scholarly journals Assessing the profitability and sustainability of upland farming systems in Cambantoc subwatershed, Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 892 (1) ◽  
pp. 012066
Author(s):  
R M B Legaspi ◽  
E C B Toribio ◽  
E P L Yohanon ◽  
C D Predo ◽  
D G K Vergara
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Downstream Communities ◽  
Benefit Cost

Abstract Deforestation, forest and land degradation affect the provision of ecosystem services in the watersheds of Laguna Lake. The study site, Cambantoc Subwatershed, experiences unsustainable upland farming practices that worsen the flooding situation in the downstream areas. This study analyzed rice monocropping and agroforestry farming systems upstream based on measures of profitability, sustainability, and soil quality using the Benefit-Cost Analysis and Soil Changes Under Agroforestry (SCUAF) model. Data on the costs and benefits of the farming systems and the parameters used in calibrating the model were acquired through interviews and secondary data collection. The study found that monocropping is more profitable while agroforestry has better environmental benefits because it can minimize soil erosion and soil nutrient loss through time. Agroforestry is an ideal example of Nature-Based Solution to achieve sustainable farming and enhance the delivery of ecosystem services such as soil nutrient enrichment in the upstream farms and flood mitigation in the downstream areas. The results of this study can serve as a decision support for the policy makers to consider developing and implementing market-based instruments to capture the total benefits of agroforestry to both upland farmers and downstream communities.

Distributional Weights in Benefit-Cost Analysis: Examples from Rwanda and Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. Moss ◽  
Andrew Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Systematic Variation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Small Producer ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development ◽  
Benefit Cost

Abstract The question of how to allocate scarce agricultural research and development dollars is significant for developing countries. Historically, benefit/cost analysis has been the standard for comparing the relative benefits of alternative investments. We examine the potential of shifting the implicit equal weights approach to benefit/cost analysis, as well as how a systematic variation in welfare weights may affect different groups important to policy makers. For example, in the case of Rwandan coffee, a shift in the welfare weights that would favor small coffee producers in Rwanda over foreign consumers of Rwandan coffee would increase the support for investments in small producer coffee projects. Generally, changes in welfare weights alter the ordering for selecting investments across alternative projects.

scholarly journals A benefit-cost analysis framework for prioritization of control programs for well-established invasive alien species

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 31-52
Author(s):  
Rakel Blaalid ◽  
Kristin Magnussen ◽  
Nina Bruvik Westberg ◽  
Ståle Navrud
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
And Control ◽  
Established Species

Invasive alien species (IAS) are identified as a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services. While early detection and control programs to avoid establishments of new alien species can be very cost-effective, control costs for well-established species can be enormous. Many of these well-established species constitute severe or high ecological impact and are thus likely to be included in control programs. However, due to limited funds, we need to prioritize which species to control according to the gains in ecological status and human well-being compared to the costs. Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) provides such a tool but has been hampered by the difficulties in assessing the overall social benefits on the same monetary scale as the control costs. In order to overcome this obstacle, we combine a non-monetary benefit assessment tool with the ecosystem service framework to create a benefit assessment in line with the welfare economic underpinnings of BCA. Our simplified BCA prioritization tool enables us to conduct rapid and cheap appraisals of large numbers of invasive species that the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre has found to cause negative ecological impacts. We demonstrate this application on 30 well-established invasive alien vascular plant species in Norway. Social benefits are calculated and aggregated on a benefit point scale for six impact categories: four types of ecosystem services (supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural), human health and infrastructure impacts. Total benefit points are then compared to the total control costs of programs aiming at eradicating individual IAS across Norway or in selected vulnerable ecosystems. Although there are uncertainties with regards to IAS population size, benefits assessment and control program effectiveness and costs; our simplified BCA tool identified six species associated with robust low cost-benefit ratios in terms of control costs (in million USD) per benefit point. As a large share of public funds for eradication of IAS is currently spent on control programs for other plant species, we recommend that the environmental authorities at all levels use our BCA prioritization tool to increase the social benefits of their limited IAS control budgets. In order to maximize the net social benefits of IAS control programs, environmental valuation studies of their ecosystem service benefits are needed.

scholarly journals Incorporating Distributional Issues into Benefit Cost Analysis: Why, How, and Two Empirical Examples Using Non-market Valuation

