Economic analysis of the environmental sustainability of agriculture: recent studies using quasi-experimental methods

PurposeThe purpose of this review article is to demonstrate how the quasi-experimental approach has been used to study environmental and natural resource issues related to agricultural production.Design/methodology/approachThis review article first provides a short introduction to the quasi-experimental approach using the potential outcomes framework and then uses studies on the environmental sustainability of agricultural production to illustrate how quasi-experimental methods have been applied. Papers reviewed consist of studies that estimate the environmental externalities from agricultural production, evaluate agri-environmental and other related policies and programs, and demonstrate issues related to on-farm resource use and climate adaptation.FindingsDifference-in-differences (DID) and two-way fixed effects methods that utilize the spatial and temporal variation in panel data are widely used to estimate the causal impact of changes in agricultural production and policy on the environment. Utilizing the discontinuities and limits created by agricultural policies and regulations, local treatment effects on land and other input use are estimated using regression discontinuity (RD) or instrumental variable (IV) methods with cross-sectional data.Originality/valueChallenges faced by the food systems have made agricultural sustainability more critical than ever. Over the past three decades, the quasi-experimental approach has become the powerhouse of applied economic research. This review article focuses on quasi-experimental studies on the environmental sustainability of agriculture to provide methodological insights and to highlight gaps in the economics literature of agricultural sustainability.

Trade Openness, Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

This study applied a panel data of 37 African countries in examining the impact of trade openness and foreign direct investment on sustainable agriculture towards the attainment of the United Nation (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially, SDG-2, with the aim of ending extreme hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Data for the study was sourced from the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) and World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank, for the period 2005 – 2019. To control for endogeneity, the study engaged the system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). The result shows that FDI and trade openness have significant negative impact on agricultural sustainability in Africa. This result implies that, increase in FDI may decrease agricultural sustainability by 0.00294%, while increase in trade openness may lower agricultural sustainability by 0.430066 %. Therefore, the study concludes that while trade openness is negative, policy to raise local production towards export promotion should be encouraged. In addition, FDI should be encouraged to augment local employment and investment towards increasing output and productivity in the Africa region.

Sustainability indicators in Agriculture: A Review and Bibliometric analysis using Scopus database.

Indicators are being used in many agricultural sustainability assessment methods, but disputes about a common indicator for the definition of sustainability have resulted in so many various indicators and methods of measurement. The objective of this review is to provide a bibliometric analysis of sustainability pillars and indicators that has been widely applied. In addition, this paper evaluates the impact of pillars and indicators on scientific research through the analysis of their citation and trend. Using Scopus database, a total of 30 articles have been selected. The search revealed more than 500 indicators, and the top 3 indicators of each pillar which were considered in 7 articles or more are (soil erosion, crop diversity and pesticides) for environmental pillar, (education and training) for social pillar are and (Profitability, productivity and farm income) for economic pillar. Results showed that the environmental pillar is the most tackled in terms of the number of articles (n=22) and the most cited with a mean citation of about 60. The pesticide is the oldest indicator in terms of its average year of publication in 2011, the most cited indicator of more than 250 in 2005 and has the highest mean citation of about 42. The least cited indicators are farm income and training with less than 10 mean citation. Nowadays, the economic pillar is considered one of the most discussed and widely implemented with a total of 7 published articles in 2020.

Fintech and crowdfunding as tools for financing the reproduction process in agricultural activities

Agriculture plays an important role in the food security and sustainability of people in any country. The sustainability of agriculture can be improved by allowing the introduction of innovative services, such as financial technology (FinTech) and the digital marketplace. A digital trading platform supported by financial technology can transform business processes in agriculture into more sustainable ones in terms of financing and distribution. FinTech offers farmers easy ways to obtain funding sources through crowdfunding and digital payment systems. A digital trading platform can act as a platform for FinTech to integrate an innovative financial solution into the broader agricultural ecosystem. The article proposes a digital marketplace model using FinTech and a crowdfunding and payment system to support agricultural sustainability. The crowdfunding digital marketplace model brings together all participants (farmers, landowners, investors and consumers) in a platform that can promote transparency, empowerment, resourcefulness and public participation in agriculture.