WorldWideScience

Sample records for agricultural commodities opportunities

  1. Radiation processing of food and agricultural commodities: opportunities and challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Arun

    2009-01-01

    Assuring adequate food security to citizens of the country requires deployment of strategies for augmenting agricultural production while eliminating post-harvest losses. Appropriate post-harvest processing, handling, storage and distribution practices are as important as the efforts to increase productivity for sustained food security, food safety and international trade in agricultural commodities. Nuclear energy can play a significant role both in the improvement of crop productivity, as well as, in the preservation and hygienization of agricultural produce

  2. Data Cubes Integration in Spatial OLAP for Agricultural Commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putri, A. I.; Sitanggang, I. S.

    2017-03-01

    Ministry of Agriculture Indonesia collects data of agricultural commodities in Indonesia in the annual period. Agricultural commodities data include food crops, horticulture, plantations, and livestock. The data are available in the spreadsheet format. This study developed data cubes for food crops, plantations, and livestock using the galaxy schema of data warehouse and integrated the data cubes into the SOLAP Horticulture using SpagoBI. SOLAP is useful for data analysis and data visualization. The application displays agricultural commodities data in form of crosstab and chart. This study also developed the location intelligence module that visualizes agricultural commodities data on the map. The system was tested using the black box approach. The result showed that main functions including roll up, drill down, slice, dice, and pivot work properly. This application is expected to enable users to easily obtain data summaries of agricultural commodities.

  3. Energy prices and agricultural commodity prices: Testing correlation using copulas method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koirala, Krishna H.; Mishra, Ashok K.; D'Antoni, Jeremy M.; Mehlhorn, Joey E.

    2015-01-01

    The linear relationships between energy prices and prices for agricultural commodities such as corn and soybeans may have been affected, over the last several years, by policy legislations in the farm sector, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the Renewable Fuel Standard Program for 2014. Using high-frequency data and newer methodology, this study investigates dependence between agricultural commodity futures prices and energy futures prices. Results reveal that agricultural commodity and energy future prices are highly correlated and exhibit positive and significant relationship. Findings from this study highlight that an increase in energy price increases the price of agricultural commodities. - Highlights: • Energy policy mandates production of 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol by 2015. • Energy-intensive agriculture has a link between energy sector and crop production costs. • We investigate correlation between energy prices and agricultural commodity prices. • Agricultural commodity and energy future prices are highly correlated. • Increase in energy price increases the price of agricultural commodity

  4. Toward Improved Market Access for ASEAN Agricultural Commodities

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... technical report, November 2009 - May 2013. Études. Towards improved market access for ASEAN agricultural commodities : donor partnerships strategy and plan. Rapports. Towards improved market access for ASEAN agricultural commodities : project inception meeting report, Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya, Malaysia, ...

  5. 15 CFR 740.18 - Agricultural commodities (AGR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodity meets the definition of “agricultural commodities” in part 772 of the EAR; (2) The commodity is... international terrorism or the transaction raises nonproliferation concerns, you may not use License Exception...

  6. World oil and agricultural commodity prices: Evidence from nonlinear causality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nazlioglu, Saban

    2011-01-01

    The increasing co-movements between the world oil and agricultural commodity prices have renewed interest in determining price transmission from oil prices to those of agricultural commodities. This study extends the literature on the oil-agricultural commodity prices nexus, which particularly concentrates on nonlinear causal relationships between the world oil and three key agricultural commodity prices (corn, soybeans, and wheat). To this end, the linear causality approach of Toda-Yamamoto and the nonparametric causality method of Diks-Panchenko are applied to the weekly data spanning from 1994 to 2010. The linear causality analysis indicates that the oil prices and the agricultural commodity prices do not influence each other, which supports evidence on the neutrality hypothesis. In contrast, the nonlinear causality analysis shows that: (i) there are nonlinear feedbacks between the oil and the agricultural prices, and (ii) there is a persistent unidirectional nonlinear causality running from the oil prices to the corn and to the soybeans prices. The findings from the nonlinear causality analysis therefore provide clues for better understanding the recent dynamics of the agricultural commodity prices and some policy implications for policy makers, farmers, and global investors. This study also suggests the directions for future studies. - Research highlights: → This study determines the price transmission mechanisms between the world oil and three key agricultural commodity prices (corn, soybeans, and wheat). → The linear and nonlinear cointegration and causality methods are carried out. → The linear causality analysis supports evidence on the neutrality hypothesis. → The nonlinear causality analysis shows that there is a persistent unidirectional causality from the oil prices to the corn and to the soybeans prices.

