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Tropical forests are vital for global biodiversity and climate stability, but the political economy of deforestation and land-use change constantly challenges their integrity. In this article, we analyse 50 years of policy development in the municipality Marqués de Comillas, located in Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico, to understand how development and conservation priorities have evolved, interacted, and shaped land-use in a tropical forest frontier. By analysing peer-reviewed literature and empirical data, we identify five phases of policy continuity and change that have produced diverse socio-environmental outcomes. We reveal a persistent state-led prioritisation of rural development over environmental concerns, pursued through policies promoting settlements and agricultural expansion and exacerbated by external market forces. This focus has caused substantial ecosystem degradation and deforestation without significant livelihood improvements. Recent conservation initiatives, such as payment for ecosystem services, show potential for challenging the status quo by offering alternative livelihood opportunities benefiting both people and ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing trend of transforming fertile land for non-agricultural uses, particularly at the rural–urban interface and city outskirts, has seriously threatened food security in developing countries. However, in an agrarian nation like, Nepal where productive land is minimal due to its challenging geographical terrain, the agricultural land transformation trend and its motivating factors have not been extensively studied. This study emphasizes the shifting land use patterns and factors shaping farmers’ choices for conversion of farmland into non-farm uses in Dhading, Nepal. Land use land cover data analysis revealed that productive agricultural land decreased by 60.28% while non-farm use of land increased by 93.14% in Dhunibeshi Municipality, Dhading between 2013 and 2022. Further analysis using farm-level cross-sectional data shows that 36% of the households are eager to switch from farming to non-farm use. The results from econometric models indicate that socio-economic factors (gender, education, economically active family members, land proportion), vegetable farm attributes (farm income, crop diversification), farm proximity to urban areas, and non-farm firms, and land conversion proposal collectively influence farmers’ decisions regarding agricultural land use change. Promoting widespread adoption of low-cost production technology and making the agriculture sector lucrative could contribute towards sustainable agricultural land management in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When missing reliable comparables, estimating inappropriately is a high risk in the use of both market-oriented and income approach methods. Therefore, it is useful to identify effective alternatives in accordance with the estimation method to arrive at the estimated value in the absence of comparables. This paper examines the use of the asking price for estimating the market value of a fruit tree orchard, missing comparable data of similar assets. The analysis was conducted by considering two different scenarios. In the first, asking prices from the same segment of the land to be estimated were used in two market-oriented appraisal methods: the General Appraisal System (GAS) and the Nearest Neighbors Appraisal Technique (NNAT). In both these approaches, market prices were replaced with detected asking prices. The second scenario was based on the use of the Remote Segments Approach (RSA). The comparison was conducted between the market segment of the fruit orchard to be valued and other comparison market segments, consisting of three other species of fruit trees, grown in the same area where the fruit orchard to be estimated is located. The results showed that in the first scenario, the estimated value appeared to be unreliable and excessively high compared to actual market conditions. Using the segment comparison method, which applies asking prices for the purpose of determining the capitalization rate, produced more reliable results. The appraisal also appeared more objective, transparent, and consistent with valuation standards. In the presence of similar limiting conditions, RSA can be an effective support to the activity of the appraiser in the valuation process of agricultural land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the economic and environmental impacts of a land consolidation program that leaves changes in the right to lands to be driven by the market on the performance of rice farms in Vietnam. We also investigate the effects of contract farming, which is associated with the land consolidation program, on farms' environmental performance. Using data from the 2014 and 2016 Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys and the 2016 Agricultural Census, we found that the program enhances agricultural productivity, but environmental sustainability comes at the cost of rice incomes for households. We suggest that while this land consolidation can be a useful measure to promote land consolidation for productivity enhancement, adequate tools need to be designed to accompany land consolidation strategies for environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that land use change, and the resulting decline in both the area and quality of natural habitats, contributes to an increased incidence of disease in humans. Despite calls to leverage conservation policy to address the burden of disease linked to ecosystem change, the potential benefits are unknown. Efficiently reducing the burden of infectious disease through land use policies and conservation initiatives is challenging because it requires balancing trade-offs that depend on ecological and socioeconomic factors. To assess some of these trade-offs, we developed a dynamic model of optimal land use when ecosystem change affects the overall incidence of infectious disease. We compared the net benefits and paths of optimal policy in which the increased cost of disease resulting