microvasculature and the deep retinal vascular plexus, as quantified by optical coherence tomography angiography, are significantly altered in CSVD. The value of these findings in diagnosing or monitoring CSVD need to be assessed in future studies.

Viable farm households contribute to the resilience of agricultural and food systems. Farm income is a policy-relevant proxy for this viability. Here, we address three key aspects of farm income: first, the income issue, focusing on (average) income levels; second, the variability issue, focusing on income risks faced by farmers; and third, the inequality issue, focusing on the heterogeneity and (in-)equalities of farm incomes. This special issue presents new perspectives on measurement, modelling, development and policies related to the income of farm families in Europe, especially in the light of increasing complexity of farms and policies and risk exposure. ISSN:0165-1587 ISSN:1464-3618

Risk and risk preferences belong to the key determinants of investment-based technology adoption in agriculture. We develop and apply a novel approach in which an inverse second order stochastic dominance approach is integrated into a stochastic dynamic farm-level model to quantify the effect of both risk and risk aversion on the timing and scale of agricultural technology adoption. Our illustrative example on short rotation coppice adoption shows that risk aversion leads to technology adoption that takes place earlier, but to a smaller extent. In contrast, higher levels of risk exposure lead to postponed but overall larger adoption. These effects would be obscured if technology adoption is not analyzed in a farm-scale context or considered as a now-or-never decision, the still dominant approach in the literature., Q Open, 1 (2)