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The IFAMR is published quarterly by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Assocation. The complete library can be found at www.ifama.org

Policy planners face the challenge of formulating suitable agricultural policy by which the required growth in domestic production can be achieved. To attain effective food security policy, one needs reliable empirical knowledge about the degree of responsiveness of factor demand and output supply for commodities. This paper is an attempt in this direction and estimates the factor demand and output supply elasticity for major crops grown in India. These elasticities are used to project the domestic supply of major commodities, viz. rice, wheat, pulse grains, nine major edible oilseeds, and sugarcane under various scenarios with and without acreage expansion and TFP growth. The results of supply projections are compared with the food demand and policy prescription to attain food security is suggested.

Rising demands for quality and safety measures in high-value agriculture and livestock markets have necessitated the creation of increasingly complex supply chains to manage the flow of goods and information among channel actors. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) can play a key role in strengthening links within the supply chain, particularly where market failures impede access by the poor. This paper examines the potential of PPPs in promoting smallholder access to such supply chains. A conceptual model is presented that highlights the need to generate chain-level benefits for all channel participants in order for PPPs to be sustainable and to adequately address market failures. A case of both a successful and a failed PPP in livestock markets illustrates the utility of this model.

The analysis of value chains has augmented our knowledge on the complexities, inter-linkages, distributional benefits, and institutional arrangements of production and marketing channels in developing countries. However, the analysis remains relatively qualitative and case-specific, with limited ability to rank or assess the impact of alternative interventions or to analyze sufficiently the complex market dynamics and feedbacks present in livestock systems. This paper offers insights on ways to improve the analytical rigor of the value chain methodology that combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

While Ethiopia is Africa’s largest livestock producer, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers and animal diseases have traditionally constrained market access. A system dynamics model examined the feasibility of a proposed SPS certification system under a number of scenarios. Model results indicate that the system may not be viable for beef exports to Middle Eastern markets. However, the binding constraint is high domestic input costs rather than the costs of SPS compliance. Sensitivity analyses reveal that while investments in feed efficiency and animal productivity would enhance Ethiopia’s export competitiveness, the competitive nature of international beef markets may still prevent market access.

Accurate assessments of the epidemiological and economic impacts of an animal disease require the incorporation of feedbacks between disease spread and production incentives. This paper motivates a new modeling framework that is sensitive to the dynamics of disease, production decisions and incentives, different livestock production systems, and their interaction through the use of an integrated system dynamics framework. Preliminary simulation results are provided to demonstrate proof-of-concept of such an approach, with additional discussion given on extensions and implications of integrated methods.

A quarterly, partial-equilibrium vector-autoregression model of the U.S. durum wheat and pasta markets was estimated and simulated under three trade-barrier changes that are of potential relevance for the current round of WTO agricultural negotiations: a rise in the U.S. market-clearing durum wheat quantity from increased imports; a policy- or tariff- reduction-induced decline in U.S. durum wheat price; and a tariff-induced rise in U.S. pasta product prices. In response to each shock, an array of quarterly dynamic response characteristics are examined: response reaction times, direction and pattern of quarterly responses, response durations, response multipliers, and strength of durum/pasta market interrelationships.