Miguel Robles

Negative Impact on Calorie Intake Associated with the 2006–08 Food Price Crisis in Latin America

Background From 2006 to 2008, there were sharp increases in the prices of major food commodities globally, including maize, rice, and wheat. Few studies have contributed empirical evidence of the nutritional impacts of this food price crisis. Objective To assess changes in energy intake in response to food price shocks and in relation to calorie adequacy levels in seven Latin American countries. Methods Data were drawn from nationally representative household budget surveys. The quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model characterized change patterns in consumption for six food groups and one nonfood group under two scenarios: actual change in food prices by country, and standardized 10% increase in prices across all countries. Energy intakes before and after the crisis were determined once calories were assigned to food items from the ProPAN and US Department of Agriculture food composition databases. Results Energy intakes were reduced by 8.0% (range, 0.95% to 15.1%) from precrisis levels across all countries. Ecuador and Panama were the worst affected, followed by Haiti and Nicaragua. There was a consistent, direct relationship between wealth quintile and change in energy intake. Rural areas were affected to the same extent as or a greater extent than urban areas. High positive increases in calorie consumption were found in the richest wealth quintile, exceeding 10% of previous levels in five countries. Conclusions Policies and programs targeting the poorest households in both rural and urban areas may be needed to offset the energy deficits associated with food price increases. More research is needed on the effect of food prices and micronutrient nutrition.

Demand for a Simple Weather Insurance Product in India: Theory and Evidence

This article analyzes the demand for a simple rainfall-based weather insurance product among farmers in rural India. We explore the predictions of a standard expected utility theory framework on the nature of demand in terms of price, the basis of the hedge, and risk aversion using data from a randomized control trial. We find that demand behaves as predicted: it falls with price and basis risk and is hump-shaped in risk aversion, with price sensitivity decreasing at higher levels of basis risk. We estimate a negative price elasticity of 0.58 and find that doubling the distance to a reference weather station decreases demand by 18%. These results indicate that improving pricing and quality of insurance products can directly increase demand. In addition, we examine the impact of insurance training relative to other mechanisms designed to increase understanding. The evidence suggests that increased incentives to learn or learning by using are more effective at increasing both understanding and demand. Finally, we contribute to the scarce evidence on the demand for insurance over time. In terms of our main interventions, we find that the effect of premium subsidies persists over time, while the impact of investments in new weather stations diminishes and the effect of increased training in the first season seems to disappear during the second season. Importantly, while having previously purchased insurance does not encourage future uptake, receiving a payout does. This could reflect issues of trust in the product or the insurance company, and constitutes an important topic for future research.

Transmission of Food Price Volatility from International to Domestic Markets: Evidence from Africa, Latin America, and South Asia

Understanding the degree to which international food price volatility is transmitted to markets in developing countries is critical for helping design better policies to cope with volatility and protect vulnerable groups. This chapter uses a multivariate GARCH approach to model price volatility transmission from world grain markets to 41 markets in 27 developing countries. We found that maize prices are more volatile than rice and wheat prices and that prices in Africa are more volatile than those in Latin America and South Asia. International grain price volatility is most likely to be transmitted to domestic markets for wheat, followed by rice and then maize. Furthermore, international price volatility is most likely to be transmitted to markets in South America, followed by Asia, Africa, and then Central America. Price volatility transmission seems to occur more often when international trade in a commodity is large relative to the commodity’s domestic production or consumption.

Fertilización química y orgánica en la producción de sandía en el norte de México

In the present study, the effect of fertilization with solarized bovine manure and vermicompost at different levels in the watermelon crop variety PEACOCK WR124 was evaluated. A watering system was used. The study factors were bovine manure (FE) and vermicompost (FV) at different levels. In the case of FE: 0, 40, 60, 80 t ha-1, chemical fertilization (FQ) 120-60 and for FV: 0, 3, 6, 9 t ha-1. An experimental block design was used randomly with arrangement in stripes with three repetitions. The soil variables studied were: electrical conductivity, pH, organic matter and nitrates at three depths (0 to 15, 15 to 30 and 30 to 45 cm). The yield and total soluble solids in fruit were evaluated. The highest values ​​of organic matter (3.23%) and nitrates (39.71 mg kg-1) were found in the depth from 0 to 15 cm, corresponding to the treatment of 80 t ha-1 of solarized bovine manure and 9 t ha-1 of vermicompost, showing an increase due to the interaction of organic fertilizers. Significant statistical difference was found in CE and soil pH. The best yields were associated with the treatment of vermicompost of 3 t ha-1 with the chemical treatment, with a yield of 32 t ha-1.

Effect of Different Seaweed Extracts and Compost on Vegetative Growth, Yield and Nutraceutical Quality of Cucumber Fruit (Cucumis Sativus)

The objective of this research was to evaluate the production and phytochemical quality of 22 cucumber fruits (Cucumis sativus), in response to the foliar application of different seaweed extracts. This 23 study was carried out under shadow mesh conditions in the autumn winter agricultural cycle at Instituto 24 Tecnológico de Torreón, Torreón, Coahuila. The experimental design was completely random, using six 25 treatments with six repetitions each. The treatments evaluated were: Macrocystis pyrifera, Bryothamnion 26 triquetrum, Ascophyllum nodosum, Grammatophora sp., Macrocystis intergrifolia, and a control treatment 27 with inorganic fertilization. The substrate used was a mixture of sand and vermicompost. The yield, 28 commercial quality and phytochemical compounds of the fruit were evaluated. Results showed that yield 29 using Steiner solution (6.75 kg m-2) was higher than that obtained with Bryothamnion triquetrum algae (6.07 30 kg m-2). Regarding the phenolic content, the extracts surpassed the control treatment, with Macrocystis 31 pyrifera and Macrocystis integrifolia being statistically equal, with values of 47.37 and 43.73 mg equiv. of Ac. 32 Gallic 100 g fresh weight, respectively. The antioxidant capacity by ABTS+ and DPPH+ methods was higher 33 using the treatment with algae Macrocystis pyrifera with 149.4 and 454.1 μM equiv Trolox / 100 g fresh base, 34 respectively. This treatment also presented the highest value of vitamin C with 5.07 mg / 100 g fresh base, 35 being 27% greater than the control treatment. Algae extracts increased the quality of the fruits by obtaining 36 the highest antioxidant capacity, making their use a viable option to minimize the application of conventional 37 fertilizers, thereby attenuating the effects on the environment and improving the health of the population. 38