This paper aims at simulating optimal prices satisfying public health recommendations in terms of nutrient adequacy. This implies to estimate a complete food demand system in order to compute price elasticities. Food consumption behaviors are described by an AI functional form [Deaton and...

This paper characterizes and measures the contribution of social capital to the performance of 50 agro-enterprises in Colombia. Using qualitative analysis we document the functions that social capital performs within firms. To estimate social capital's contribution to firm structure and...

Currently the South African government is advocating the cultivation of high valued crops and more efficient use of available water resources through the adoption o f more efficient irrigation technology and irrigation scheduling. A requirement of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) is the...

The mycotoxin fumonisin is associated with oesophageal cancer and birth defects. The Eastern Cape province of South Africa has high levels of fumonisin in maize and oesophageal cancer. This study measures the amounts of the mycotoxin fumonisin in the grain of Bt maize, commercial hybrids, and...

Abstract This paper investigates the competitiveness of small and medium-scale maize milling enterprises in South Africa from estimates of a translog stochastic cost frontier model. Results suggest that small and medium-scale maize mills in South Africa are cost-inefficient, operating at 59...

In many countries growing water scarcity puts pressure on the irrigation sector, as main consumptive user, to improve performance. In this context, the need for research on institutional policy options for improved water allocation and governance is more and more recognized. Exante evaluation of...

This paper has the objective of identifying dominant livelihood strategies in rural South Africa. It differs from previous studies done for South Africa in that it analyses a recent large household survey; classifies livelihood strategies into four broad and eight specific livelihood strategy...

This study investigates smallholder farmer participation in biofuels-related crop and land rental markets and estimates whether participation is associated with farm income. Multinomial treatment-effects models are estimated using farm household data from 247 South African smallholder farmers....

The level of food security in South Africa is largely being influenced by income inequalities and food prices with a large part of the population that has access to food but do not have the financial means to obtain it. Despite ever increasing food inflation, South Africa is still adopting...

This paper intends to contribute to the on-going debate about whether and how restructured agri-food markets can provide viable market opportunities for small-scale farmers in South Africa. It aims at analyzing contract farming from the small-scale farmer perspective and at better understanding...