Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

A Systems Approach To Evaluation Metrics: A Case Study Of Salvation Farms, Julia D. Scheier

Capstone Collection

This paper examines how integrating systems thinking into nonprofit work and evaluation metrics can help to advance an organization’s mission and clarify that mission to the public. The researcher will utilize her practicum site at Salvation Farms, a small nonprofit in northern Vermont, as a case study to observe the extent to which this organization utilizes systems thinking and how current evaluation metrics can be improved to more effectively inform and involve the community. Salvation Farms’ mission, after all, is to build greater resilience into Vermont’s food system through agricultural surplus management.

The researcher offers a literature review on systems …

In The Race To Reach New Wine Drinkers Old World Taste Is Losing Out, Lillian Knoepp

Capstones

But this old world is losing its grip on the wine industry. French wine production and consumption are falling while the New World of wine is gaining ground in both areas. Experts say that new wine making techniques and higher consumption in New World markets like the United States have changed the French wine industry.

For the French, more than just their wine industry is at stake. For many, the loss of French wine is a loss of French identity.

“They can't choose between the two. Because French people - we are wine and cheese - we are everything,” said …

Climate And Energy: Opinions Of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Tonya Haigh

Nebraska Rural Poll

Many rural Nebraskans are concerned about more severe droughts or longer dry periods in their area, insect-borne diseases like West Nile Virus, and more extreme summer temperatures in their area. Fewer rural Nebraskans are concerned about the availability of water for their community or home or more frequent extreme rains or floods. Residents of the North Central region are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to be concerned about more severe droughts or longer dry periods in their area.

Few rural Nebraskans reported their household experiencing health problems during the drought of 2012. However, many persons …

Perspectives On Community Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting, and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

However, the proportion of rural Nebraskans satisfied with many social services and entertainment services has decreased across all nineteen years of the study. Declines in satisfaction levels across all 19 years are seen with nursing home care, medical care services, senior centers, mental health services, entertainment, retail shopping and restaurants. …

Giving A Voice To The Powerless: Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation As A Tool For Inclusive Development Through Microfinance, Evan T. Burke

Capstone Collection

The greatest experts on the situation of the marginalized peoples of the world are the marginalized communities themselves. This paper explores how participatory monitoring & evaluation can be a powerful tool for giving voices to marginalized communities, ensuring that the voices of beneficiaries and local stakeholders are heard and inform sustainable project design. It analyzes a participatory monitoring and evaluation methodology implemented for women’s credit cooperatives in Gujarat, India by the Human Development & Research Centre, and examines lessons to be learned to design evaluations facilitating inclusive development.

Strategies for the monitoring and evaluation of microfinance have evolved along with …

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement, and is being incorporated into the dominant conservation paradigms. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity …

Engagement In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Civic And Political Participation And Views Of Community Leadership: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans have participated in community involvement activities but they have not been as involved in some political activities. However, most rural Nebraskans have spoken with their pocketbooks on political and social issues by either buying or boycotting products because of the social and political values of the company providing them. And, many rural Nebraskans have signed a written petition about a political or social issue and have contacted a local public official to express their opinion.

Certain groups are more likely than others to have participated in community and political involvement activities. While younger persons are more likely …

2015 Food And Function: An Assessment Of The Capacity Of Food Pantry Programs In San Diego County, Mary Jo Schumann, Crystal Trull, Carolyn Noack

Food Security

Food pantry programs play a critical role in meeting a basic need for thousands of individuals and families each year. They are the front-line support mechanism for providing short-term or emergency assistance to those struggling with food insecurity. San Diego County has a wide variety of food pantry programs that are helping to meet the need of thousands of hungry residents across the region.

In 2012, several of the major emergency food provider agencies in San Diego County gathered to discuss how collaboration could support cost-saving efficiencies in the food distribution network, and subcommittees were formed to collaborate on achieving …

Food Waste At Retail, Erin G. Killeen Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food waste at retail represents forgone sales and embodies store management and disposal costs. Fresh produce is the largest contributing sector to food waste at retail and bulky, seasonal products are an added challenge when stores experience a high waste event. In order to improve, retailers need to better understand the costs of food waste, as well as how management strategies can impact these costs.

