In the past three decades, the seed sector has experienced, and is now again experiencing, corporate concentration trends. The fallout of this consolidation is the subject of numerous concerns. However, the seed sector is rather poorly understood. Thus, it is useful to understand it better and...

Hamilton’s essay begins with a reflection on food and society. He writes of the effect of modernization and industry on the relationship America has with food. What once was a centerpiece of our economic independence, family life, and health is now merely an afterthought. Quality and trust in...

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely changed the world economy and jeopardized the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals on a large scale. Progress in meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda has been significantly disrupted and stalled, undermining previous efforts of governments and...

The seed sector has become a subject of attention, debate, and even controversy with the development of genetically modified (GM) crops. However, this sector is generally rather poorly known. A new paper aims to take stock of the economy of GM seeds in order to better understand the structure of...

Fairtrade standards differentiate themselves from other sustainability standards such as Rainforest Alliance and UTZ by demanding that buyers pay to farmers at least a minimum price and a Fairtrade social premium - a sum that is paid to cooperatives in addition to the agreed price to be used in...

It is often assumed that voluntary sustainability standards - such as Fairtrade - could not only improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of smallholder farmers in developing countries but could also help to reduce negative health and environmental impacts of agricultural production. The empirical...

This study assesses the impact of four coal mines in Mozambique on the socioeconomic outcomes of the local population. We combine four waves of household surveys with coal mine locations data and employ a difference-in-difference model. The timing of the surveys allows us to control for...

Understanding how producers make decisions to allot acreage among crops and how decisions about land use are affected by changes in prices and their volatility is fundamental for predicting the supply of staple crops and, hence, assessing the global food supply situation. The innovations of the...