Food Policy

In light of growing concerns over the implications of many conventional agricultural practices, and especially the deep tilling of soils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), among others, has begun to promote a package of soil conserving practices under the banner of 'conservation agriculture'. While the title might be novel, its associated practices have long been employed by farmers, and studied by social scientists seeking to understand the reasons for their adoption and non-adoption. This paper reviews and synthesizes this past research in order to identify those independent variables that regularly explain adoption, and thereby facilitate policy prescriptions to augment adoption around the world. While a disaggregated analysis of a subset of commonly used variables reveals some underlying patterns of influence, once various contextual factors (e.g. study locale or method) are controlled, the primary finding of the synthesis is that there are few if any universal variables that regularly explain the adoption of conservation agriculture across past analyses. Given the limited prospect of identifying such variables through further research, we conclude that efforts to promote conservation agriculture will have to be tailored to reflect the particular conditions of individual locales.

Asset, activity and income diversification lie at the heart of livelihood strategies in rural Africa. This paper introduces a special issue on the topic "Income Diversification and Livelihoods in Rural Africa: Cause and Consequence of Change." We concentrate on core conceptual issues that bedevil the literature on rural income diversification and the policy implications of the empirical evidence presented in this special issue.

World countries have been necessary as a result of the adverse developments in the world economy in the 1990s. This article discusses how food aid can help in the process of adjustment, particularly in relation to the welfare of vulnerable population groups. The adjustment packages of the IMF and their effects on living conditions of the poor are outlined. Policies which constitute 'Adjustment with a human face', and the special role of food aid in supporting such policies, are then described. The examples of Botswana and Ghana are used to illustrate the use of food aid during drought and economic adjustment. For governments with a commitment to protecting their vulnerable households during adjustment, food aid can make a useful contribution. Frances Stewart is a Fellow of Somerville College and Senior Research Officer, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, 21 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LA, UK.

Several food safety issues have prompted questions regarding the role of country-of-origin labeling, traceability, and food safety inspections in consumers' perceptions of food safety and quality. The importance of origin-labeling and traceability have been discussed in the EU for some time. North American cases of mad cow disease have led to increased discussions of these topics in the US, however, relatively little research has been conducted to examine the value US consumers place on these attributes. Choice experiments were used to analyze US consumers' relative preferences and willingness-to-pay for these meat attributes in labeled ribeye beef steaks. Relatively speaking, consumers value certification of USDA food safety inspection more than any of the other choice set attributes, including country-of-origin labeling, traceability and tenderness. As a result, indication of origin may only become a signal of enhanced quality if the source-of-origin is associated with higher food safety or quality.

The MSU International Development Paper series is designed to further the comparative analysis of international development activities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Near East. The papers report research findings on historical, as well as contemporary, international development problems. The series includes papers on a wide range of topics, such as alternative rural development strategies; nonfarm employment and small scale industry; housing and construction; farming and marketing systems; food and nutrition policy analysis; economics of rice production in West Africa; technological change, employment, and income distribution; computer techniques for farm and marketing surveys; farming systems and food security research.

Changes in both farm production and food transport have resulted in the imposition of new levels of environmental costs. This study analyses the full costs of foods in the average weekly UK food basket by calculating the costs arising at diVerent stages from farms to consumers' plates. Of the 12 commodities assessed, livestock produce contributes the most costs per kg. The external cost of UK agriculture up to the farm gate is estimated to be £1.51 bn yr ¡1 ; it is calculated that a switch to organic production could lead to avoided costs of £1.13 bn yr ¡1 . Agricultural and food produce accounts for 28% of goods transported on UK roads, currently imposing estimated external costs of £2.35 bn yr ¡1 . The contribution made by sea and air transport is currently trivial owing to low volumes. However, road transport to carry food from the shop to home is estimated to impose a further £1.28 bn yr ¡1 to total external costs. Subsidies not targeted at environmental improvements cost consumers £2.88 bn yr ¡1 . Thus the real cost of the per capita UK food basket (£24.79) is calculated to be £2.91 more per person wk ¡1 (11.8%) if externalities and subsidies are included, with farm externalities (81 p), domestic road transport (76 p), government subsidies (93 p) and shopping transport (41 p) contributing the most. We assess a variety of scenarios for adoption of organic farming, localised food systems and sustainable transport to indicate the substantial potential to reduce environmental costs in the UK food system. 

