Survey information in most countries shows very clearly that farmers achieve a wide range of profitability levels. Some of the variation will be due to farmers having different goals and objectives, but a significant proportion will also be due to variations in managerial skill. If even modest...

Shrimp production in Thailand has historically been undertaken in the saline and brackish waters of coastal mangroves. In recent years rising demand and prices for shrimp and falling productivity of mangrove areas have motivated an expansion of shrimp production into the fresh-water margins of...

A range of biophysical and financial factors, including the crop response to available water and the cost of irrigation, significantly impact on the economic benefits from using irrigation. Research tools have been developed in a multi-disciplinary environment to allow for the assessment of the...

There is pressure in Australia for water management reform to ensure an efficient allocation of resources between productive uses and to provide adequate conservation of the environment. The establishment of water markets and trade has been seen as the primary mechanism for improving the...

Stagnant agricultural productivity and low returns in farming have led rural residents in Nepal to look elsewhere for alternative or supplemental income opportunities, primarily though off-farm employment. Off-farm employment provides supplemental income to support household expenditure. This...

Herbicide resistance has become a major problem in dryland agriculture. In Australia this particularly applies to annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) which has developed multiple resistance to a wide range of commonly used selective herbicides. Although herbicides are a very cost-effective means of...

This paper will briefly describe the history and intent of the NTA 1993; survey outcomes flowing from its implementation, especially in reference to economic implications of agreements between parties; and consider future prospects, particularly by reference to the amended legislation which came...

In this paper we analyse the technical efficiency of cotton farmers in the Punjab Province in Pakistan. Technical efficiency is measured relative to a stochastic frontier production function (SFPF). The estimated model includes a function in which technical efficiency is made an explicit...

Genetic diversity in agricultural systems relies on both the supply of diversity through varieties produced by breeding programs, and the demand for that diversity, through farmers' usage of varieties. Variety choice by farmers is demonstrated through the mix of varieties that is grown in a...

Many environmental policy issues involve conflicts between nature conservation and economic development. The economic rationale behind deciding among alternative options is predicated on some form of benefit-cost analysis (BCA). Key issues to date have been non-market valuation, the...