  7. 75 FR 15403 - Information Collection, Procurement of Agricultural Commodities for Foreign Donation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-29

    ... Agricultural Commodities for Foreign Donation AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA ACTION: Notice... commodities for foreign donation. The Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO) issues a public invitation... Agricultural Commodities for Foreign Donation. OMB Number: 0560-0258. Expiration Date: May 31, 2010. Type of...

  8. 78 FR 16189 - Transportation of Agricultural Commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 49 CFR Parts 382, 383, 390, 391, 395, 396 [Docket No. FMCSA-2012-0378] RIN 2126-AB58 Transportation of Agricultural...: FMCSA promulgates the regulatory exemptions for the ``transportation of agricultural commodities and...

  9. The Influence of Agricultural Commodity on F&B Company’s Performance in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rofikoh Rokhim

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This research examines the influence of agricultural commodity price movements on stock price and gross profit of food and beverage companies in Indonesia, as well as the effect of volatility prices of agricultural commodities. Using time series data of food and beverages (F&B companies that are listed at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX, this research calculating the event studies to find the abnormal returns. The results showed that the movement of agricultural commodity prices has a positive effect on stock prices of F&B companies, with the dominant influence of commodity prices of corn and sugar. Agricultural commodity prices also affect positively on gross profit F&B companies, with the dominant influence of commodity prices of corn and palm oil. The increase in prices of agricultural commodities simultaneously affect the value of a positive cumulative abnormal return for stocks of F&B companies. The results also showed that the decline of agricultural commodities simultaneously affect the value of negative cumulative abnormal return for stocks of F&B companies.

  10. Radiation processing of food and agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Arun

    2014-01-01

    Reducing post-harvest food losses is becoming increasingly important for sustaining food supplies. Appropriate post-harvest processing, handling, storage and distribution practices are as important as the efforts to increase productivity for improving food security, food safety and international trade in agricultural commodities. Preservation of food by ionizing radiation involves controlled application of energy of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, and accelerated electrons to agricultural commodities, food products and ingredients, for improving their storage life, hygiene and safety. The process employs either gamma rays emitted by radioisotopes such as cobalt-60 or high-energy electrons or X-rays generated from machine sources

  11. Determinants of prices increase of agricultural commodities in a global context1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borychowski Michał

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this article is to present the determinants of increase in agricultural commodity prices after 2006. The other specific aim is to show the factors affecting agricultural raw materials and food prices in the global context. This article is a review paper of the determinants of recent commodity and food prices spikes. However, it provides an outlook on these determinants that were the most important for the increases in the last decade. The last part of the article (conclusions to some extent is a synthesis of considerations and includes the authors’ opinions concerning determinants and an attempt to identify which ones were the most important in the growth of agricultural commodity prices. These increases in agricultural commodity prices resulted from many factors and it is very difficult to separate the individual impact of each of them, because they occurred in parallel. However, it is possible to indicate several main reasons for these price increases, which are: adverse changes in supply-demand relations in agricultural markets, increases in oil prices (and increases of the volatility of those prices, development of biofuel production from agricultural commodities (the first generation biofuels, dollar depreciation, an increase in operations of a speculative nature on commodity markets and improper economic policy that created an environment for the growth of prices of agricultural products.

  12. 75 FR 65586 - Agricultural Commodity Definition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-26

    ... juice, wine and beer are ``food'' for purposes of the definition of ``agricultural commodity... beets, beet pulp (used as animal feed), raw sugar, molasses and refined sugar; honey; beer and wine... proposed herein. \\44\\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. B. Cost Benefit Analysis Section 15(a) of the CEA requires the...

  13. 75 FR 54594 - Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-08

    ...] Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and... Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of...), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in section 740...

  14. PRICE GENERATING PROCESS AND VOLATILITY IN NIGERIAN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES MARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osaihiomwan Ojogho

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The literature on agricultural commodity price volatility in Nigeria has constantly reflected that an excessive price movement is harmful for both producers and consumers, particularly for those who are not able to cope with that new source of economic uncertainty. It has also raised an extensive debate on the main determinants behind the large agricultural commodity price swings observed in the last years without recourse for the price generating process. To narrow this gap, the study examined the price generating process and volatility in the Nigerian agricultural commodities market using secondary data for price series on meat, cereals, sugar, dairy and aggregate food for the period of January 1990 to February 2014. The data were analysed using the linear Gaussian State-Space (SS model. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that the coefficients of variation for cereals (39.88%, food (32.65% and dairy price (43.08% were respectively higher during the overall time period (January 1990 to February 2014 than during the first (January 1990 to January 2002 and second (February 2002 to February 2014 sub-time periods. The results of the inferential statistics showed that authoregressive moving average (ARMA model is the most selected Nigeria agricultural commodity price generating model for the time periods, that a unit increase in the past price state of cereals, dairy, sugar, meat and aggregate food would increase the future price of sugar, meat and aggregate food by N0.14, N0.28 and N0.15 respectively but decrease future price of cereals and dairy by about N1.00 and N0.21 respectively, and that the one-step ahead predicted value for the first out-ofsample period for cereals, meat, dairy and sugar price were 6317.86, 10.24 and 2.06 respectively. The Nigerian agricultural commodity prices have experienced high variability over the period, and such volatility, price-generating process and the determinants of the Nigerian food commodities

