Agriculture Commons^™

Evaluating Water Management Policy In Saudi Arabia Using A Bilevel, Multi-Objective, Multi-Follower Programming Approach, Jawad Alhashim

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Over the past five decades, the Saudi government has adopted many agricultural policies aimed to: achieve self-sufficiency of food, increase the participation of the agricultural sector in the economy, and reduce the consumption of irrigation water. Due to conflicts among government objectives and the incompatibility of farmers' objectives with those of some agricultural policies, the government has not been able to fully achieve its objectives.

To accomplish its goals the government, or decision maker needs to understand the farmer, or follower, reaction when s/he adopts a new decision. The dissertation aims to build a model that achieves government goals of …

Effects Of Agricultural Loans In Developing Countries – Benin Case Study, Nicaise S. M. Sagbo

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Limited access to financial services is known as a major constraint to agricultural development (FAO, 2002). Farmers need liquidity to face agricultural expenses throughout the production cycle but mainly at the beginning. Mainstream financial institutions are reluctant to serve the agricultural sector for several reasons. First, they consider the sector to be highly risky with low performance. Also, agricultural activities depend on the weather, they take place in remote rural areas, and commodities prices are volatile. All these aspects make it hard for standard banks to reach their profit goals when lending to farmers. Since microfinance was conceived, it has …

Three Essays On Saudi Arabia Agricultural Markets, Yosef Abdulrahman Alamri

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The first essay compares six common models, linear, quadratic, Cobb-Douglas, translog, logarithmic, and transcendental, to estimate wheat yield and area functions for Saudi Arabia. Data cover 1990-2016 for all the variables that affect wheat supply. After testing the models using Box-Cox, multicollinearity, and autocorrelation tests, we decide that the Cobb-Douglas models provide the best fit for both yield and area. We find the price elasticity of wheat is inelastic. Yield price elasticities are more inelastic than area elasticities. The impact of government policy number 335 has a larger effect on area than yield. The cultivated area of wheat, the one-year …

Utilizing Large Scale Datasets To Evaluate Aspects Of A Sustainable Bioeconomy, Gwanseon Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation combines large scale datasets to evaluate crop prediction, land values, and consumption of a crop being considered to advance a sustainable bioeconomy. In chapter 2, we propose a novel application of the multinomial logit (MNL) model to estimate the conditional transition probabilities of crop choice for the state of Kentucky. Utilizing the recovered transition probabilities the forecast distributions of total acreages for alfalfa, corn, soybeans, tobacco, and wheat produced in the state from 2010 to 2015 can be recovered. The Cropland Data Layer is merged with the Common Land Unit dataset to allow for the identification of crop …

Two Essays On Input Substitution And Optimal Decision Making In Crop And Livestock Production Systems, John T. Allison Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The thesis presented consists of two essays that analyze input substitution and decision making in crop and livestock production systems. The first essay consists of a whole-farm analysis that sought to optimize feed mixes and enterprise combinations for an organic dairy operation in the Southeastern United States. This was accomplished through mathematical programming where whole-farm net returns were maximized, and total feed costs were minimized simultaneously for four milk production level cases. Additionally, the sensitivity of the system and break-even milk price were explored. Results suggest substitutability in ration components where an increase in supplemental feeds is justified by additional …