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Loomis
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Contingent Valuation Method ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Interaction Terms ◽  
Valuation Method ◽  
Non Market Valuation ◽  
Benefit Cost

This article reviews the rationale for and various approaches used by economists to incorporate distributional consequences of projects or policies into benefit-cost analyses. Approaches reviewed include distributional weights and metrics based on the Lorenz curve. Analysis of distributional issues in partial equilibrium and general equilibrium settings are briefly reviewed. We present an empirical demonstration of how the contingent valuation method (CVM) and hedonic property methods (HPM) can be used to quantify how non-market environmental benefits are distributed by income and ethnicity. Using CVM, the distribution of non-market benefits can be cross-tabbed with respondent demographics, so that a variety of “distributions” of benefits by relevant demographic groups can be calculated. Using the HPM, the analyst can statistically test to see if the implicit price gradient varies with differences in income and ethnicity. In our empirical example, we find that ethnicity and income interaction terms on the implicit price gradient are statistically significant suggesting differential effects of National Forest fire suppression policies on Hispanics and low income households.

The Impact of Turkish Agricultural Policy on Competitiveness of Cotton Production

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betül Gürer ◽  
Berna Türkekul ◽  
M. Necat Ören ◽  
Canan Abay ◽  
Burhan Özalp
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Resource Cost ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Policy Analysis Matrix

This study applied Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to assess the competitiveness of cotton production in terms of profitability and to measure the effects of agricultural policies at national level which is produced under a set of various subsidies in Turkey. First, agricultural policies applied for cotton production in Turkey were examined. Policy transfers, resource utilization, costs, private and social profits resulting from these applications were also presented with PAM. Also some important indicators such as Domestic Resource Cost (DRC), Effective Protection Coefficient (EPC), and Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) were calculated from PAM framework to measure competitiveness. This method is widely used to analysis of the impact of policies on production economics and it is a very effective method. PAM is mainly based on benefit-cost analysis. Besides the secondary data analysis of the effects of policy, the data obtained through face to face interviews with producers selected through stratified sampling method in the 3 regions and 4 provinces with high productions.

scholarly journals Accounting for Externalities in Benefit-Cost Measures: An Analysis of a Land Buyout and Associated Projects to Save the Everglades

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Schmitz ◽  
P. Lynn Kennedy ◽  
Julie Hill-Gabriel
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Everglades Restoration ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Sugar Market ◽  
Dollar Amount ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Benefits And Costs ◽  
The U.S

As part of efforts to restore the Everglades, in 2008, Governor Crist of Florida proposed the acquisition of 187,000 acres of land from the U.S. Sugar Corporation (U.S. Sugar) for this purpose, but the final purchase in August 2010 totaled only 26,800 acres. This article presents the history behind the alternatives, including the buyout of U.S. Sugar land, to improve Florida's water quality and the health of the Everglades. To determine the benefits and costs of several of the U.S. Sugar land buyout proposals, a spatial price equilibrium model of the U.S. sugar market is developed. Within this framework, all the benefit-cost ratios calculated show that the benefits are less than the costs. Our analysis uses the concept of an Environmental Equivalent, which is the dollar amount of environmental benefits needed from the Everglades restoration or water quality projects to generate benefits that are as great as or greater than its costs. Also, we consider, within the context of ex ante vs. ex post benefit-cost analysis, the developments to clean up the Everglades since the U.S. Sugar land purchase.

Environmental Benefits of Precision Agriculture Adoption

2020 ◽  
pp. 637-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Medici ◽  
Søren Marcus Pedersen ◽  
Giacomo Carli ◽  
Maria Rita Tagliaventi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Herbicide Application ◽  
Pesticide Application ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Biodiversity Policy ◽  
Lime Application

The purpose of this study is to analyse the environmental benefits of precision agriculture technology adoption obtained from the mitigation of negative environmental impacts of agricultural inputs in modern farming. Our literature review of the environmental benefits related to the adoption of precision agriculture solutions is aimed at raising farmers' and other stakeholders' awareness of the actual environmental impacts from this set of new technologies. Existing studies were categorised according to the environmental impacts of different agricultural activities: nitrogen application, lime application, pesticide application, manure application and herbicide application. Our findings highlighted the effects of the reduction of input application rates and the consequent impacts on climate, soil, water and biodiversity. Policy makers can benefit from the outcomes of this study developing an understanding of the environmental impact of precision agriculture in order to promote and support initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable agriculture.

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