  15. 77 FR 55183 - Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-07

    ...] Effectiveness of Licensing Procedures for Agricultural Commodities to Cuba AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and... Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of...), to Cuba. Requirements and procedures associated with such authorization are set forth in Sec. 740.18...

  16. Commodity, pre-salt and development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alvim, Carlos Feu; Fantine, Jose [Univerisdade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ/COPPE), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao do Programa de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia

    2008-04-15

    'Brazil is essentially an agricultural country' was the economical truism taught in school in the 1950s. The country was under the influence of the coffee cycle that has followed other ones based on extractive or agricultural products in successive cycles since the Colonial period: pau-brasil, sugarcane, gold, cocoa, rubber, etc. Presently commodities dominate our exports and one might ask: is Brazil essentially a commodity-exporting country? The recent publication of the government document 'Productive development policy - innovate and invest to support growth' makes it opportune to discuss the subject. (author)

  17. Trade tensions between EU and Russia: Possible effects on trade in agricultural commodities for Visegrad countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erokhin, V.; Heijman, W.J.M.; Ivolga, A.

    2014-01-01

    The paper includes overview of the current state of the EU-CIS and the EU-Russia trade flows with particular attention to trade in agricultural commodities, as well as contemporary tendencies in agricultural production and foreign trade in agricultural commodities and food in Russia. The paper

  18. Modelling Long Memory Volatility in Agricultural Commodity Futures Returns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R. Tansuchat (Roengchai); C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractThis paper estimates the long memory volatility model for 16 agricultural commodity futures returns from different futures markets, namely corn, oats, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil, wheat, live cattle, cattle feeder, pork, cocoa, coffee, cotton, orange juice, Kansas City wheat,

  19. Modelling Long Memory Volatility in Agricultural Commodity Futures Returns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); R. Tansuchat (Roengchai)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractThis paper estimates a long memory volatility model for 16 agricultural commodity futures returns from different futures markets, namely corn, oats, soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil, wheat, live cattle, cattle feeder, pork, cocoa, coffee, cotton, orange juice, Kansas City wheat,

  20. Manufacturing process design for multi commodities in agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasetyawan, Yudha; Santosa, Andrian Henry

    2017-06-01

    High-potential commodities within particular agricultural sectors should be accompanied by maximum benefit value that can be attained by both local farmers and business players. In several cases, the business players are small-medium enterprises (SMEs) which have limited resources to perform added value process of the local commodities into the potential products. The weaknesses of SMEs such as the manual production process with low productivity, limited capacity to maintain prices, and unattractive packaging due to conventional production. Agricultural commodity is commonly created into several products such as flour, chips, crackers, oil, juice, and other products. This research was initiated by collecting data by interview method particularly to obtain the perspectives of SMEs as the business players. Subsequently, the information was processed based on the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to determine House of Quality from the first to fourth level. A proposed design as the result of QFD was produced and evaluated with Technology Assessment Model (TAM) and continued with a revised design. Finally, the revised design was analyzed with financial perspective to obtain the cost structure of investment, operational, maintenance, and workers. The machine that performs manufacturing process, as the result of revised design, was prototyped and tested to determined initial production process. The designed manufacturing process offers IDR 337,897, 651 of Net Present Value (NPV) in comparison with the existing process value of IDR 9,491,522 based on similar production input.

  1. WTO’s Implications on Agriculture Sector in Pakistan: Threats, Opportunities and Possible Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naeem Ullah Khan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The WTO trading system is a fact of life. This is only organization which can manage the challenges of globalization. There are both opportunities and threats for the member states in relation to different sectors of economy like agriculture. This paper examines that Pakistan has a great potential to produce and export agricultural commodities in the international markets. In order to achieve maximum benefits from the WTO, Pakistan has to take strong and immediate steps in the light of SPS and TBT Agreement that are germane with agriculture sector. In this connection Pakistan has achieved GSP+ status by European Union which gives a great opportunity to Pakistan to improve its agricultural standards and enhance its export in European agricultural markets. The paper also recommends some possible solutions to improve the agriculture standards in Pakistan. In all countries farming system play a very important role for increasing crop production and strengthen the economy of the country. Government sector should also play a vital role to educate the farmers with new planting techniques and strategic plans for the production of good quality disease free crops. Based on results and conclusion development of extension program, utilization of proper management techniques, utilization of high quality seed, government support, infrastructure and market opportunities are the dire need for farmers and agriculture of Pakistan.

