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Agric Econ 2021 May 16;52(3):459-475. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics University of California Berkeley California USA.

Coronavirus disease 2019 and related lockdown policies in 2020 shocked food industry firms' supply chains in developing regions. Firms "pivoted" to e-commerce to reach consumers and e-procurement to reach processors and farmers. "Delivery intermediaries" copivoted with food firms to help them deliver and procure. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 8;52(3):423-440. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Division of Bio-economics, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences KU Leuven Belgium.

In this paper we descriptively investigate the Covid-19 pandemic's early impact on the fruit and vegetable supply chain in Senegal, using trade statistics and survey data collected through online questionnaires and telephone interviews with smallholder farmers, agro-industrial companies, agricultural workers, traders, importers, and consumers. Our results point to major differences in how Covid-19 and containment measures disrupt supply chains between the modern export-oriented supply chain that is centered around a few large vertically integrated agro-industrial companies, and the more traditional domestic-oriented supply chain with a large number of smallholder farmers and informal traders-with the former being more resilient to the Covid-19 shock. We show that both the modern and the traditional supply chain innovate to cope with the Covid-19 containment measures. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 8;52(3):375-390. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Markets, Trade and Institutions Division at IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA.

This study assesses the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on poverty, food insecurity, and diets, accounting for the complex links between the crisis and the incomes and living costs of vulnerable households. Key elements are impacts on labor supply, effects of social distancing, shifts in demand from services involving close contact, increases in the cost of logistics in food and other supply chains, and reductions in savings and investment. These are examined using IFPRI's global general equilibrium model linked to epidemiological and household models. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 25;52(3):525-542. Epub 2021 May 25.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division Washington District of Columbia USA.

In March 2020, India declared a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such restrictions on mobility interrupted the normal functioning of agricultural value chains. For a sample of 1767 tomato and wheat producers in the state of Haryana, we study to what extent the lockdown limited access to inputs, labor, machinery, and markets to produce, harvest, and sell their crops. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 3;52(3):505-523. Epub 2021 May 3.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Yangon Myanmar.

This article provides evidence of the immediate impacts of the first months of the COVID-19 crisis on farming communities in central Myanmar using baseline data from January 2020 and follow-up phone survey data from June 2020 with 1,072 women and men. Heterogeneous effects among households are observed. Fifty-one percent of the sample households experienced income loss from various livelihood activities, and landless households were more severely affected by the crisis, mainly because of lost farm and nonfarm employment and negative impacts on rural enterprises. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 11;52(3):495-504. Epub 2021 May 11.

Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions Stanford University Stanford California USA.

This study examines the effects of local and nationwide COVID-19 disease control measures on the health and economy of China's rural population. We conducted phone surveys with 726 randomly selected village informants across seven rural Chinese provinces in February 2020. Four villages (0. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 2;52(3):477-494. Epub 2021 May 2.

Markets, Trade and Institutions Division International Food Policy Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA.

This article examines the short-term effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on food security and nutrition in rural Guatemala. We rely on a comprehensive panel dataset of 1,824 small agricultural households collected over two survey rounds, on November-December 2019 and May-June 2020. We place special emphasis on changes in agricultural and nonagricultural income sources, including remittances, and changes in dietary diversity, including consumption of animal source foods (ASF) and fruits and vegetables (F&V). Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 4;52(3):441-458. Epub 2021 May 4.

Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA.

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has caused ongoing disruptions to U.S. meat markets via demand and supply-side shocks. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 4;52(3):407-421. Epub 2021 May 4.

International Growth Centre Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

It is widely feared that the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a significant worsening of the food security situation in low and middle-income countries. One reason for this is the disruption of food marketing systems and subsequent changes in farm and consumer prices. Based on primary data in Ethiopia collected just before the start and a few months into the pandemic, we assess changes in farm and consumer prices of four major vegetables and the contribution of different segments of the rural-urban value chain in urban retail price formation. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 6;52(3):391-406. Epub 2021 May 6.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Washington District of Columbia USA.

Concerns over the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to trade restrictions by major rice exporters, contributing to an average 25% increase in Thai and Vietnamese rice export prices between December 2019 and March-September 2020. This article assesses the consequences of these rice price increases in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where 99% of rice is imported. Utilizing data from a PNG 2018 rural household survey along with earlier national household survey data, we examine rice consumption patterns in PNG and estimate demand parameters for urban and rural households. Read More

Agric Econ 2021 May 4;52(3):365-374. Epub 2021 May 4.

International Food Policy Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA.

The food system, and those who depend on it, have been strongly but unevenly affected by COVID-19. Overall, the impacts on food systems, poverty, and nutrition have been caused by a combination of a generalized economic recession and disruptions in agri-food supply chains. This paper provides an overview of the contributions to this Special Issue of . Read More

Agric Econ 2020 Jan 27;51(1):47-58. Epub 2019 Nov 27.

International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI Washington, DC USA.

New data and new methods have provided many new insights into rural households in the past 50 years. We analyze what we have learned from household models since Boserup and Becker, using this to frame more recent findings about household behavior from three types of studies: observational studies, experimental games, and impact evaluations. More sex-disaggregated data, as well as data that are collected at smaller units, such as agricultural plots, have allowed us to better understand agricultural productivity, risk sharing, and spousal cooperation. Read More

Agric Econ 2019 Sep 19;50(5):567-580. Epub 2019 Aug 19.

Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division International Food Policy Research Institute Washington DC.

Effective agricultural extension is key to improving productivity, increasing farmers' access to information, and promoting more diverse sets of crops and improved methods of cultivation. In India, however, the coverage of agricultural extension workers and the relevance of extension advice is poor. We investigate whether a women's self-help group (SHG) platform could be an effective way of improving access to information, women's empowerment in agriculture, agricultural practices, and production diversity. Read More

Agric Econ 2019 29;50(Suppl 1):1-12. Epub 2019 Oct 29.

African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces low agricultural productivity amid a confluence of trends that include rapid population growth, climate change, and the rise of the middle class. To raise productivity, governments-in partnership with donors and development organizations-have launched numerous initiatives to encourage the development of sustainable and competitive agricultural input markets. Despite these efforts, markets remain underdeveloped in most countries and access to affordable seeds and fertilizers remains a major challenge for smallholder farmers. Read More

Agric Econ 2018 Jul 2;49(4):409-421. Epub 2018 Jul 2.

International Food Policy Research Institute Washington DC 20005.

In 2013, Ethiopia's Agricultural Transformation Agency introduced the Wheat Initiative to increase smallholder productivity. In this article, we measure the impacts of the Wheat Initiative package of technologies, and its marketing assistance component alone, on yields among a promotional group of farmers. The package includes improved techniques, improved inputs, and a guaranteed market for the crop. Read More

Agric Econ 2008 Dec;39(1):465-476

UCLA School of Public Affairs, 3250 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656, USA.

World food prices have increased dramatically in recent years. We use panel data from 2006 to examine the impact of these increases on the consumption and nutrition of poor households in two Chinese provinces. We find that households in Hunan suffered no nutrition declines. Read More