Jurgen Zeddies

Organization of Russia’s Large Scale Farms

This paper analyzes the situation of large scale farms, mostly former kolkhozes and sovkhozes, in the Russian transition period. A continuing, significant decline in land use, employment, production, productivity, liquidity and financial results since privatization in 1992 and after the considerable changes in economic and legal sphere in 1995–96 is documented. The development of factor endowment, crop and livestock production, marketing and management failures rising from necessary adjustment to the changing economic environment and organization problems are elaborated. Finally the paper gives some policy recommendations for improving the economic setting in which Russia’s large scale farms have to operate.

Economic Analysis of Different Farming Systems on the Individual Farm Level in the Northeast of Brazil

One main scientific goal of the research program WAVES is the analysis of possible reactions of farm enterprises to changing frame conditions in the context of global change processes in semiarid rural areas in the northeast of Brazil concerning long-term ecological, social and economic sustainability of agricultural production systems.

Should Russia comply with EU food safety norms in the wheat sector

Abstract The impressive volumes of wheat production in Russia on the one hand and the good baking quality of Russian wheat on the other hand enabled Russia to become one of the important wheat producers and exporters of the world since the recent few years. However, Russia has a long way to go on the “front” of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), i.e. food safety, standards. As part of a larger study, financed by the German Research Foundation, the current research addresses the objective of estimating the potentials of wheat production in Russia under more stringent food safety standards as the current Russian national SPS regulations are. The comparative advantage analysis based on the domestic resource cost (DRC) approach is applied to estimate the possible compliance of Russian norms with European Union (EU) SPS standards. The DRC analysis resulting in a ratio of 0.37 provides evidence of high social profitability of wheat chain in the Stavropol region. Also the scenarios of compliance of Russian food safety norms with those of EU offer plausible solutions with DRC ratios varying within the range of 0.49–0.96 dependent on the fluctuations of model parameters. From the methodological point of view, the paper represents one of the rare cases, where DRC is applied for food safety issues in a transition country context.

Sustainability of Mountainous Farming Systems

Various ethnic minority groups living in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand have been engaged in agriculture there for several decades. Over the last two decades, there has been a trend towards permanent settlements. Former opium growing farmers, such as the Hmong, have settled down permanently and have abandoned their traditional shifting cultivation system. Since the early 1980s, national programs have led to a crucial change in the area’s agricultural structure. Traditional opium cultivation, which constituted the main source of peasant income in the region, was substituted with intensive land use systems in the form of cash crop cultivation, such as vegetables, fruits and cut flowers. Animal husbandry plays a minor role in generating income (scFalvey, 2000).

A farm-level analysis of short-term selective yield enhancing measures in milk production — the example of bovine somatotropin (bST)

Abstract Results of a farm-level analysis of selective measures for enhancing milk yield are discussed in this paper, using the example of bovine somatotropin (bST) which seems to be very appropriate for selective use because of its short-term applicability. Under the conditions of a milk quota system in particular, selective measures for influencing milk yield are of great importance. In the case of bST positive income effects are expected from treating cows with lower yields or cows with a high nutrient-intake capacity. Furthermore, seasonal milk price and fodder cost fluctuations are good reasons for influencing milk yield at certain periods. Finally, the application of bST only in certain parts of the lactation period is evaluated and the economic effect of using bST as an alternative for exact fulfilment of the milk quota on a yearly basis has been estimated. In summary it can be stated that positive income effects up to about 200 DM per cow per year can be expected depending on the application strategy of bST and excluding the costs for bST compound and treatment.