  2. Balancing detail and scale in assessing transparency to improve the governance of agricultural commodity supply chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godar, Javier; Suavet, Clément; Gardner, Toby A.; Dawkins, Elena; Meyfroidt, Patrick

    2016-03-01

    To date, assessments of the sustainability of agricultural commodity supply chains have largely relied on some combination of macro-scale footprint accounts, detailed life-cycle analyses and fine-scale traceability systems. Yet these approaches are limited in their ability to support the sustainability governance of agricultural supply chains, whether because they are intended for coarser-grained analyses, do not identify individual actors, or are too costly to be implemented in a consistent manner for an entire region of production. Here we illustrate some of the advantages of a complementary middle-ground approach that balances detail and scale of supply chain transparency information by combining consistent country-wide data on commodity production at the sub-national (e.g. municipal) level with per shipment customs data to describe trade flows of a given commodity covering all companies and production regions within that country. This approach can support supply chain governance in two key ways. First, enhanced spatial resolution of the production regions that connect to individual supply chains allows for a more accurate consideration of geographic variability in measures of risk and performance that are associated with different production practices. Second, identification of key actors that operate within a specific supply chain, including producers, traders, shippers and consumers can help discriminate coalitions of actors that have shared stake in a particular region, and that together are capable of delivering more cost-effective and coordinated interventions. We illustrate the potential of this approach with examples from Brazil, Indonesia and Colombia. We discuss how transparency information can deepen understanding of the environmental and social impacts of commodity production systems, how benefits are distributed among actors, and some of the trade-offs involved in efforts to improve supply chain sustainability. We then discuss the challenges and

  3. Overview of plant dosimetry in agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khedkar, Kalpana C.

    2014-01-01

    Extensive research carried out for more than three decades at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay and other laboratories in India had conclusively established application of radiation processing of food for catering to the domestic and export market. A major milestone of food irradiation was reached in the country when Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology, a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy had set up 'SPICE PLANT' at Vashi, Navi Mumbai in the year 2000. It was first demonstration plant for radiation processing of spices for hygienisation purpose. For expanding scope of applications in agricultural sector, the next step in this direction was taken by BARC for setting up 'KRUSHAK' plant at Lasalgaon, Nashik. This was the first plant for low dose application of gamma radiation in agricultural commodities i.e. for sprout inhibition in onion and potatoes

  4. Cointegration and error correction modelling of agricultural commodity trade: The case of ASEAN agricultural exports to the EU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. NIEMI

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The objecti e of this study is to increase our understanding of the specification and estimation of agricultural commodity trade models as well as to provide instruments for trade policy analysis. More specifically,the aim is to build a set of dynamic,theory-based econometric models which are able to capture both short-run and long-run effects of income and price changes,and which can be used for prediction and policy simulation under alternati e assumed conditions.A relati ely unrestricted,data determined,econometric modelling approach based on the error correction mechanism is used,in order to emphasise the importance of dynamics of trade functions.Econometric models are constructed for se en agricultural commodities –cassa a,cocoa,coconut oil,palm oil,pepper, rubber,and tea –exported from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEANto the European Union (EU.With the aim of providing broad commodity co erage,the intent is to explore whether the chosen modelling approach is able to catch the essentials of the behavioural relationships underlying the specialised nature of each commodity market. The import demand analysis of the study examines two key features:(1the response of EU ’s agricultural commodity imports to income and price changes,and (2the length of time required for this response to occur.The estimations of the export demand relationships provide tests whether the exporters ’ market shares are influenced by the le el of relati e export price,and whether exports are affected by ariations in the rate of growth of imports.The export supply analysis examines the relati e influence of real price and some non-price factors in stimulating the supply of exports.The lag distribution (the shape and length of the lagis found to be ery critical in export supply relationships,since the effects of price changes usually take a long time to work themselves through and since the transmission of the price effects can be complex.The set of

  5. Agricultural Commodities and Crude Oil Prices: An Empirical Investigation of Their Relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleni Zafeiriou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Within the last few decades, the extended use of biodiesel and bioethanol has established interlinkages between energy markets and agricultural commodity markets. The present work examines the bivariate relationships of crude oil–corn and crude oil–soybean futures prices with the assistance of the ARDL cointegration approach. Our findings confirm that crude oil prices affect the prices of agricultural products used in the production of biodiesel, as well as of ethanol, validating the interaction of energy and agricultural commodity markets. The practical value of the present work is that the findings provide policy makers with insight into the interlinkages between agricultural and energy markets to promote biodiesel or bioethanol by affecting crude oil prices. The novelty of the present work stands on the use of futures prices that incorporate all available information and thus are more appropriate to identify supply and demand shocks and price spillovers than real prices. Finally, the period of study includes extremely low, as well as extremely high, crude oil prices and the results illustrate that biofuels cannot be substituted for crude oil and protect economies from energy volatility.

  6. Bayesian Networks to Compare Pest Control Interventions on Commodities Along Agricultural Production Chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, J; Leach, A W; Johnson, S; Tu, D M; Nhu, D T; Anh, N T; Quinlan, M M; Whittle, P J L; Mengersen, K; Mumford, J D

    2018-02-01

    The production of an agricultural commodity involves a sequence of processes: planting/growing, harvesting, sorting/grading, postharvest treatment, packing, and exporting. A Bayesian network has been developed to represent the level of potential infestation of an agricultural commodity by a specified pest along an agricultural production chain. It reflects the dependency of this infestation on the predicted level of pest challenge, the anticipated susceptibility of the commodity to the pest, the level of impact from pest control measures as designed, and any variation from that due to uncertainty in measure efficacy. The objective of this Bayesian network is to facilitate agreement between national governments of the exporters and importers on a set of phytosanitary measures to meet specific phytosanitary measure requirements to achieve target levels of protection against regulated pests. The model can be used to compare the performance of different combinations of measures under different scenarios of pest challenge, making use of available measure performance data. A case study is presented using a model developed for a fruit fly pest on dragon fruit in Vietnam; the model parameters and results are illustrative and do not imply a particular level of fruit fly infestation of these exports; rather, they provide the most likely, alternative, or worst-case scenarios of the impact of measures. As a means to facilitate agreement for trade, the model provides a framework to support communication between exporters and importers about any differences in perceptions of the risk reduction achieved by pest control measures deployed during the commodity production chain. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  7. Is there co-movement of agricultural commodities futures prices and crude oil?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Natanelov, Valeri, E-mail: valeri.natanelov@ugent.be [Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent (Belgium); Alam, Mohammad J. [Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent (Belgium); Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University (Bangladesh); McKenzie, Andrew M. [Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, AR (United States); Van Huylenbroeck, Guido [Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent (Belgium)

    2011-09-15

    Even though significant attempts have appeared in literature, the current perception of co-movement of commodity prices appear inadequate and static. In particular we focus on price movements between crude oil futures and a series of agricultural commodities and gold futures. A comparative framework is applied to identify changes in relationships through time and various cointegration methodologies and causality tests are employed. Our results indicate that co-movement is a dynamic concept and that some economic and policy development may change the relationship between commodities. Furthermore we show that biofuel policy buffers the co-movement of crude oil and corn futures until the crude oil prices surpass a certain threshold. - Highlights: > We show that co-movement of commodity futures is a temporal concept. > A variation in parallel movement between 2 large periods occurs. > Biofuel policy buffers parallel movement of corn and crude oil futures

  8. Is there co-movement of agricultural commodities futures prices and crude oil?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Natanelov, Valeri; Alam, Mohammad J.; McKenzie, Andrew M.; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido

    2011-01-01

    Even though significant attempts have appeared in literature, the current perception of co-movement of commodity prices appear inadequate and static. In particular we focus on price movements between crude oil futures and a series of agricultural commodities and gold futures. A comparative framework is applied to identify changes in relationships through time and various cointegration methodologies and causality tests are employed. Our results indicate that co-movement is a dynamic concept and that some economic and policy development may change the relationship between commodities. Furthermore we show that biofuel policy buffers the co-movement of crude oil and corn futures until the crude oil prices surpass a certain threshold. - Highlights: → We show that co-movement of commodity futures is a temporal concept. → A variation in parallel movement between 2 large periods occurs. → Biofuel policy buffers parallel movement of corn and crude oil futures

  9. THE IMPACT OF THE RECENT FEDERAL RESERVE LARGESCALE ASSET PURCHASES ON THE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY PRICES: A HISTORICAL DECOMPOSITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayed H. Saghaian

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we evaluate the effects of the recent Federal Reserve’s purchases of longterm assets on prices of agricultural commodities. The first large-scale asset purchases began at the end of 2008, after the Great Recession, and the second purchases began in November of 2010. The commodities included in this analysis are meats (beef, pork, and broilers, cereal grains (corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice, and softs (sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton. Using historical decompositions, we find significant increases in the nominal agricultural prices of ten out of 12 agricultural commodities under investigation from the second large-scale asset purchases (in 2010 but the first set large-scale asset purchases had only two positive effects.

