Luiza Toma

Nutritional effects on oocyte and embryo development in mammals: implications for reproductive efficiency and environmental sustainability

The environment in which a breeding female lives prior to conception and during the early stages of her pregnancy has striking effects on oocytes developing in the ovarian follicle and on early embryos in the reproductive tract. Of the various environmental factors known to affect oocyte and embryo development, altered nutrition during this critical period has been particularly well studied. Alterations in the quantity of food consumed or the composition of the diet imposed solely during the pre-mating period affect oocyte maturity, blastocyst yield, prenatal survival and the number of offspring born alive. Importantly, nutrition at this time also affects the quality of embryos and resultant offspring, with increasing evidence from a variety of species showing that peri-conception nutrition can alter behaviour, cardiovascular function and reproductive function throughout post-natal life. In livestock species, it is important to devise nutritional strategies that improve reproductive efficiency and the quality of offspring but that do not add to the environmental footprint of the production system and which recognize likely changes in feedstuff availability arising from predicted changes in climate.

A typology of dairy farmer perceptions towards climate change

Dairy farming is an industry which could potentially mitigate a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. However, perception and acceptance towards climate change is a significant barrier to voluntary adoption of best practice techniques. A number of countries have set targets for reducing emissions, of which Scotland has one of the most ambitious agendas. This paper presents results from an extensive survey of 540 dairy farmers, conducted in 2009, with the aim of understanding attitudes, values and intentions towards climate change. Only half of these farmers agreed that temperatures would rise in the future and this could significantly hinder adoption of voluntary measures to meet emissions targets. To explore this further a typology was developed on the responses to attitude and value statements, using principal components and cluster analysis methods. Six distinct types were found to exist which had a range of outlooks towards the impact of climate change in the future. However, five of the six types stated no intention to adopt practices which would reduce emissions. The typology approach supports diversified engagement strategies and a more innovation-led or resource maximisation view towards farming was expressed by several of these types. This may indicate that policy makers should focus on ‘win-win’ technologies as a means to effectively engage with these. However, a number of types were disengaged from the process which was driven by uncertainties towards projections for global warming and this needs to be addressed by both scientists and policy makers to ensure greater participation within the farming community.

Utilising a farmer typology to understand farmer behaviour towards water quality management: Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in Scotland

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) are employed as compulsory instruments to meet standards on EU water quality. Farmers operating in NVZs face a number of restrictions on agricultural activity and a greater requirement for record keeping in relation to timing and quantities of nitrogen inputs used. This paper presents results of a survey into the attitudes and values of farmers within the designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in Scotland. A typology based on perceptions towards water quality management was developed using factor and cluster analysis techniques. Three types were identified as ‘resistors’, ‘apathists’ and ‘multifunctionalists’. The ‘resistors’ and the ‘multifunctionalists’ had similar approaches to land use management, but then diverged in terms of their perceptions towards the environment, water management and the NVZ regulations in particular. The apathists were indifferent towards the aims of the regulation and to water quality management in general. This was also evidenced by their lack of uptake of voluntary measures for improving water quality. The lack of engagement from the ‘apathists’, which represent around a third of the responses to the survey, is particularly problematic for policy makers. There is a need for greater targeting of information to this farmer type emphasising favourable perceptions which encourage water quality management behaviours.

Stated environmental preferences in a Romanian rural community

This article uses random utility theory to analyse the economic and environmental trade‐offs at farm level in a Romanian rural area confronting water pollution on the basis of survey data. To underline the impact of socio‐economic variables in the decision‐making process at farm level as regards environmental choices, a binary logit model is estimated that includes socio‐economic variables in addition to the attributes in the choice set. The study shows that heterogeneity in tastes is partially captured by the inclusion of socio‐economic variables such as age, education, access to agri‐environmental information, number of children, land ownership and investment behaviour.

