Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Aegic Blogposts - Climate Impacts On Grain Production, Ross Kingwell, Nicholas Thorsager, David Stephens, Ian Foster, Imma Farre

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

The Future Of West African Cacao Farming, Kathryn Lesniewski

CAFE Symposium 2026

This poster covers the detrimental impact climate change has had on the West African cacao farming industry. It also covers long and short term solutions to climate change, and how the global chocolate market has been impacted by climate change.

Wine-Rs Or Losers: Assessing The Socio- Economic Impact Of Eu Regulations On Climate-Exacerbated Pests And Diseases In Northern Italian Viticulture, Kyley Fishman

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

As climate change creates extreme weather events, unprecedented disease and pest infestations, European farmers are challenged by these threats. Balancing sustainable and traditional practices while maintaining socio-economic stability under European Union agroregulations can be extremely difficult. An area of concern for the EU is viticulture, which is among the most climate-sensitive agricultural sectors. My study examines in what ways the EU’s regulations addressing climate-exacerbated pests and plant diseases influence the socioeconomics of different vineyard farms in Northern Italy. Three key socio-economic findings emerged from the analysis. First, top-down and research-driven management strategies can subvert local, place-based knowledge, which undermines traditional …

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Desertification Sensitivity And Influencing Factors Across The Western Inner Mongolia Plateau, China, Yang Chen, Long Ma, Xixi Wang, Tingxi Liu, Zixu Qiao

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Desertification remains a critical global ecological and environmental challenge that threatens sustainable development. Although our understanding of desertification dynamics and their underlying drivers has improved, continued research is needed due to the region-specific nature of these processes. This study focuses on the Western Inner Mongolia Plateau in China as a case study to examine the evolution of desertification and its driving factors using a multifaceted approach, including the Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) model. Results show that the desertification sensitivity index (DSI) across the plateau ranged from 1.12 in prairie regions to 1.87 in desert areas, with a spatial …

Wine-Rs Or Losers: Assessing Socio-Economic Impacts Of Eu Regulations On Climate-Exacerbated Plant Diseases And Pests Within Northern Italian Viticulture, Kyley N. Fishman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As climate change furthers weather events and unprecedented hot and wet seasons, European farmers are amongst those challenged by these threats. Balancing sustainable and traditional practices while maintaining socio-economic stability can be difficult, especially under European Union (EU) agricultural regulations. A key area of concern for some agro-regulations is viticulture, or grape growing, which is amongst the most climate-sensitive agricultural sectors. These agro-regulations address multiple goals, including sustainability, exports, and cultural heritage protection. Yet, to what extent EU climate-driven agricultural regulations influence regional wine-growing operations’ socio-economics remains unclear, particularly in managing climate-aggravated pests and plant diseases. My thesis aims to …

Environmental Justice And Social Work: A Study Across Practice Settings In Three U.S. States, Lisa Reyes Mason, Sierra Roach Coye, Smitha Rao, Amy Krings, Julia Santucci

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Environmental justice is essential for improved quality of life and sustainable wellbeing. This study examines how environmental issues and related injustices are surfacing in U.S. social work practice and social work readiness to respond, and what resources social workers are most interested in. Data are from an online survey of U.S. social workers (N = 337) in Colorado, Ohio, and Tennessee. Participants answered questions about their social work background, current job, environmental issues in practice, resources, and demographics. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. For nine issues, at least 30% of participants reported these as surfacing sometimes or often, with …

Driving Green Investments To Address Climate Change, Baptiste Gibrat

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The climate crisis is no longer news, and society needs to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions. Otherwise, the consequences of climate change will become increasingly catastrophic.

This thesis develops a framework to drive green investments, which reduce society’s dependance on fossil fuels. Initially, the research provides a comprehensive examination of these investments, followed by an exploration of three strategies to enhance their adoption: leveraging financial instruments and capital markets, implementing regulatory frameworks, and harnessing the power of technologies. To integrate these elements within a comprehensive framework, the study employs market research, reviews relevant literature, and includes interviews with …

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Prosperity: Harnessing Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Revitalize Australia's Economy, Environment, And Human Wellbeing, Annabelle L. Baulch

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper explores the traditional knowledge of Australia’s Indigenous people and how it can improve Australia's environment, health, and economic prosperity to shape a more sustainable future. Indigenous Australians managed the land for thousands of years; however, being forced off the land following European colonization resulted in terrible cultural, social, and environmental disruption for Aboriginal Australians and made conservation efforts difficult. Wildfires, imported species, mining, and agriculture is steadily destroying the Australian ecosystem, contributing to climate change, species extinction, and gaps in our cultural and ancestral knowledge. Chapter One overviews Australia's environmental issues; it uses quantitative data to explore the …

Is Northwest Indiana Prepared To Be A “Climate Haven”?, Luke Carl Jorgensen

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Water Scarcity On Gender Dynamics In Egypt, Zahwa Kortam

The Undergraduate Research Journal

This article investigates the complex relationship between Egypt's agriculture, water scarcity, and gender dynamics. It highlights the challenges facing the agricultural sector due to water shortages in a country highly dependent on the Nile River for food security and agricultural development. Women, who have been traditionally integral to agriculture, have to deal with multiple challenges posed by water scarcity. For men, their roles are changing, and with that, the power dynamics and social norms. This article attempts to reveal opportunities for gender equality and sustainable use of water resources through the examination differences in experiences between men and women in …

Climate Change And Its Effects On Conflicts, Ann Lalicker

Journal of Global Awareness

Over the last 50 years, scientists studied the Earth’s warming temperatures and the resulting effects. Although climate change is not a new concept in current events, the consequences it has on exacerbating growing tensions and sustaining violent and nonviolent situations are less widely discussed. Of course, conflicts, internal or international, and their causes are multifaceted and cannot just be explained by one factor alone. However, climate change has a definite role in creating tensions that lead to violent or nonviolent conflict, including famine and displacement, as well as war. Although this rapid climate change is relatively recent in human history, …

Improving The Land Trust Model’S Impact On Environmental Conservation In Northern California, Peter Talbot

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, the land trust sector of California and much of the United States has operated with a dollars and acres mentality that has prioritized fundraising as a result of acreage protected. Within California, nearly 5.8 million acres of land have been protected by 132 land trusts throughout the state. To accommodate for the diverse cross-section of land and the many needs of the population, land trusts take on numerous shapes and sizes. A unique aspect of this diversity is the rich agricultural and natural spaces found throughout the state. This mix of land and variety of land uses has …

Climate Change: The Ultimate Cereal Killer: The Impact Of Temperature And Precipitation On Agricultural Yields, Hayley Huber, Robert Salita, Ruth Abraham

Gettysburg College Headquarters

The global food supply depends on agricultural production, but as the negative effects of climate change are exacerbated by human activity, how will agriculture need to change to accommodate both climate change and the increasing population? In order to understand what adaptations will be necessary, we perform analysis on the relationship between climate change (temperature and precipitation) and crop yields (barley, rice, and soybean). We take a multinational approach, using ten countries for each model, to see the global impact of climate change on production. Testing many models, we settle on country-specific time trends, eliminating many confounding variables by focusing …

Climate Change, Food Security, And The Myth Of Unlimited Abundance, Susan A. Schneider

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The Biden-Harris White House can be commended for convening the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health highlighting the critical connections between access to healthy food and sustaining a healthy population. This article explores the impact of climate change and seeks to fill a critical gap in the national discussion. It argues that dramatic changes are needed in the way we think about domestic food security and that meaningful change will be required to assure an adequate supply of healthy food, as envisioned by the White House Conference. It explores the impact of the changes to the climate …

Putting The Green Back In Greenbacks: Opportunities For A Truly Green Stimulus, Farzad Taheripour, Maksym Chepeliev, Richard Damania, Thomas Farole, Nancy Lozano Gracia, Jason Daniel Russ

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Can countries reorient their productive capacity to become more environmentally friendly and inclusive? To investigate this question this paper uses a standard Input-Output modeling framework and data from 141 countries and regions to construct a new global dataset of employment, value-added, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (disaggregated into CO2 and Non-CO2 elements), and air pollution (including nine categories of air pollutants such as PM2.5) multipliers from supply side investments. We find that many of the traditional sectors in agriculture and industry have large employment multipliers, but also generate male dominant, lower skill employment, and tend to have higher emission multipliers. It …

Quantifying Crop Phenology For Food Sustainability Under Climate Change: Integration Of Remote Sensing, Machine Learning, And Ecosystem Modeling, Yanjun Yang

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Climate change is projected to continue and accelerate significantly in the future if global greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed. Previous studies have shown that crop growth and production in agroecosystems are primarily determined by the weather conditions over the growing season. Crop phenology represents one of the most critical indicators in determining crop yield and adjusting the adaptation of crops to climate change. It provides essential information for monitoring and modeling crop growth dynamics and productivity. Therefore, understanding and quantifying the impacts of climate change on crop phenology and then agricultural production is crucial to formulate feasible climatic adaptation …

Marx, Critical Theory, And The Treadmill Of Production Of Value: Why Environmental Sociology Needs A Critique Of Capital, Alex Stoner

Journal Articles

This chapter explores the domestication of Marx’s critique of political economy within Marxist-oriented environmental sociology, and treadmill of production (ToP) theory, in particular. The aim is to explicate the theoretical resources for a rigorous critique of capital-induced planetary degradation. Shortcomings of ToP theory pertaining to the conceptualization of capital and value are identified. The reasons for these shortcomings, including how they might be addressed, are elaborated by reconsidering key aspects of Marx’s critical theory of modern capitalist society. The chapter contributes to current discussions in both critical theory and environmental sociology by demonstrating the continued relevance of Marx’s critical theory …

Carbon Emissions, Abatement, And Natural Disasters: Politics And Social Institutions, Ritika Khurana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation empirically examines three issues related to renewable energy and international development: 1) The Political Economy of Solar Initiatives in the Sunshine State; 2) Climate Change, Natural disasters, and Institutional Integrity; and 3) Institutional Integrity and Carbon emissions.