  10. 7 CFR 35.15 - Opportunity for hearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Opportunity for hearing. 35.15 Section 35.15 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMODITY STANDARDS AND STANDARD CONTAINER REGULATIONS EXPORT GRAPES AND PLUMS Withholding...

  11. Agricultural Commodity Price Shocks and their Effect on Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Addison, Tony; Ghoshray, Atanu

    2014-01-01

    Commodity price shocks are an important type of external shock and are often cited as a problem for economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper quantifies the impact of agricultural commodity price shocks using a near vector autoregressive model. The novel aspect of this model is that we define an auxiliary variable that can potentially capture the definition of a price shock that allows us to determine whether the response of per capita Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in sub-Sahara...

  12. 7 CFR 250.57 - Commodity schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Commodity schools. 250.57 Section 250.57 Agriculture... TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND AREAS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Other Child Nutrition Programs § 250.57 Commodity schools. (a) Categorization of commodity schools. Commodity...

  13. Mould deterioration of agricultural commodities during transit: problems faced by developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhat, R V

    1988-12-01

    Huge quantities of agricultural commodities are being either imported or exported by the developing countries. The commodities have to be transported from the fields of cultivation to the centres of consumption, considerable time being taken for the movement not only because of long distances but also because of various socio-economic, environmental and biological reasons. These commodities are likely to be damaged by mould growth and subsequent aflatoxin accumulation. If the contamination occurs during transit, often no insurance cover for the risk is available. Because of different methods of sampling followed in the exporting and importing countries it is often difficult to define the exact responsibility of the development of aflatoxin as having taken place during transit. The statistics of the export of aflatoxin high-risk commodities like red pepper (chillies), cotton seed and groundnut extractions clearly, for the last decade, demonstrate the extent of loss suffered by the exporting countries because of aflatoxins. The problem of mould damage and mycotoxin contamination can be minimised by improving facilities for storage at ports and transit points as well as on ships.

  14. Agricultural and oil commodities: price transmission and market integration between US and Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franco Rosa

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of this article it to get some evidences of market interaction between United States and Italy using the time series analysis of spot prices spanning from January 1999 to May 2012 for crude oil and three ag-commodities: wheat, corn and soybean. These crops have been selected for their relevance in ag-commodity exchanges between US and Italy markets. The integration between US and Italy agricultural markets is hypothesized for the consistent volume of crop traded between these two countries while the price transmission is related to the leading price signals of the CBT (Chicago Board of Trade. The integration between oil and ag-commodity markets is suggested both by the large use of energy intensive inputs, (fertilizer, seed, machinery in production of these ag-commodities, and their use in biofuel production. The results suggest: a for US market the evidence of market integration between crude oil and US ag-commodities; b for Italy the integration with US ag-commodity markets and less evidence of integration with the oil market. These results are valuable information both for the agents and policy makers contributing to improve the information accuracy to predict the price movements used by marketing operators for their strategies and policy makers to set up policies to re-establish conditions of market efficiency and allocate these ag-commodities in alternative market channels.

  15. 31 CFR 560.533 - Brokering sales of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... technical data, software, or information) that are subject to license application requirements of another... IRANIAN TRANSACTIONS REGULATIONS Licenses, Authorizations and Statements of Licensing Policy § 560.533 Brokering sales of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices. (a) General license for...

  16. Role of radiation technology in preservation of food and agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajput, Sanjay

    2016-01-01

    Several technological benefits can be achieved by gamma radiation processing of agricultural commodities and food include: inhibition of sprouting in tubers, bulbs and rhizomes; disinfestation of insect pests in stored products; disinfestation of quarantine pests in fresh produce; delay in ripening and senescence in fruits and vegetables; destruction of microbes responsible for spoilage of food; elimination of parasites and pathogens of public health importance in food

  17. Study on the Perceived Risk about the Online Shopping for Fresh Agricultural Commodities and Customer Acquisition

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Lingling; HUANG; Juan; FENG; Fengxian; YAN

    2014-01-01

    Fresh agricultural commodities have been entering the era of network marketing. However,the coverage population is still relatively small. In this paper,more than 400 online shopping customer survey data are statistically analyzed based on perceived risk multidimensional model by factor analysis method to classify the potential customers’ perceived risk,concluding that food safety risks,mental health risk,relative convenience risk,liquidity risk,privacy risk and time risk are the most important risk factors that impact potential customers online shopping of fresh agricultural commodities. By using customers prediction model which is based on the classification and prediction methods to mining potential customers,it comes to the conclusion that men are more likely to purchase fresh agricultural commodities online,specifically,in the male sample,those whose average monthly net purchase cost equals to or is higher than 51 yuan or whose online shopping time equals to or is longer than 3 years and at the same time whose age is younger than 30 are the most potential customers. Finally,it puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions from the perspectives of risk control and effective customer acquisition.