The paper examines the main economic and institutional incentives which have driven major OECD food retailers in their use of private voluntary standards and discusses their growing role in shaping the agri-food system. It is based on interviews with quality and safety directors ...

It is the Policy of Cornell University actively to support equality of educational and employment opportunity. No person shall be denied admission to any educational program or activity or be denied employment on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color. creed. religion, national or ethnic origin. sex, age or handicap. The University is committed to the maintenance of affirmative action programs which will assure the continuation of such equality of opportunity.

Agriculture is considered as a strong option and fundamental instrument for spurring growth and sustainable development, poverty reduction, and enhancing food security in developing countries like India. The agricultural growth in developing countries like India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia etc. has decelerated from 1990s. One among the rescue measures is the diversification of agriculture towards high value commodities. Agricultural diversification is a process of a gradual movement out of subsistence food crops (particularly staple foods) toward diversified market-oriented crops that have a larger potential for returns to land. Diversification and commercialization of agricultural systems is a universal phenomenon that is triggered by economic growth.

An increasing set of evidence has been reported on how consumers could potentially react to the introduction of genetically modified food. Studies typically contain some empirical evidence and some theoretical explanations of the data, however, to date limited effort has been posed on systematically reviewing the existing evidence and its implications for policy. This paper contributes to the literature by bringing together the published evidence on the behavioural frameworks and evidence on the process leading to the public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food and organisms (GMOs). In doing so, we employ a set of clearly defined search tools and a limited number of comprehensive key words. The study attempts to gather an understanding of the published findings on the determinants of the valuation of GM food-both in terms of willingness to accept and the willing-to-pay a premium for non-GM food, trust with information sources on the safety and public health and ultimate attitudes underpinning such evidence. Furthermore, in the light of such evidence, we formulate some policy strategies to deal with public uncertainly regarding to GMOs and, especially GM food.

Despite a significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most important challenges facing society today is how to feed an expected population of some nine billion by the middle of the 20th century. To meet the expected demand for food without significant increases in prices, it has been estimated that we need to produce 70-100 per cent more food, in light of the growing impacts of climate change, concerns over energy security, regional dietary shifts and the Millennium Development target of halving world poverty and hunger by 2015. The goal for the agricultural sector is no longer simply to maximize productivity, but to optimize across a far more complex landscape of production, rural development, environmental, social justice and food consumption outcomes. However, there remain significant challenges to developing national and international policies that support the wide emergence of more sustainable forms of land use and efficient agricultural production. The lack of information flow between scientists, practitioners and policy makers is known to exacerbate the difficulties, despite increased emphasis upon evidence-based policy. In this paper, we seek to improve dialogue and understanding between agricultural research and policy by identifying the 100 most important questions for global agriculture. These have been compiled using a horizon-scanning approach with leading experts and representatives of major agricultural organizations worldwide. The aim is to use sound scientific evidence to inform decision making and guide policy makers in the future direction of agricultural research priorities and policy support. If addressed, we anticipate that these questions will have a significant impact on global agricultural practices worldwide, while improving the synergy between agricultural policy, practice and research. This research forms part of the UK Government's Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures project.

This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs-relative to price and non-price factors-on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts for the effects of transactions costs, assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output supply and input demand responses to changes in transactions costs and price and non-price factors were estimated and decomposed into market entry and intensity. The results showed that while transactions costs indeed have significant negative effects on market participation, institutional innovations-such as group marketing-are also emerging to mitigate the costs of accessing markets. Output price has no effect on output market entry and only provides incentives for increased supply by sellers. On the other hand, both price and non-price factors have significant influence on adoption and intensity of input use. Overall, the findings suggest that policy options are available other than price policies to promote input use and marketed surplus. The paper concludes with implications for policy to induce greater input-output market participation among smallholders in Africa.