An ex-ante economic appraisal of Bluetongue virus incursions and control strategies

The incursion of Bluetongue disease into the UK and elsewhere in Northern Europe in 2008 raised concerns about maintaining an appropriate level of preparedness for the encroachment of exotic diseases as circumstances and risks change. Consequently the Scottish government commissioned the present study to inform policy on the specific threat of Bluetongue virus 8 (BTV8) incursion into Scotland. An interdisciplinary expert panel, including BTV and midge experts, agreed a range of feasible BTV incursion scenarios, patterns of disease spread and specific control strategies. The study was primarily desk-based, applying quantitative methodologies with existing models, where possible, and utilizing data already held by different members of the project team. The most likely distribution of the disease was explored given Scotlands agricultural systems, unique landscape and climate. Epidemiological and economic models are integrated in an ex-ante cost-benefit appraisal of successful prevention of hypothetical BTV8 incursion into Scotland under various feasible incursion scenarios identified by the interdisciplinary panel. The costs of current public and private surveillance efforts are compared to the benefits of the avoided losses of potential disease outbreaks. These avoided losses included the direct costs of alternative vaccination, protection zone (PZ) strategies and their influence on other costs arising from an outbreak as predicted by the epidemiological model. Benefit-cost ratios were ranked within each incursion scenario to evaluate alternative strategies. In all incursion scenarios, the ranking indicated that a strategy, including 100% vaccination within a PZ set at Scottish counties along the England–Scotland border yielded the least benefit in terms of the extent of avoided outbreak losses (per unit cost). The economically optimal vaccination strategy was the scenario that employed 50% vaccination and all Scotland as a PZ. The results provide an indicator of how resources can best be targeted for an efficient ex-ante control strategy.

A behavioural economics analysis of the impact of information and knowledge on CO2 capture and storage acceptance in the European Union

Abstract The paper analyses the impact that European Union citizens’ access to information on climate change has on their awareness of carbon capture and storage (CCS), perceived risks and benefits of using CCS and stated choice of preferred CCS options. We use a Eurobarometer dataset about awareness/acceptance of CCS and run structural equation models (SEM) for twelve EU countries with an average sample size of 1,100 observations per country. Results between the different countries are comparable and, alongside other determinants, access to information sources will significantly impact CCS awareness, perceived risk and benefits of CCS and preferences towards options of CCS.

The Impact of EU Export Refunds on the African Continent: An Impact Assessment

Abstract The EU’s export refund policy has long been a source of controversy for its perceived impacts on third country markets. However, the EU Commission maintain that these concerns are largely historic as CAP reforms mean that export refunds are now used infrequently. The purpose of this article is therefore to assess the impacts of refunds in the wake of the 2003 reform of the CAP using two complementary analyses: first, an analysis using a computable general equilibrium model and second, two case studies to assess the potential impact of export refunds in selected African developing countries.

Adaptation, resilience and CAP reform: a comparison of crofts and livestock farms in Scotland

ABSTRACT In this paper, we assess the recent and anticipated changes on Scotland’s livestock-producing crofts, using a representative survey of Scottish farmers undertaken in 2013. We find that crofters are similar to other livestock farmers, both inside and outside of the traditional crofting counties, in terms of age, years of involvement in the holding and percentage of identified successors, but are less likely to own their holdings or to operate them for profit. Crofters reported being more subsidy dependent than other livestock producers, and many appear likely to retreat from crofting in the event of substantive subsidy reductions. However, crofting respondents identified input costs, regulations, commodity prices and climate change as having had greater influence on how they manage their crofts than the 2005 transition to the ‘Single Farm Payment’. Overall, crofters reported making fewer changes than their counterparts in non-crofting counties, but similar levels to those of other livestock farmers within crofting counties, suggesting less ‘room for manoeuvre’ within the remote areas in which most crofts are located. However, there is some evidence that ‘active’ crofts are ‘bouncing forward’ in response to recent challenges, particularly into forestry and agri-tourism, also reporting significantly higher perceived economic prospects.

Buying and wasting sustainably: determinants of green behaviour in Cyprus and Sweden

The paper examines the impact of determinants on purchasing of eco-labelled products and waste separation for recycling in Cyprus and Sweden. The analysis uses logistic regression and Eurobarometer survey data. Results show that policy measures could be targeted to dealing with situational factors (e.g., availability of recycling services) (more so in Cyprus than in Sweden); improving access to trusted information sources and better targeting information (especially on environmental impacts of specific behaviours) to different population groups, e.g., by income and gender (in both Cyprus and Sweden); and improving labelling for ecological products (more so in Cyprus than in Sweden).