Using pumpkins as an example of bulky, seasonal products, a twofold research project was conducted to better understand contributors to, and costs of food waste at the retail level. In part one, using data from …

Sustainable Development For People Or Profit?, Eric Rr Weaver

Suburban Sustainability

As Earth’s populations grow, will key planetary systems be pushed over the “tipping point” beyond Earth’s carrying capacity for sustaining human life? There is a strong body of literature developing the concept of Planetary Boundaries to help identify the limits for maintaining the Earth’s environmental stability. It is presumed that exceeding the Planetary Boundaries will result in an environmental tipping point, shifting the earth into a new environmental equilibrium detrimental to life as we know it. Research shows industrial agriculture is a major force pressing the environment to, and beyond, these limits. This review of top tier journals details the …

Heir Property In The African American Community: From Promised Lands To Problem Lands, Roy W. Copeland

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

African American landowners have been reluctant to take advantage of intergenerational succession laws which provide for an orderly transfer of property from one generation to the next. This reluctance has led to a prevalence of heir property. Heir property is created when a person dies intestate. Heir property has created an impediment to wealth accumulation and has contributed to African American land loss in America. Partition actions are a byproduct of heir property which has operated to accelerate the loss of real property in the African American community. The Uniform Partition of Heir Property Act provides for procedural safeguards …

Assessing Alabama Consumer Attitudes And Beliefs About Locally Or Regionally Produced Livestock And Products, Nii O. Tackie, Jannette R. Bartlett, Akua Adu-Gyamfi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

Local and regional food production has gained increased interest of consumers in recent years. The study, therefore, focused on assessing consumer attitudes and beliefs on local or regional livestock products. Data were obtained from a convenience sample of 432 participants from South Central Alabama, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including chi-square tests. A majority of respondents thought using chemicals and additives in locally or regionally produced beef or goat meat was a serious hazard. Therefore, many were willing to pay more for meat certified as locally or regionally produced. Also, most agreed or strongly agreed with statements on …

Western Farmers’ Markets In Kathmandu: Vendor Perspectives, Caroline Saunders

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study seeks to understand Western farmers’ markets (FMs) in Kathmandu by understanding vendors’ motivations for attending FMs; and further, their perspectives on the purpose and potential for expansion of FMs in Kathmandu’s food economy. In the US and Europe, FMs are often seen in the literature as a component of a social movement (SM) called the ‘alternative food movement’ (AFM) concerned with environmental sustainability and social justice within the processes of food production and consumption (Isenhour 2012). FMs, a type of direct market that offer face-to-face interaction between producers and consumers, are a site for the transmission of values …

Three Essays On Biofuels, Drought, Livestock, And The Environment, Sunil P. Dhoubhadel

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the impact of the 2012 drought and the biofuels mandate on the U.S. grain and livestock markets. A stochastic equilibrium displacement model is used to analyze the impact on eight commodity markets viz. beef, pork, poultry, corn, distillers’ grain (DG), soybean, soymeal, and ethanol. Among the eight markets, corn and beef are found to be the most vulnerable to drought. The use of Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits as an instrument to mitigate the impact of drought has limited effectiveness. A mandate waiver of about 23% is required to fully …

Rural China In Transition: Changes And Transformations In China’S Agriculture And Rural Sector, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Agribusiness companies operating in China are transacting in various forms with small agricultural producers, and in doing so, transforming the household-based agriculture in rural China. We argue that the presence of these distinct forms and the diverging relations between agribusiness and producers show the central importance of China’s collective land rights. China’s unique system of land rights – featuring collective ownership but individualized usage rights – has acted as a powerful force in shaping interactions between agribusiness and direct producers. It provides farmers a source of economic income as well as political bargaining power – albeit to various degrees – …