Animal husbandry, aquaculture and fishery have major impacts on the environment. In order to identify the range of impacts and the most important factors thereof, as well as to identify what are the main causes of the differences between products, we analysed 52 life cycle assessment studies (LCAs) of animal and vegetal sources of protein. Our analysis was focused only on land requirement and carbon footprints.

Food production in the industrialised countries is heavily dependent on inputs of energy from fossil fuels. Gerald Leach has analysed these inputs with particular attention to the UK and here he presents a wide range of data on the total energy used and how this relates to factors such as outputs, labour and land. He emphasises the importance of low energy alternatives for Third World countries.

Evidence assembled in this special issue of Food Policy shows that rising rural population densities in parts of Africa are profoundly affecting farming systems and the region's economies in ways that are underappreciated in current discourse on African development issues. This study synthesizes how people, markets and governments are responding to rising land pressures in Africa, drawing on key findings from the various contributions in this special issue. The papers herein revisit the issue of Boserupian agricultural intensification as an important response to land constraints, but they also go further than Boserup and her followers to explore broader responses to land constraints, including non-farm diversification, migration, and reduced fertility rates. Agricultural and rural development strategies in the region will need to more fully anticipate the implications of Africa's rapidly changing land and demographic situation, and the immense challenges that mounting land pressures pose in the context of current evidence of unsustainable agricultural intensification, a rapidly rising labor force associated with the region's current demographic conditions, and limited nonfarm job creation. These challenges are manageable but will require explicit policy actions to address the unique development challenges in densely populated rural areas.

Accessing developed country food markets entails meeting stringent food safety requirements. Food retailers impose protocols relating to pesticide residues, field and pack house operations, and traceability. To enable smallholders to remain competitive in such a system, new institutional arrangements are required. In particular, public-private partnerships can play a key role in creating farm to fork linkages that can satisfy market demands for food safety, while retaining smallholders in the supply chain. Furthermore, organized producer groups monitoring their own food safety standards through collective action often become attractive to buyers who are looking for ways to ensure traceability and reduce transaction costs. This paper compares the ways in which small producers of fruits and vegetables in Kenya and India have coped with increased demands for food safety from their main export markets.

Soils of the world's agroecosystems (croplands, grazing lands, rangelands) are depleted of their soil organic carbon (SOC) pool by 25-75% depending on climate, soil type, and historic management. The magnitude of loss may be 10 to 50 tons C/ha. Soils with severe depletion of their SOC pool have low agronomic yield and low use efficiency of added input. Conversion to a restorative land use and adoption of recommended management practices, can enhance the SOC pool, improve soil quality, increase agronomic productivity, advance global food security, enhance soil resilience to adapt to extreme climatic events, and mitigate climate change by offsetting fossil fuel emissions. The technical potential of carbon (C) sequestration in soils of the agroecosystems is 1.2-3.1 billion tons C/yr. Improvement in soil quality, by increase in the SOC pool of 1 ton C/ha/yr in the root zone, can increase annual food production in developing countries by 24-32 million tons of food grains and 6-10 million tons of roots and tubers. The strategy is to create positive soil C and nutrient budgets through adoption of no-till farming with mulch, use of cover crops, integrated nutrient management including biofertilizers, water conservation, and harvesting, and improving soil structure and tilth.

This paper examines the notion of inclusiveness in rural producer organizations (RPOs) and the extent to which such RPOs can be used to reach the rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa. Using farmer cooperatives in Ethiopia as a case in point, the paper examines the role of RPOs in supporting smallholder commercialization, and the extent to which principles of an inclusive, bottom-up approach relate to their marketing performance. Based on a combination of nationally-representative household-and cooperative-level survey data, we find that poorer farmers tend not to participate in these organizations although they may indirectly benefit from them. When they do participate, they are often excluded from decision-making processes. Finally, we investigate the relationship between marketing performance and inclusiveness and uncover evidence of significant tradeoffs between them.

