Papers by Roberto Telleria
The paper analyzes the patterns of productivity and economic growth in Tunisian agriculture durin... more The paper analyzes the patterns of productivity and economic growth in Tunisian agriculture during the period 1981–2007. A regression approach is used to test the hypotheses that government-funded research, development and extension (RD&E), private and investment, terms of trade, and share of irrigated area are significant determinants of total factor productivity (TFP) in the agricultural sector. Results indicate that agricultural output experienced moderate annual growth between 1981 and 2007. Over the whole period, land and capital were found to be the most important contributors to productivity, and labour and livestock the least significant. TFP contribution to agricultural output was important in the 1980s, less important in the 1990s, and became significant again between 2001 and 2007. The findings show that TFP growth was the result of investments in the agricultural sector, with the use of intensive irrigated production systems and the adoption of new production technologie...
Enhancing water security resilience in the face of climate changes in the Arabic World Water ... more Enhancing water security resilience in the face of climate changes in the Arabic World Water shortage at irrigation canal tails in Nile North Delta Region The Yemeni experience of the assessment of the present situation of Water User Associations and their role in community water management in Yemen Managing precious water through need-based micro-irrigation in long duration pigeonpea under Indian Plains conditions Recycling and wastewater as a strategy of addressing water scarcity Integrating gender into climate change response A conceptual framework for water accounting: addressing water balance, crop rotation and economics The impact of food and agricultural policies on groundwater use in Syria Model exploring linkages between water, food security and employment Impact of an improved technology package on irrigated durum wheat productivity: The case of central semiarid Tunisia Agricultural development strategies in West Africa: impact of biophysical and soci...
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), established in 1975, provides evidence-... more The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), established in 1975, provides evidence-based policy solutions to sustainably end hunger and malnutrition and reduce poverty. The Institute conducts research, communicates results, optimizes partnerships, and builds capacity to ensure sustainable food production, promote healthy food systems, improve markets and trade, transform agriculture, build resilience, and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is considered in all of the Institute's work. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world, including development implementers, public institutions, the private sector, and farmers' organizations, to ensure that local, national, regional, and global food policies are based on evidence.
Agricultural Economics Review, 2015
The objective of the study was to investigate how smallholder farm communities could sustain econ... more The objective of the study was to investigate how smallholder farm communities could sustain economically viable agricultural production in the salt-affected areas of Al-Musayyeb in ‘Central Iraq’. It aims at opening a new dimension to farmers and policy makers on how to increase production in soil-affected areas by determining the extent to which it is possible to raise efficiency for salt-affected farmers with the existing resources base and available technology. There were 220 households, randomly stratified, interviewed based on severity of salinity indicators. The scores and determinants of technical efficiency (TE) and allocative efficiency (AE) were identified using stochastic frontier cost and production functions. Empirical findings show that the estimated AE of the farms in the Al-Musayyeb area varied in the range of 56–94%, with a mean of 59%. This suggests that the average farmer needs a cost-saving of 41% to attain the status of the most allocatively efficient farmer. F...
Trade flows of agricultural commodities have always received a lot of attention in the Arab regio... more Trade flows of agricultural commodities have always received a lot of attention in the Arab region, mainly due to their implications on food security, politics and competition. Most international trade theories postulate that free trade regimes have positive effects on bilateral trade. The justification is that regional trade blocks decrease barriers to intraregional trade and hence, member countries are likely to expect some benefits. Whether each member country actually benefits from such agreements is, however, a subject to debate and empirical tests. The gravity model is used in this paper to assess the impact of the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), particularly on the volume and pattern of bilateral agricultural trade during the period between 1995 and 2007. Our results reveal that GAFTA did not have the desired effects on the intra-regional volume of bilateral agricultural trade in four out of eight member countries selected for this study. The only countries in the ...
Document describes transformation of 2004 Supply-Use tables of Bolivia into a compatible GTAP Inp... more Document describes transformation of 2004 Supply-Use tables of Bolivia into a compatible GTAP Input-Output format.
The world has witnessed an unparalleled increase in trade liberalization over the last few decade... more The world has witnessed an unparalleled increase in trade liberalization over the last few decades. These have been accompanied by increasing concerns over economic growth and distributional impacts emerging from trade agreements. An applied literature has emerged to address ex-ante effects at both macroeconomic and household levels. This article contributes to this literature by analyzing the case of Bolivia, which is about to initiate negotiations of a trade liberalization agreement with the US. We combine a computable general equilibrium model and a micro simulation approach to provide insights into whether the Bolivian economy and its households would win or lose from trade liberalization. The article indicates that Bolivia’s efforts to reach a trade agreement with the US would pay off. However, an absolute trade liberalization scheme would not be the best option for the Bolivian poor. Sector specific measures in the form of protection to sensitive commodities would ensure that ...
La principal conclusion de esta investigacion es que un acuerdo comercial CAN - UE que incluya a ... more La principal conclusion de esta investigacion es que un acuerdo comercial CAN - UE que incluya a Bolivia es una alternativa superior a mantener el status quo. Esta conclusion surge del uso combinado de un enfoque de simulacion macro-micro, que consiste en utilizar un modelo de GCE como 'Generador de precios' y un enfoque de micro-simulacion, en forma de indices de precios de Laspeyres de ingresos y gastos, como un puente para transmitir esos cambios en los precios a nivel de los hogares, de tal forma de medir los cambios en el bienestar economico calculando la diferencia entre los cambios en los ingresos y gastos. Encontramos que los escenarios que incluyen a Bolivia en un acuerdo de comercio CAN-UE tienen una perspectiva de comercio favorable para la economia boliviana en su conjunto. A nivel de hogares, tambien se encontro que un acuerdo de este tipo generaria beneficios que se distribuirian a la mayoria de los grupos de hogares de la sociedad boliviana. Los escenarios que...
Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at ht... more Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/23/3-1-2/6 The 23rd International Grassland Congress (Sustainable use of Grassland Resources for Forage Production, Biodiversity and Environmental Protection) took place in New Delhi, India from November 20 through November 24, 2015. Proceedings Editors: M. M. Roy, D. R. Malaviya, V. K. Yadav, Tejveer Singh, R. P. Sah, D. Vijay, and A. Radhakrishna Published by Range Management Society of India
Sustainable Agriculture Research, 2016
Conservation Agriculture (CA) have a large potential for enhancing cereal yields in the semi-arid... more Conservation Agriculture (CA) have a large potential for enhancing cereal yields in the semi-arid areas through better management of soil moisture. The objective of the current paper is to quantify, at national level, the impact of CA adoption in wheat-based agricultural systems in Syria. A country-level bio-economic approach was used for this purpose. Different CA technical packages (TPs) were first developed and simulated through APSIM crop modeling software, in order to estimate the long-term yields of wheat under different CA TPs for the period 2015-2039. The considered CA packages are a combination of zero-tillage, mulching, raised bed, fertilizer doses, and planting dates. The simulated yields are then introduced into IMPACT model while assuming that TPs will be adopted on 35% of the wheat areas in the countries. Results show that the comparative advantages of CA TPs on overcoming the effect of climate change will only be significant after 2030. In 2039, the effect of different TPs on average wheat yields in Syria will be 4% to 12% (depending on the TP) higher than the average yields under climate change and no CA technology adoption. These yield enhancements may reduce the wheat trade deficit with 30 up to 140%, also depending on the technical package. The combination of mulching techniques, together with average nitrogen dose of 30kg/ha, and late planting date of wheat provides the best prospective for the wheat sector in Syria.
Science of The Total Environment, 2018
Different aspects of climate change, such as increased temperature, changed rainfall and higher a... more Different aspects of climate change, such as increased temperature, changed rainfall and higher atmospheric CO 2 concentration, all have different effects on crop yields. Process-based crop models are the most widely used tools for estimating future crop yield responses to climate change. We applied APSIM crop simulation model in a dry Mediterranean climate with Jordan as sentinel site to assess impact of climate change on wheat production at decadal level considering two climate change scenarios of representative concentration pathways (RCP) viz., RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Impact of climatic variables alone was negative on grain yield but this adverse effect was negated when elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations were also considered in the simulations. Crop cycle of wheat was reduced by a fortnight for RCP4.5 scenario and by a month for RCP8.5 scenario at the approach of end of the century. On an average, a grain yield increase of 5 to 11% in near future i.e., 2010s-2030s decades, 12 to 16% in mid future i.e., 2040s-2060s decades and 9 to 16% in end of century period can be expected for moderate climate change scenario (RCP4.5) and 6 to 15% in near future, 13 to 19% in mid future and 7 to 20% increase in end of century period for a drastic climate change scenario (RCP8.5) based on different soils. Positive impact of elevated CO 2 is more pronounced in soils with lower water holding capacity with moderate increase in temperatures. Elevated CO 2 had greater positive effect on transpiration use efficiency (TUE) than negative effect of elevated mean temperatures. The change in TUE was in near perfect direct relationship with elevated CO 2 levels (R 2 N 0.99) and every 100-ppm atmospheric CO 2 increase resulted in TUE increase by 2 kg ha −1 mm −1. Thereby, in this environment yield gains are expected in future and farmers can benefit from growing wheat.
The Journal of Developing Areas, 2016
This paper analyzes the extent to which productivity-driven growth in agricultural subsectors mig... more This paper analyzes the extent to which productivity-driven growth in agricultural subsectors might contribute to accelerating economywide growth, raising household incomes, and affecting household income distribution. The findings show that raising agricultural productivity according to the Iraqi National Development Plan could more than double the average agricultural growth rates and add an average of 0.7 percent each year to economywide GDP in the period 2013-2017. As a consequence, the economy would not only diversify into agriculture, but agricultural growth would also lift growth in the food processing and service sectors. Household incomes could rise by an additional 3.3 percent on average during the simulation period, compared with a situation in which the yield targets are not achieved. This rise in household incomes would benefit the poorest households and female-headed urban households the most. The following policy priorities to ensure that such positive outcomes materialize: First, achieving the yield targets for wheat and for fruits and vegetables will provide the most growth and income enhancement. Therefore, increasing agricultural productivity in these sectors should be a priority. To achieve sustainable yield improvements would involve improved agricultural technology and management, including improved soil watering and nutrient management practices, new agricultural technology for harvesting and postharvest processing, and improved seed varieties. They also include improved water harvesting, greater irrigation efficiency, and expanded implementation of modern irrigation projects-with particular emphasis on modern drip and spray irrigation systems that rely on solar power. These steps would be part of an overall effort to optimally exploit water resources and address issues of water. Second, the success of efforts to rapidly accelerate agricultural growth will critically depend on whether or not additional agricultural produce can be marketed efficiently domestically and compete with imports. The results of this study show that this will be particularly important for fruits and vegetables. To support farmers and traders in this process, improving infrastructure and market information systems will be important for market access and to provide actors along the supply chain with useful information about prices and 432 marketing opportunities. Another type of policy that would support a rapid increase in agricultural production is trade facilitation. This category includes measures to reduce the transaction costs related to international trade, including excessive documentation requirements, authorizations from multiple agencies, unclear or subjective criteria for the application of duties, and delays and uncertainties related to customs clearance.
Latin American Research Review, 2015
In 2008 Bolivia ceased to benefit from the US trade preferences, which turned out in thousands of... more In 2008 Bolivia ceased to benefit from the US trade preferences, which turned out in thousands of jobs lost thorough the country. Without political will to initiate a trade agreement with the US, the Morales administration has the opportunity to initiate a trade agreement with the European Union. This study evaluates macro and micro economic impacts emerging from a hypothetical trade agreement between Bolivia and the European Union. Our methodology consisted of using a CGE model as 'price generator', and a micro-simulation approach as a bridge to transmit those price changes to the household level under two liberalization scenarios. The core conclusion of this research is that a Bolivia-EU trade agreement is a preferable alternative to maintenance of the status quo. Andean countries (Colombia and Peru) already have a trade agreement with the EU, while MERCOSUR counties are working towards that agreement. The Morales administration decided, for the time being, to stay away from an agreement with the US (the largest importer of goods in the world), but Bolivia could still benefit if a trade agreement with the EU (the second largest importer of goods in the world) is accomplished.
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Papers by Roberto Telleria