Kenneth J. Thomson

INPUT AND OUTPUT TECHNICAL EFFICIENCIES OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN KERMAN, IRAN

The Iranian government encourages farmers to produce wheat (a common agricultural enterprise) by increasing farm productivity and efficiency. In this paper, using a Cobb–Douglas frontier production function, a simple relationship between a farm-level output-based technical efficiency measure (the Timmer index) and an input-based measure (the Kopp index) is first developed. Then, using 1995 data from 164 farms in Kerman province, Iran, the average Timmer and Kopp indexes were estimated at 0.93 and 0.91, respectively, and were found to be similarly affected by farm size (positively up to about 9 ha) and by input ratios, though with rather small explanatory power. Thus, there seems some but limited scope to increase the profitability of Iranian wheat production either by increasing the product, given input levels, or by decreasing inputs for the current level of wheat production. However, since wheat producers may be able to adapt their production process more easily and quickly by implementing new techniques, i.e. by more efficient combination of inputs, than by adopting new technology, correction of input over-use can be regarded as a policy with speedy if limited effect in this case.

Current constraints and future possibilities for Bangladesh fisheries

Abstract Fisheries are an important source of animal protein, foreign exchange earnings and employment generation in Bangladesh. This paper examines the current status of fisheries in Bangladesh, for each of the major sub-sectors — inland open waters, inland closed waters (aquaculture), and marine fisheries. Production has been on the increase for all types of fisheries, but the productivity of rivers and estuaries is variable, there are many constraints on expansion, and it is difficult to identify significant achievements from government policy efforts. A host of factors are responsible for the under-utilisation of fishing areas, including resource limitations, poor implementation of fisheries laws, the limited spread of fish farming technology, low financial capacities and ineffective extension practices. These constraints are discussed for the three sub-sectors, and some possibilities for future improvements are suggested.

The influence of UK NGOs on the Common Agricultural Policy

Following the 1992 agreement on the MacSharry reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU), further CAP reform is a continuous element of current debate within and outside the Union. In Agenda 2000 (Commission, 1997), the Commission proposes ‘deepening and extending the 1992 reform through further shifts from price support to direct payments, and developing a coherent rural policy to accompany this process’. The pressures for further reform include:

Economic Welfare Effects of Romanian Agricultural Accession to the EU

The EU’s enlargement process towards the East is a hotly debated subject for the policymakers of both the present members of the EU and the applicant countries. The economic and social costs and benefits of this process are still questions with imprecise and controversial answers. In the context of enlargement, agriculture is an essential topic due to the importance of the sector for most of the future members and the budgetary implications of extending the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in particular the role of direct payments. It is estimated (European Commission, 1997a) that if all ten Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) join in 2002 with full adoption of the existing CAP, the budgetary impact by 2005 would represent an additional cost to the FEOGA Guarantee Section of 11 billion ECU (EURO) per year, of which about 63% would be direct payments. Furthermore, it is widely believed that the agricultural sector represents a major obstacle to EU accession in most applicant countries owing to changes in EU rates of protection, the budgetary costs of applying the CAP, commitments under the WTO agreements, and the incidence of high food price levels on consumers. For a large country such as Romania, the agricultural sector plays a major role in EU accession in terms of its economic consequences.