El Crecimiento De China Y Su Vinculaciones Con La Industria De Soja En La Argentina / Chinese Growth And Its Connections With The Argentinian Soy Industry, Anita Desai

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper analyzes the growth of Chinese influence in Argentina over the course of the last fifteen years, particularly as it relates to the soy export market. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are used to examine the increasingly important bilateral relationship and its effects on Argentine industries, communities, and opportunities for growth and development. The paper finds that Argentina’s bilateral trade deals in the soy industry have created a dangerous dependence on China, characterized by reprimarization on global value chains, the deterioration of legal restrictions on trade, as well as huge environmental and social risks. Although the increased trade has …

Extractivist Agribusiness Model: Analysis Of Social Resistances Emerging In Response To The Extractivist Agribusiness Model: A Case Study Of The Industrial Belt Of Gran Rosario, Alexa González

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In regards to human rights and environmental rights, there is a paradox that exists between the rhetoric and actions of the government regarding agribusiness. While the Argentine government increasingly connects their rhetoric to the promotion of these rights, they have allowed transnational corporations to modify the agricultural model in a way that exploits the land for the production of commodities. People living in fields where biotechnology is operated and urban-industrial zones where the commodities are exported report health problems and deaths in light of the corporations’ presence. Confronted with the degradation of their fundamental rights, those whose lives are being …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

Operations And Profitability Of Snail Dredging In Laguna, Rizal And Pasig City, Eden Piadozo, Mj Malabayabas, Dominic Hamada, Roberto F. Ranola Jr.

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the snail dredging industry and its current situation. Specifically, it describes the snail dredging activities done in selected areas in Laguna Lake, determines the profitability of snail dredging, and identifies the market destinations of the snails dredged. Snail dredging has been banned because of its adverse effects on the lake environment. However, the study finds that snail dredgers continue to operate all year round. On a daily basis, dredging operations range from 4 to 10 hours. Snails dredged from Laguna Lake are brought to the provinces of Pampanga …

Decoy Effect And Student Preference With Regard To Usb Flash Drives, Jeff Arapoc

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Standard economic theory assumes that individuals make decisions that are consistent across different choice situations. Behavioral economics challenges the standard economic theory account of individual behavior. This budding field suggests that consumer preference for one option over another changes as a result of adding another option. This study aims to determine the effect of a decoy option on consumer preference for USB flash drives. A quasi-experiment was conducted among 100 UPLB students wherein each respondent was initially asked to choose between two kinds of flash drive. The researcher then adds a decoy option to test if the respondent will change …

Farmers’ Willingness To Pay For An Alternative Irrigation Policy To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Rice Farming In The Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System, Fezoil Luz C. Decena, Impa Buayon

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The practice of continuous flooding of rice fields in the national irrigation systems has attendant issues, including the inefficient use of water, unequal distribution of water along the irrigation canals, and greenhouse gas emissions. An ex-ante analysis was conducted to evaluate alternative policy options in the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems, using both market and non-market approaches. The market approach estimated the greenhouse gas avoided and water savings due to the shift in policy. The non-market approach used choice experiment to estimate willingness to pay of farmers to shift the current to an alternative policy. The study concludes that …

Price Cointegration And Leadership In Regional Tilapia And Roundscad Markets In The Philippines,1990-2007, Yolanda T. Garcia

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

This study aims to investigate the price dynamics between the wholesale and retail prices of roundscad and tilapia in the regional markets of the Philippines. It also seeks to analyze how the observed dynamics in these prices could be linked to the development in market-related infrastructures that can promote trade, e.g., telecommunication and transportation facilities. Results of the study reveal that there is a general decrease in the number of regions that show cointegrated wholesale and retail prices over time in both fish species. Moreover, price leadership under the “Granger-causality” sense (of either wholesale or retail price) seems to diminish …

Building Disaster Resilience To Address Household Food Security: The Case Of Sta. Rosa-Silang Subwatershed, Roberto F. Ranola Jr., Mi Cuesta, Bam Zaraf