from natural habitat loss is included in the optimization with a base case where it is ignored. We found that ignoring the linkage between habitat degradation and infectious disease incidence in the planner's problem reduces the net benefits of land management, such as conservation efforts, and results in significantly higher rates of infection and health costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article investigated the economic impact of adopting organic soil fertility measures (OSFM) on millet farming outcomes in rainfed regions of rural India. Using survey data from 900 millet farmers, the analysis applied an endogenous switching regression model to correct for selection bias arising from both observable and unobservable factors. The results indicated that factors such as soil type, use of farmyard manure, crop diversification, gender of the household head, access to agricultural resources, proximity to residence and markets and education levels significantly influenced farmers’ adoption of OSFM. Notably, the adoption of OSFM had a positive and statistically significant impact on farm profits, with OSFM adopters gaining ₹5998 more than nonadopters. The average treatment effect on the treated for OSFM was 9.80% higher than for non-OSFM farmers. These findings reinforcing the importance of promoting OSFM practices in similar rainfed farming regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis assesses the financial viability of legally investing in native Cerrado vegetation deforestation for crop production, considering climate change. The study uses data from twelve different crop models based on three different climate models to predict potential future crop yields in cleared land for growing soy and maize. The outcomes show that in many micro-regions, investments in clearing land for crop production would destroy economic value, that is, generate a negative net present value because of low/negative and volatile cashflows driven primarily by future yields as affected by climate. Our analysis was carried out based on present agricultural practices and technology. As climate changes, farmers may adapt their practices, which can lead to more resilient and productive crops, or grow different crops, which could provide better returns on investment in clearing land than the ones resulting from our analysis. Despite various uncertainties, farmers, policy makers and financial institutions should be aware of the climatic and financial risks associated with land clearing in Brazil, mainly in micro-regions in which all scenarios resulted in negative outcomes in the investment analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how agricultural subsidies may induce deforestation and interact with conservation programs by analyzing two large-scale national programs in Mexico that have existed simultaneously for more than a decade: an agricultural subsidy for livestock (PROGAN) and a program of payments for ecosystem services (PES). Looking across the entire Mexican landscape, we exploit the surprises in the timing of enrollment in PROGAN's waves, fluctuations in program payments, and the change in the value of the subsidy induced by inflation and currency fluctuations to identify the impacts of the livestock subsidy on environmental outcomes. We find that PROGAN increased municipal deforestation by 7 per cent. The deforestation effects of PROGAN were smaller in municipalities with higher concentrations of PES recipients. We suggest that livestock subsidies could be better targeted to places with low deforestation risk and high livestock productivity to maximize food production and minimize negative externalities caused by deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of increasingly severe global climate change, it has become an inevitable choice to promote the transformation of agriculture oriented to climate smart agriculture. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate realistic problem faced by China's agricultural transformation and identify key factors affecting agricultural development under the background of climate change. The paper constructs a linear econometric model and employes time series data from 1990 to 2019 to empirically test the impact of climate change and agricultural investment on agriculture in China. The results indicate that climate change has a negative impact on agriculture, while agricultural investment has a positive impact. Therefore, it is necessary to promote agricultural transformation oriented to climate smart agriculture. To this end, China must vigorously promote agricultural system reform, accelerate agricultural technological innovation, accelerate the development of agricultural big data and informatization, and strengthen financial support for agriculture.

In agricultural land appraisal, the absence of comparable transactions poses significant trials, especially when the appraiser oversees the challenge of assessing the market value of an orchard cultivated with pioneering crops in regions where such cultivation is novel. Traditional approaches, like the income capitalization method, struggle due to the lack of valid data, particularly regarding the determination of the capitalization rate. Appraisers often resort to indirect and ambiguous methods for estimating and adjusting rates, leading to unreliable and unrealistic results. This paper proposes, in such cases, the use of the Remote Segments Approach (RSA) as a viable alternative to income capitalization method. By systematically comparing variables between the asset's segment and one or more remote segments, RSA produces more realistic and conservative estimates of the market value when comparable data is unavailable. The case of study relates on the valuation of avocado orchards in Sicily (Italy), a region experiencing the rapid expansion of tropical and sub-tropical fruit cultivations due to climate change. As such innovative crops continue to gain traction in Mediterranean regions, the use of new valuation approaches like RSA in the next future will be crucial for accurately assessing land values and facilitating informed decision-making in agricultural real estate.