  18. Predicting prices of agricultural commodities in Thailand using combined approach emphasizing on data pre-processing technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thoranin Sujjaviriyasup

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In this research, a combined approach emphasizing on data pre-processing technique is developed to forecast prices of agricultural commodities in Thailand. The future prices play significant role in decision making to cultivate crops in next year. The proposed model takes ability of MODWT to decompose original time series data into more stable and explicit subseries, and SVR model to formulate complex function of forecasting. The experimental results indicated that the proposed model outperforms traditional forecasting models based on MAE and MAPE criteria. Furthermore, the proposed model reveals that it is able to be a useful forecasting tool for prices of agricultural commodities in Thailand

  19. Towards a Gendered Agro-Commodity Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Primrose Nakazibwe

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Commodity or value chains are the dominant means to channel agro-food products from cultivators to consumers. Direct open markets are either non-existent or insignificant . These chains are also the main mechanisms for integrating underprivileged groups into the world economy. Why do global value chains generate sorrow for many and joy for a few, and why are these outcomes heavily gender biased? To look for answers this article critically reviews the post-2000 and earlier gender literature by proponents and opponents of the mainstream value chain approach. The purpose is to provide a methodological contribution on the integration of gender into the commodity chain approach. Most studies have fo cused on the economic effects of chain dynamics on women in agricultural product and labor markets. Some have extended this reasoning with social and cultural effects. Despite these advances, analytical gaps still exist as most existing research has concentrated on the agricultural nodes of modern, high value chains and lacks a gendered conceptual foundation. Scarce attention has been given to traditional staple crops, non-agricultural nodes, and feed back effects of gender relations on the chain. Our results indicate that an appropriate GCC approach should also consider the gendered impacts of the interaction between the governance structure and the institutiona l embeddedness, as well as the consequences of intra-household division of resources and labor in all stages of the chain. These two conceptual complements will be needed to explain the opportunities and constraints to improve gender equity in traditional and modern agro-commodity chains.

  20. The Impact of Trade Policies on Spiraling Prices in International Agricultural Commodity Markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Since the mid-2000s food prices have been on an upward trend. In the first months of 2011, agricultural commodity prices reached an all-time high, fuelling fears about the imminent outbreak of a new food crisis, similar to the 1973/74 and 2006/08 ones. Behind concerns about increased price levels and volatility in international agricultural commodity markets lie concerns about food security. Hence, the international community is now under pressure to urgently find solutions for tempering strong upward fluctuations in prices for many major food commodities. Trade policy changes are increasingly discussed as a major contributing factor to food price surges. This paper addresses some issues related to the recurrent global food crises from the perspective of trade policy, specifically export restrictions. After a brief review of the fundamental drivers of the upward trend in real food prices (rising global population and income, climate change, high oil prices, increasing cereal use for biofuel production, and financial speculation, it examines the upsurge in agricultural export restrictions over the recent years. Relying on WTO's trade policy monitoring exercise, it highlights typology, motivations and effects of the newly introduced export restrictions, and finds that a major factor behind their recent proliferation is the lack of effective and binding multilateral rules concerning these trade policy instruments. The paper argues that strenghtening and improving WTO's rules and disciplines is essential for mitigating increased price pressure and volatility as well as the associated food security risks. While the issue of export restrictions is currently the topic of discussions under the Doha Round, trade negotiations are in impasse since 2008. Hence, urgent and successful conclusion of the round would be an essential step. In the meanwhile, a closer regular monitoring of all forms of export restrictions would help to provide at least more

  1. Prices of agricultural commodities, biofuels and fossil fuels in long-run relationships: a comparative study for the USA and Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Tanja; Bentzen, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Time-series data for the USA and Europe representing prices of agricultural commodities, biofuels and fossil fuels are used for a comparative analysis of long-run price relationships. There is some evidence for cointegration between ethanol and gasoline, especially for the USA, and in the case...... of biodiesel, stronger evidence of cointegration between biodiesel, diesel and soya oil for both the USA and Europe. Finally, biofuel prices do not seem to influence agricultural commodity prices or fossil fuel prices....