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The Laguna Lake Region is one of the places in the Philippines that are most vulnerable to natural disasters because of their location and ecological condition. Among the natural calamities that regularly hit the country, one of the most frequent and disastrous is flooding. The most affected are the poor who are faced with the double risk of being food insecure and living in conditions that are very vulnerable to natural hazards. The most negative and long-term effect of flooding is reduction in food security because flooding erodes the asset base of households that in turn results in the adoption …

Socio-Economic And Environmental Assessment Of A Microcontroller-Based Coffee Roasting Machine: Implications For Market Potential And Technology Commercialization, Ruel M. Mojica, Marilyn M. Elauria

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The study assesses the socio-economic and environmental performance leading to the commercialization of the micro-controller-based coffee roasting machine for smallscale roasting operations. Key informant interview and coffee farmers’ survey were conducted to assess the farmer- respondents’ perceptions of coffee roasting machines and availability of resources. Results show that the designed coffee roaster almost fits the farmers’ criteria in selecting coffee roasting machine. Coffee farmers perceived the machine to be a very good technology as evidenced by its highly acceptable rating. Investment analysis reveals that using the roaster for custom work would be a profitable business with an IRR of 76% …

Effects Of Extension Services On The Technical Efficiency Of Rice Farmers In Albay, 2014-2015, Bm Bathan

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Through the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) program, extension services in the form of trainings and seminars, and education and communication materials were provided to rice farmers in Albay. Using farm-level input-output data covering the wet season of 2014 and the socio-economic and farm-specific characteristics of randomly sampled 30 farmer beneficiaries and 30 non-beneficiaries, a stochastic production function and technical inefficiency model were estimated. Results of the study reveal that beneficiaries have higher input utilization, yield and technical efficiency than non-beneficiaries. Furthermore, the amount of seed and fertilizer significantly and positively affects the yield of rice. In addition, the …

Economic Impacts Of Smallholder Oil Palm (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq.) Plantations On Peatlands In Indonesia, Roberto F. Ranola Jr., Asa Jose Sajise

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Oil palm smallholders on peatlands have contributed significantly to economic development in rural areas by augmenting income and reducing poverty. However, these plantations also cause adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, haze and peat fires, deforestation, water supply disruption and biodiversity loss. The objective of the study is to determine the economic impacts of developing smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands in Siak District Riau Province, Indonesia. Cochran sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Cost benefit analysis was used to determine the economic impacts of the smallholder oil palm plantations. Results reveal that the development of 94,726 …

Nông Thôn Mới And Rural Development In The Mekong Delta: A Comparative Study Of Bàu Môn And Hòa Phụng C Hamlets, Alex Lintz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vietnam’s Nông Thôn Mới or New Rural Development program is a relatively new target program introduced in 2010. As of yet there has been little research done on its effects on the economies in rural areas. This paper attempts to analyze the economic situation in the Bàu Môn and Hòa Phụng C hamlets with a particular emphasis placed on income and factors that affect income in terms of Vietnam’s Nông Thôn Mới or New Rural Development program. In order to assess the economic situation in the hamlets, a survey was administered to 25 participants in each hamlet and leaders from …

Successful Communities: What Is Desired And What Is Present In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are looking for many things in a community. The characteristics of a community that most believe are absolutely essential include social dimensions (sense of personal safety), economic dimensions (jobs/economic opportunities), some basic services (a quality school system, available medical services, affordable housing, quality housing and well maintained infrastructure) and environmental dimensions (a clean and attractive natural environment).

Unfortunately, when asked if these characteristics are present in their current community, some of these areas are lacking. One of the more extreme cases involves jobs/economic opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents say these are absolutely essential in order for them …

Organic Growers Of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing The Community And Growing Together, Wylin D. Wilson, Jose Gbadamosi, Decetti Taylor, Susan Barnes, Jan Garrett, Asabi Hunter, Cheryl Parker, Wendy Williams, Henry Williams

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional …