Impact of buyers’ support on farmer performance and investments in the Brazilian pork supply chain

This paper analyses how the technical and managerial support of buyers affects the performance and investment capacity of Brazilian pig farmers. The paper also analyses the influence of the farmers’ investment capacity on their own performance and how that performance in turn influences the investment requirements demanded by buyers. We developed a structural equation model applied to a sample of 199 farmers including piglet farmers (n=91) and finishers (n=108) working under production contracts. The model includes two constructs that assess performance – financial performance and production and quality performance. The results show that buyer support positively influences both performance constructs and investment requirements for piglet farmers and finishers. The relationship between buyer support and investment capacity was significant only in the sample of finishers. Farmers’ investment capacity positively influences both performance constructs in the sample of piglet farmers. For finishers, investment capacity influences only financial performance. Moreover, only production and quality performance of finishers influences investment requirements. The results provide buyers and farmers with insights for refinements in support policies and management.

Production Contracts and Food Quality: A Transaction Cost Analysis for the Italian Durum Wheat Sector

Agribusiness firms requiring a consistent supply of high quality agricultural raw materials have increasingly adopted production contracts to coordinate their supply chains. The present work is aimed to shed light on the role played by sources of asset specificity and uncertainty related to quality strategies in the diffusion of contractual arrangements within the Italian durum wheat sector. To this purpose, factor analyses and probit regressions are estimated in data collected among durum wheat producers. The findings confirm that the role of asset specificity is negligible in presence of staple crops. Moreover, they reveal that experience, transparency and technological stability are all relevant aspects that reduce uncertainty and, in turn, trigger the adoption of production contracts as a governance solution for durum wheat.

Does the Contract Type Matter? Impact of Marketing and Production Contracts on Cashew Farmers’ Farm Performance in Ghana

Many studies show that participation in contract farming has positive impacts on farm productivity and incomes. Most of the literature, however, does not take into account that contracts vary in their specifications, making empirical evidence scarce on the diverse impacts of different types of contracts. In this study, we investigate the driving forces of participation in marketing and production contracts, relative to spot markets. We also study the extent to which different contract types add additional benefits to smallholder farmers, using recent survey data of 389 cashew farmers in Ghana. To account for selection bias arising from observed and unobserved factors, we apply a multinomial endogenous switching regression method and implement a counterfactual analysis. The empirical results demonstrate that farmers who participate in production contracts obtain significantly higher cashew yields, cashew net revenues, and are more food secure compared to spot market farmers. We also find substantial heterogeneity in the impact of marketing and production contracts across scale of operation. Small sized farms that participate in production contracts tend to benefit the most. Marketing contracts, however, do not appear to benefit cashew farmers.

Conteúdo Local nos contratos de exploração e produção de petróleo e gás natural

<p>Local Content in oil and natural gas exploration and production contracts</p><p> </p><p>O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a exigência de contratação em percentuais mínimos de fornecedores brasileiros advinda das cláusulas de Conteúdo Local nos contratos de exploração e produção de petróleo e gás natural. Para tanto, examina-se em que consistem as obrigações de Conteúdo Local, bem como sua natureza jurídica. Em seguida, o artigo investiga os casos em que as cláusulas de Conteúdo Local se mostram ineficazes e o cumprimento dos percentuais ofertados quando da apresentação das respectivas propostas se afigura inexigível, destacando sempre que a existência da obrigação imposta pelas cláusulas de Conteúdo Local é condicionada à verificação concreta do seu suporte fático. Finalmente, o trabalho se debruça sobre a possibilidade de aplicação de sanções ao particular contratante nos casos em que a incidência das cláusulas de Conteúdo Local resta afastada.</p><p> </p><p>This article aims to analyze the requirement of contracting minimum percentages from Brazilian suppliers arising from the Local Content clauses in oil and natural gas exploration and production contracts. To this end, the paper examines what constitutes the Local Content obligations, as well as their legal nature. The article then goes on to investigate cases in which Local Content clauses are ineffective and when compliance with the percentages offered when proposals were submitted looks unenforceable, emphasizing that the existence of the obligation imposed by the Local Content clauses is conditional on effective verification. Finally, the work focuses on the possibility of applying sanctions to the private contractor in cases of non-compliance.</p>