Cover cropping has the potential to generate private economic benefits to farm operations as well as larger-scale environmental benefits to the broader community. However, cover crop adoption remains limited in the United States (US) (i.e., 4.7 % in 2022 (USDA-NASS, 2024)), primarily due to uncertainty in economic outcomes, with several studies showing potentially negative net returns from cover crop use in the short-term (1–3 years). This study investigates the medium-term (5–7 years) economic impact of cover crop adoption using plot-level data from field experiments in the state of Maryland. The empirical analysis employs ordinary least squares (OLS) statistical models and partial budgeting techniques to achieve the study objective. Our results show that cover crops do not have a statistically significant effect on crop yield, fertilizer costs, or pesticide costs, but we find that cover crop use statistically increases field operation and seed expenses. As a result, the private net return from cover crop adoption in the medium term is generally negative based on the Maryland field trial data used in the analysis. Specifically, the average net return per acre with cover crops is approximately $60-$90 lower for corn and around $60 lower for soybeans compared to fields without cover crops. This empirical finding suggests that public support through incentive payments may help further incentivize cover crop adoption in the US, which can then provide environmental and ecosystem services that are of benefit to the general public.

This study addresses a gap in cultural ecosystem service (CES) assessment of prime farmland located in peri-urban areas by presenting results from a choice experiment recently conducted in Utah’s Wasatch Front region. The choice experiment was designed to account for heterogeneous effects associated with a wide array of socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics on household preferences for farmland preservation, including farmland used for the joint production of solar power and agricultural products. We apply a mixed-logit model to our data that controls for preference heterogeneity among Wasatch Front households along two dimensions – at the individual household level and according to different household types. We find that the typical household is willing to pay a non-trivial annual fee to preserve the region’s existing peri-urban farmland, and to a lesser extent is willing to pay for agrivoltaics on that land. We also find some evidence of preference heterogeneity among different types of households for farmland preservation and agrivoltaics; heterogeneity based upon traditional socio-demographic characteristics such as household income and location, as well as unique attitudinal differences related to how households view themselves in relation to agriculture, farmland preservation, and the extent to which taxation is an appropriate mechanism to fund local public goods. These findings can serve as crucial components of broader land-use studies designed to account for the full range of agri-environmental ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale agricultural investments (LSAIs) and their impacts on local communities in host countries have been controversially discussed in recent years. As scholars increasingly call for more structured and comprehensive analyses, we develop a mixed-method approach using an expanded version of the "Right to Food" (RtF) framework to systematically investigate the local food security impacts of a recently established tomato-producing LSAI in Central Benin, West Africa. We find that the LSAI keeps natural resources as accessible as possible for the local community and provides employment opportunities, leading to higher dietary diversity of employees and multiplier effects in the local economy. At the same time, we find inequalities regarding the compensation of former land users as well as high job insecurity for temporary laborers who face high transportation costs to reach the LSAI. We argue that fair and inclusive compensation, improved access to markets and machinery, access to natural resources for often overlooked groups (pastoralists, hunters, fishermen) and social infrastructure are crucial factors in promoting positive outcomes of LSAIs on communities and that strong local institutions play a key role for achieving this. We conclude that the specific characteristics of our case (relatively small size, labor-intensive crop, focus on regional markets) provide favorable conditions for positive impacts on local food security. We encourage further, structured mixed-method studies, ideally including longitudinal and comparative research designs, to investigate the multidimensional effects related to the establishment of LSAIs. The extended RtF framework can thereby serve as a structural lens to systematically analyze the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our work sheds light on the joint role of human capital and geography during the early stages of the transition from stagnation to growth in early twentieth century Greece. We uncover a robust association between geography and literacy. We also show that geography is correlated with land inequality and thus establish that land distribution is a channel through which geography influences literacy. Finally, the impact of geography on human capital formation weakens with industrialization. Our work contributes to the literature on geography and human capital in the transition from stagnation to growth since Greece was at the early stages of the industrial era during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination against women in agricultural decision-making is a major threat to the empowerment of women in many developing countries where agriculture is not only the major source of livelihood, at times the only source of livelihood. It hampers their socio-economic status as well as the overall economic development of the country. The objective of this paper is to understand the gendered perspective of agricultural decision-making in one of the eastern states of India, i.e., Odisha by analysing the primary data collected through a structured schedule from 996 agrarian households. This paper, by using multinomial logit model, concludes that land ownership exclusively by females raises their decision-making power with respect to all agricultural activities in the household. Joint ownership of land by both men and women and the use of modern technology in farm activities also raise the agrarian decision-making power of the females. Further, the decision-making power of women is more among the socially marginalised and economically deprived categories. This calls for institutional arrangements to ensure land ownership by the female members and their economic empowerment by providing them better wages and livelihood.