In Chapter 2, I empirically examine the outcomes of two solar energy amendments that were on the ballot in Florida in 2016. One amendment exempts solar energy devices from ad valorem taxation of real estate property, effectively decreasing the cost of solar energy for those who adopt solar photovoltaic panels. The other amendment reaffirms the right of property owners to install …

Addressing The Role Of Climate Change In Agriculture And Mexico-Us Immigration, Xiaoxin Liang

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Among the greatest threats of climate change is the significant impact on mass displacement, particularly as it relates to Mexico-US immigration. Low crop yields from worsening climate conditions have been linked to increased migration of Mexican farmers. With a projected 4.2 million additional migrants in the foreseeable future, it poses a contemporary environmental, social, and political dilemma. This policy brief analyzes several provision proposals to be adopted into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as evaluated under economic cost, equity, environmental impact, and feasibility criteria. My research concludes that the most effective and direct provision proposal is the implementation of adaptive …

Weather Impacts The Agricultural Production Efficiency Of Wheat: The Importance Of Precipitation Shocks, Bowen Chen, Elliott James Dennis, Allen M. Featherstone

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Many studies have explored the determinants of technical efficiency in crop production, but fewer have examined how weather might change technical efficiency over time. We estimate weather effects on technical efficiency using data from 540 Kansas winter wheat farms from 2007/08 to 2016/17 using a panel stochastic frontier model that controls for farm-specific heterogeneity with farm fixed effects. Results show that precipitation is nonlinearly related to technical efficiency and that extreme temperature is associated with lower technical efficiency. Improving resilience to precipitation shocks is key to sustained efficient wheat production in Kansas.

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

A Crisis Of Kelp, Rachel L. Sherman

Capstones

Along with insects and lab-grown meat, for years seaweed has been lauded as a sustainable “food of the future” by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. As the world increasingly turns to alternative foods in pursuit of a healthier Earth, seaweed has all the makings of an ecological savior. It’s plentiful — seaweeds and ocean algae make up roughly nine tenths of all the plant life on Earth — it’s cheap to harvest and get to market, packed with nutrition, and keeps oceans clean, absorbing more carbon dioxide and releasing more oxygen than the world’s rainforests.

But outside of Japanese …

Oil At Risk: Political Violence And Accelerated Carbon Extraction In The Middle East And North Africa, Ryan Knowles Merrill, Anthony W. Orlando

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

What effect does the threat of expropriation have on resource extraction? Much of the economic literature suggests that uncertainty reduces investment, but the theory of risk-induced extraction suggests the opposite. In this paper, we test this theory in the context of political violence, which poses a real threat of state destabilization and violent expropriation of property rights. Facing this uncertainty, we find that oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa increase oil production in response to political violence. This finding has important negative consequences for the world in terms of climate change and demonstrates a previously untested mechanism …

Artisanal Marine Fisheries And Climate Change In The Region Of Lima, Peru, Edelina Coayla

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study explores the relationship between climate change and artisanal marine fisheries in the region of Lima, Peru. From the perspective of the economics of climate change and renewable marine resources, the methods of correlations and bivariate regression are employed. A negative relationship is found between the increase in the sea surface temperature (SST) and the marine fishery catches landed at the ports of the Lima region (2004-2017).The higher the SST, the lower fishing effort. It was also found that the SST significantly influences the gross added value of fishing. To reduce the vulnerability of artisanal marine fisheries, the main …

Estimating Yield Of Household Groundnut Fields In Rural Smallholder Farming Systems: Implication For Household Food Security, Daniel Kpienbaareh, Isaac Luginaah, Jinfei Wang

Africa Western Collaborations Day 2020 Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Climate Change, Agriculture, And Adaptations: Policy Recommendations For Conservation Agriculture, Sydney Abraham, Mel Dollison

Climate and Society

This paper examines the intersection of climate change and agriculture with a focus on possibilities for sustainable agriculture in a warmer world. The authors consider the impacts (both positive and detrimental) of climate change on food production systems before engaging with a variety of adaptive strategies including crop diversification, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and conservation agriculture (CA). These strategies are then applied within the context of sub-Saharan agricultural policy. Ultimately, the authors suggest that policymakers should support rural agriculture by prioritizing conservation agriculture as a critical piece of both mitigation and adaptation policy.

2010 - California Agricultural Vision - Strategies For Sustainability

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

California is a major contributor to the global food supply and to the national security of the United States. To keep pace with growing demand for food, as the world’s population continues to expand, California agriculture must remain profitable and competitive in a global market by efficiently using resources and controlling production costs. California faces unprecedented challenges to its sustainability in the form of pressures on its profitability and productivity related to water, regulations, labor, invasive species, urbanization and many other factors.