This paper presents evidence on the effects of two different sorts of policy shocks on observed income diversification patterns in rural Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire, households with poor endowments were less able to respond to attractive emerging on-farm and non-farm opportunities. Due to entry barriers to superior livelihood strategies, the benefits of exchange rate reform accrued disproportionately to households that were richer prior to devaluation. By contrast, food-for-work transfers to households in Kenya significantly reduced liquidity constraints, enabling project participants to pursue more lucrative livelihood strategies in nonfarm activities and higher-return agricultural production patterns. Jointly, these two shocks underscore the importance of liquidity, market access and skill constraints to skilled non-farm income sources to dynamic poverty traps in rural Africa.

Based on data for almost 300 households this paper explores associations among income diversification, household perceptions of livelihood risks, and changes in consumption outcomes across two points in time in post-famine Ethiopia. Four key questions are addressed: i) To what extent did households emerging from the famine period with relatively higher income and calorie consumption levels also have a more diversified income base?; ii) Was higher income diversification in 1989 associated with higher income and consumption levels by 1994?; iii) Which households increased their share of income from non-cropping activities most during the inter-survey years?; and iv) Did household heads perceive a lack of non-farm income activities to be an important risk factor in famine vulnerability? We find that wealthier households tended to have more diversified income streams; those initially more diversified subsequently experienced a relatively greater increase in both income and calorie intake; households with a greater concentration of assets were more likely to fall in their relative outcome ranking (as were female-headed households); and, initially less diversified households subsequently realized greater gains in income diversification. We also find suggestive evidence that personal perceptions of risk factors guided subsequent diversification decisions.

a b s t r a c t ]. The historical background shows that the price spike was much less severe than in the 1970s. The conventional wisdom that prices of the main food commodities were falling prior to 2006 is questioned. Most ceased falling and were quite stable from the 1980s. The paper separates the causes of the spike from the underlying changes driving the long run trends. The literature on the causes of the spike is critically reviewed and summarised. There is a reasonably broad consensus on most of the causes, but much less on the impact of the depreciation of the US Dollar. There are also concluding speculations on the future.

While the poverty implications of off-farm income have been analyzed in different developing countries, much less is known about the impact of off-farm income on household food security and nutrition. Here, this research gap is addressed by using farm survey data from Nigeria. Econometric analyses are employed to examine the mechanisms through which off-farm income affects household calorie and micronutrient supply, dietary quality, and child anthropometry. We find that off-farm income has a positive net effect on food security and nutrition. The prevalence of child stunting, underweight, and wasting is lower in households with off-farm income than in households without. Using a structural model, we also show that off-farm income contributes to higher food production and farm income by easing capital constraints, thus improving household welfare in multiple ways.

We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denmark, identifying main differences and similarities. We focus particularly on consumer preferences and priorities, labelling schemes, supply and sales channels, as a basis for assessing market stability and prospects for future growth. We employ a unique set of household panel data that includes information on stated values and concerns, as well as registered purchasing behaviour. Most organic food on both markets is produced and processed by large-scale industrialised units and distributed through concentrated mainstream sales channels, consumer confidence being sustained at present by organic labelling schemes that appear to function well. However, a parallel market, based on various types of direct sales to heavy users, prevails. We find that organic food purchase decisions are primarily motivated by 'private good' attributes such as freshness, taste and health benefits, attributes that may be perceived as being compatible with modern production and sales structure. More traditional 'public good' organic attributes, such as environmental and animal welfare attributes, small scale production and local supply, are less compatible with current market structure, but are also accorded less priority by the majority of consumers in practice. Mature markets for organic foods nevertheless may constitute a source of consumer dissatisfaction, particularly in the group of organic heavy users. Jörgensen (2001), who all use sales data or bar code scanner data from Marketing Research Institutes from Germany, USA and Sweden, respectively. Almost all other previous studies on organic foods are based solely on postulated behaviour, i.e. stated willingness to pay (see e.g.

Although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50%, food production on the continent is almost entirely rainfed. The area equipped for irrigation, currently slightly more than 13 million hectares, makes up just 6% of the total cultivated area. More than 70% of Africa's poor live in rural areas and mostly depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. As a result, agricultural development is key to ending poverty on the continent. Many development organizations have recently proposed to significantly increase investments in irrigation in the region. However, the potential for irrigation investments in Africa is highly dependent upon geographic, hydrologic, agronomic, and economic factors that need to be taken into account when assessing the long-term viability and sustainability of planned projects. This paper analyzes the large, dam-based and small-scale irrigation investment potential in Africa based on agronomic, hydrologic, and economic factors. We find significant profitable irrigation potential for both small-scale and large-scale systems. This type of regional analysis can guide distribution of investment funds across countries and should be a first step prior to in-depth countryand local-level assessment of irrigation potential, which will be important to agricultural and economic development in Africa.

This study examined associations between high school students' lunch patterns and vending machine purchases and the school food environment and policies. A randomly selected sample of 1088 high school students from 20 schools completed surveys about their lunch practices and vending machine purchases. School food policies were assessed by principal and food director surveys. The number of vending machines and their hours of operation were assessed by trained research staff. Students at schools with open campus policies during lunchtime were significantly more likely to eat lunch at a fast food restaurant than students at schools with closed campus policies (0.7 days/week vs. 0.2 days/week, p < .001). Student snack food purchases at school were significantly associated with the number of snack machines at schools (p < .001) and policies about the types of food that can be sold. In schools with policies, students reported making snack food purchases an average of 0.5 +/- 1.1...

From the earliest times, water resources have been the economic principles behind allocating scarce water allocated on the basis of social criteriamaintaining the resources, they review the actual means of various community by ensuring that water is available for human mechanisms used for allocating water, including marginal consumption, for sanitation, and for food production.

During the second half of the 20th century the global food production more than doubled and thus responded to the doubling of world population. But the gains in food production came at a cost, leaving a significant environmental footprint on the ecosystem. Global cropland, plantations and pastures expanded, with large increases in fossil energy, water, and fertilizer inputs, imprinting considerable footprint on the environment. Information from pre eminent publications such as Nature, Science, PNAS and scholarly journals is synthesized to assess the water and energy footprints of global food production. The data show that the footprints are significant, both locally, national and globally and have consequences for global food security and ecosystem health and productivity. The literature nearly agrees that global food production system generates considerable environmental footprints and the situation would likely get worrisome, as global population grows by 50% by 2050. Investments are needed today to buffer the negative impacts of food production on the environment. Investments to boost water productivity and improve energy use efficiency in crop production are two pathways to reduce the environmental footprint.

Soybeans serve as one of the most valuable crops in the world, not only as an oil seed crop and feed for livestock and aquaculture, but also as a good source of protein for the human diet and recently as a biodiesel feedstock. The world soybean production quantity increased by 4.8% annually from 1960s and reached 217.6 million tons in 2005-07. World production of soybeans is predicted to increase by 2.1% annually to 359.7 million tons by 2030, using an exponential smoothing model with a damped trend. Finally, various scenarios and their implications are discussed for increasing supply.

Despite the continuing centrality of agriculture to the rural economy of Uganda, households engage in diverse livelihood strategies. This paper presents findings of a two-district study of the role of various factors that influence livelihood trends and strategies. Qualitative and quantitative analysis reveals differences according to wealth, gender, and between traditional and non-traditional occupations. Comparisons drawn between the two districts-Kumi in the eastern region, and Rakai in the central region-identify social and historical, as well as contemporary levels of investment as the determinants of varying levels of livelihood diversification. 

A bio-economic model has been calibrated to the socio-economic and biophysical characteristics of a less-favoured area in the Ethiopian highlands. Land degradation, population growth, stagnant technology, and drought necessitates development of non-farm employment opportunities in the area. The model has been used to assess the impact of improved access to non-farm income on household welfare, agricultural production, conservation investments and land degradation in form of soil erosion.

The competitiveness of food companies in national and international markets depends upon their ability to adopt production processes which meet food safety and quality requirements. Food safety and quality assurance affect the cost of carrying out transactions, and therein lies the private incentive for adopting voluntary quality assurance systems. While quality assurance systems have the potential to reduce transaction costs by serving as the seller's guarantee of safety or quality, they may also serve as trade barriers.

Lowering food losses is a potential measure to overcome hunger and reduce the ecological side effects from the food system. However, few observations of food losses have been reported in the literature during recent years. We studied food losses in four food service institutions in Stockholm, Sweden. The results show that about one-fifth of the food is lost. Plate waste is the single largest source of loss, at 11-13% of the amount of food served. Losses in food service institutions can be of significant economic value, and arable land equivalent to 1.5% of the area under cultivation in Sweden may be used to produce food eventually lost in food service institutions. The results indicate that the economic and environmental consequences of current levels of food losses may be substantial. More research is needed in order to better estimate levels, devise prevention strategies and identify policy implications.

The objective of this study was to explore the synergies between nutritionally healthy and ecologically sustainable diets. The aim was to explore the possibilities for future integrated dietary guidelines that support consumers to make informed dietary choices based on both ecological and nutritional values. We developed a score system for health and sustainability. Subsequently, we tested six different diets: current average Dutch, official 'recommended' Dutch, semi-vegetarian, vegetarian, vegan and Mediterranean. For the sustainability rating, we used the Life Cycle Assessment, measuring the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and land use (LU). For the health rating, we used ten nutritional indicators. By comparing the overall scores we found that the consumption of meat, dairy products, extras, such as snacks, sweets, pastries, and beverages, in that order, are largely responsible for low sustainability scores. Simultaneously, these food groups contribute to low health scores. We developed a matrix that illustrates that the health and sustainability scores of all six diets go largely hand in hand. provides a visualisation of the position of the six diets in the full health and sustainability spectrum. This matrix with scores can be considered a first step in the development of a tool to measure both sustainability and health issues of specific food patterns. In selecting the diets, we examined two directions: health focus diets and the animal protein reduction diets. The Mediterranean diet is generally the health focus option with a high sustainability score. We conclude that guidelines oriented in between the two directions (i.e., semi-and pesco-vegetarian) are the option with the optimal synergy between health and sustainability.

This article surveys the empirical record of grain marketing and pricing policy in Eastern and Southern Africa over 1930-95. The paper addresses five key issues with major implications for food policy throughout Africa: (a) why the anticipated supply response to market liberalization has not yet occurred; (b) why the common assumption of state taxation of farmers to support a cheap food policy does not apply in most of the countries in the region; (c) why the temporary successes of the state-led approach to stimulating smallholder grain production were unsustainable; (d) why the elimination of government food subsidies associated with market reform has not adversely affected consumers; and (e) why the fiscal cost of the marketing systems at least initially worsened rather than improved after the reforms were implemented in most countries. The key future challenges for marketing policy are how to develop coordinated and financially sustainable input, finance and commodity marketing systems for raising productivity growth in smallholder agriculture while overcoming inherited agricultural dualism, and how to mitigate the effects of food price instability in a cost-effective manner. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

A growing literature under the heading of urban agriculture extols the virtues for urban food security and poverty reduction of farming in urban areas of developing countries. This paper critically examines this literature, with particular reference to the spread of food production in and around sub-Saharan African cities and towns. The paper sets out a disaggregated view of food production in urban areas, emphasizing the analytical and policy importance of rural-urban interactions in resource and output markets as well as in income transfers. The scope and limits of useful policy intervention in this area are considered. The paper concludes that food production in urban and periurban areas certainly has a role to play in the food security of a proportion of urban dwellers, but its contribution to the welfare of the poor in developing countries should not be exaggerated, nor therefore should its claims for scarce development resources.