Effective irrigation management is critical for future food supplies and the prosperity of producers engaged in irrigation production. Through a deficit irrigation field experiment, we determine the financial impact on producers caused by changing irrigation costs, corn prices, extreme weather events, and restricting irrigation levels. Results suggest that the optimal economic strategy within our constrained optimization model is to fully irrigate, with the economic impact highly dependent on commodity prices, restriction level, and irrigation costs. The greatest economic losses caused by irrigation restrictions come from decreases in yield. Some simulations resulted in negative profits, indicating that a switch to alternative crops requiring less irrigation may be warranted.

This study contributes to the literature on the drivers of migration and employment choices, with a particular focus on youth in Nigeria. It evaluates the effect of young Nigerians' expected land inheritance on the likelihood of their migration and on their employment and livelihood choices. We conducted a series of differential analyses on data from two Nigeria Living Standards Measurement Study panel surveys to understand the likelihood of migration and employment decisions being influenced by land inheritance, while also considering social and economic mediating factors such as the level of land market development and levels of urbanization. Overall, our findings seem to suggest that land inheritance, proxied by the size of expected land inheritance, is significantly and negatively associated with long-distance migration and with migration to urban areas, while the impact is negligible when a broader definition of migration is adopted and when migration is deemed as temporary. We find heterogeneous responses to land inheritance among various groups of youth, as well as varying responses to different levels of land market development and levels of urbanization. The results indicate that older youth and those who are less educated are more likely to respond to different levels of land market development and urbanization. We also show that the larger the size of expected land inheritance, the lower the likelihood that a young person will be involved in nonagricultural activities and the higher his or her chance of staying in agriculture. These results suggest that improving the inheritance of land by youth will guarantee more success in deterring unrewarding migration and employment choices by those less educated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic review using the PRISMA protocol aims to identify the observed and projected impacts of climate change on crop production and food security, water resources, and livestock and explores the perspectives of adaptation strategies employed to cope with this challenge across African countries. The review permits visualization in one scheme of the most recent various results of ongoing climate impact on agriculture and strategies across African countries. It enables the agricultural community and policymakers to consider it as they address climate change risks to agriculture, livestock, water resources, as well as food security. Overall results from 125 selected articles show that in the last four years, there has been a lack of research on climate change-related issues analysis in agriculture in some countries, especially in Northern Africa, Middle Africa, and Southern Africa. In the same regions, studies on the impact analysis on livestock, water, and management techniques are limited. Even though the agriculture sector is severely impacted by climate change, the effects can still be positive or negative depending on the products cultivated and the region. The various adaptation strategies implemented seem to be more effective when applied as a combination than a single application. However, some challenges including the lack of knowledge, limited input access, insufficient equipment, and financial constraints in strategy adoption exist. As climate change is a persisting and continuing fact getting worse over time, the adaptation strategies implemented today may require further improvement. Thus, our study suggests that more research should be done in this area to facilitate continuous improvement. Women’s leadership is important in the adoption of sustainable adaptation strategies. The introduction of gender factors in the assessment of the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies and food security components is recommended. Also, serious research should be carried out to define the most impactful adaptation strategies according to the important staple growing crops by region to cope with climate change impacts in the African food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies that improve drought resilience have heterogeneous effects on agricultural land values. We examine the value of surface water transfers and groundwater resources in a hedonic analysis of agricultural parcels in California. We find that parcels in irrigation districts, which engage in interbasin surface water transfers, experience an increase in value in subsequent years, but the gains are short-lived and unevenly distributed. Value of groundwater stock is higher in parcels outside irrigation districts. We also find that policies to restrict groundwater-substitution-based transfers, which aimed to reduce groundwater open-access externalities, have not been a deterrent against transfers in all areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores how implementation of digital technologies (DTs) assists firms in transition economies in addressing weaknesses of the institutional environment surrounding them, in particular via establishment of collective governance systems. Based on case studies of three large-scale agroholdings operating in Ukraine, the paper aims to fill the research gaps with regard to the following: motivation of the firm to initiate DT-enabled collective governance systems; the rules these systems are based on; and the reasons behind the firm's choice of a particular governance mode – closed, shared or open – for these systems. The findings generally support the institutional theory argument that complex technology enables coordination of exchange relationships not only within but also outside firm boundaries. At that, the choice of a governance mode between closed, shared or open institutional infrastructure is likely to depend on the firm's ownership concentration, corporate transparency, availability of resources and social embeddedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An aging farming population and a decline in younger farmers are global issues of concern in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. A gradual transition to collaborative farming through alternative business structures, which will facilitate generational renewal is underway. However, little is known about the prevalence of such alternative business structures internationally as a dearth of academic research exists in this respect. The objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of the prevalence of alternative farm business structures in Ireland and to compare the Irish case to selected European countries (France, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom). A desk-based research approach is adopted to analyse data from various sources including, agricultural bodies, government departments and international agencies. The findings highlight that the prevalence of alternative business structures across case countries is not uniform, and that potential for growth in collaborative farming exists in Ireland to meet the generational renewal challenge. Gathering accurate and comparable data regarding the prevalence of alternative business structures has been challenging. Consequently, a more uniform classification of the various types of alternative business structures and a more accurate and comparable dataset detailing the prevalence of these business structures, across European countries is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to mixed-methods research in global development studies. It draws on empirical study of changes in access to livelihood resources ensuing from state-sponsored resettlement schemes in Oromia, Ethiopia. The analysis demonstrates that explaining and understanding processes and outcomes of development interventions can be expanded and deepened by the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative analysis uncovers the magnitude of changes, whereas qualitative analysis reveals political power relations and contextual meanings of the changes as experienced by affected people. The study shows that mixed-methods approach enables addressing the statistical and substantive significance of the variables in question and the diversity of meanings and experiences associated with development interventions. This strengthens the analytical power of research, providing opportunities to enhance evidence-based comprehension of generic patterns and specific conditions and outcomes of development interventions in diversified situations of the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important obstacles to increasing agricultural production yields worldwide, especially in developing economies such as those in Africa is the continued degradation of soils due to climate change. In response to this threat, one of the strategies advocated is biochar technology, which is one of the emerging sustainable and climate-friendly soil amendments. This article reviews a brief description of biochar, the advantages and disadvantages of its use, and the prospects for developing its potential impact on agricultural productivity in African countries with a case study in Burkina Faso. Biochar is mainly useful for soil carbon sequestration, increasing and maintaining soil fertility, environmental management, and as a renewable energy source. However, it can have secondary effects including negative impacts on human health, pollution, and water quality. Furthermore, the positive results of biochar use in Africa suggest a prospect for ensuring the feasibility of biochar technology in policy decisions as a sustainable alternative to agricultural land management in the combat against climate change. As recommendations, a combination of improved seed varieties, and SWC (Soil and Water Conservation) techniques with the application of Biochar will be a perfect innovation for an intelligent adaptation practice to the destructive action of climate change in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector is essential for economic growth. However, agricultural performance can be limited by factors such as climatic risks. This paper aims to analyse the effect of climate extreme events on selected food crop yield in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study uses data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) database for maize, rice, and sorghum yields. Also, we used data obtained from the International Disaster Database of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) for floods and droughts over the period 1990–2020. The data were analysed based on the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS). The results showed that climate extreme events negatively affected maize, rice and sorghum yields. Also, the findings showed that floods and droughts in past years negatively influence current yields of maize, rice and sorghum. Moreover, agricultural labour force, fertilizer and financial development are the main transmission channels through which floods and droughts can affect maize, rice and sorghum yields. The study concludes by recommending that policies aimed at promoting climate change adaptation measures as well as agricultural insurance could make the agriculture sector more resilient to climate extreme events and in turn that could improve agricultural productivity and reduce food insecurity.

AbstractIn this study, we examine how to enhance the climate integrity of carbon credits from carbon farming practices. The key requirements for climate integrity include permanence, additionality, and measurement and verification. Farmers are typically willing to make carbon contracts for a finite time only in voluntary markets or with the government and receive carbon credits to sell as offsets. This contradicts the requirement of the permanence of carbon sequestered in soils. To solve this problem and to facilitate greater participation by farmers in carbon sequestration, we show how temporary contracts can be made to address the issue of permanence by using offset ratios. The notion of the offset ratio refers to the share of one emission unit that one unit of temporary sequestered carbon replaces. Thus, the offset ratio transforms temporary sequestration to permanent emissions reductions. We propose the use of a discounting method to calculate the offset ratio. The ratio varies with the carbon contract length, employed discount rate, and assumptions about the evolution of the soil carbon stock. We apply this approach to cultivating catch crops for carbon sequestration on a north‒south gradient in Finland, Denmark, and France. We show that the offset ratio approach works well for every selected country. Carbon farming contracts are profitable for farmers provided that revenue under the contract exceeds that in the baseline. Profitability is highly dependent on catch crop cost, annual increase in soil carbon, and the discount rate. We apply offset ratios to assess the climate integrity of some existing crediting programs and find that the discounting method yields a lower offset ratio in almost all cases yielding a lower number of credits than launched in these programs.