  2. Assessment the Impact of Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA on Exports of Indonesian Agricultural Commodity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heri Akhmadi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on investigation whether Indonesian membership on ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA increased export of agriculture commodity. The panel augmented gravity model data from 33 major partner countries over the period of 2000-2014 has been applied to analyze the factors affected Indonesian agricultural exports. The overall finding showed that Indonesian agricultural exports were positively correlated with the size of economy and partner countries population, while they are negatively correlated with the appreciation of currency exchange rate and the enrollment on free trade agreement. Moreover, the Indonesian membership on AFTA does not gave significant impact and profitable on Indonesian agricultural exports.

  3. Implications of Climate Volatility for Agricultural Commodity Markets in the Presence of Biofuel Mandates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, M.; Diffenbaugh, N. S.; Hertel, T. W.; Beckman, J.

    2011-12-01

    In presence of bio-fuels, link between energy and agricultural commodity markets has become more complex. An increase in ethanol production to minimum 15bn gallons a year - Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and current technically permissible maximum 10% blending limit - Blend Wall (BW); make the link even stronger. If oil prices in future do not rise significantly from their current levels, this minimum production requirement would likely be binding. In such a scenario any fluctuation in crop production will have to be absorbed by the non-ethanol usage of the crop and would translate into crop prices adjusting to clear the markets and therefore the commodity prices will be more volatile. At high oil prices it is possible that the BW may become binding, severing the link between oil prices and commodity prices as well, potentially leading to higher price volatility. Hertel and Beckman (2010) find that, with both RFS and BW simultaneously binding, corn price volatility due to supply side shocks (which could arise from extreme climate events) could be more than 50% as large as in the absence of bio-fuel policies. So energy markets are important determinants of agricultural commodity price volatility. This proposal intends to introduce the increased supply side volatility on account of climate change and volatility, in the framework. Global warming on account of increased GHG concentrations is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of hot extremes in US (Diffenbaugh et al. 2008) and therefore affect corn yields. With supply shocks expected to increase, binding RFS and BW will exacerbate the volatility, while if they are non-binding then the price changes could be cushioned. We propose to model the impacts of climate changes and volatility on commodity prices by linking three main components - a. Projections for change in temperature and precipitation using climate model b. A statistical model to predict impacts of change in climate variable on corn yields in US

  4. 29 CFR 780.114 - Wild commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Agricultural Or Horticultural Commodities § 780.114 Wild commodities. Employees engaged in the gathering or harvesting of wild commodities such as mosses, wild rice, burls and laurel plants, the trapping of wild... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wild commodities. 780.114 Section 780.114 Labor Regulations...

  5. Ideological Challenges to Changing Strategic Orientation in Commodity Agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Press, Melea; Arnould, Eric; Murray, Jeff

    2014-01-01

    orientations may be thought of as ideologies; and second, that such ideologies are likely to contend with each other. Taking such a perspective may be helpful in thinking about why transitioning to more sustainable strategic orientations is challenging even in the presence of financial incentives to make......Why do some firms not change their strategic orientation despite economic incentives to do so? Most current literature on changing strategic orientations focuses on an antecedents and outcomes approach to business orientations. Intimated, but rarely addressed is, first, the idea that strategic...... such changes. In assessing the transition to organic production and marketing in a commodity agriculture context we find that contending ideologies restrict its adoption. In addition, we suggest that strategic orientations are not adopted or contested solely within firms but also among them. We find...

  6. Non-destructive radio-frequency and microwave measurement of moisture content in agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, S.O.

    1994-01-01

    The importance of moisture content in agricultural commodities, the usefulness of the dielectric properties of such products for sensing moisture content by radiofrequency and microwave measurements, and factors affecting these properties are briefly discussed. Recent developments in the understanding of principles for online moisture sensing and the sensing of individual kernel, seed, nut and fruit moisture contents by radiofrequency and microwave techniques are reviewed. A brief discussion is included on aspects of practical application

  7. Irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment of food and agricultural commodities. Proceedings of a final research coordination meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-11-01

    World trade in fresh horticultural produce, durables and ornamentals continues to grow. Accompanying increased trade in agricultural products is the increased risk for inadvertently transporting quarantine pests to countries or regions where they do not occur. Quarantined pests, including insects such as fruit flies, beetles, moths, scales, mealybugs, thrips, and mites, can seriously disrupt marketing of fresh agricultural products not only between countries, but also between geographical areas within countries (e.g. Florida to California; Hawaii to mainland USA; Queensland to Victoria, Australia; Okinawa to Japan) unless accepted postharvest quarantine treatments are available. Quarantine or phytosanitary treatments (such as fumigation, heat, cold or irradiation) disinfest host commodities of insect pests before they are moved through market channels to areas where the pests do not occur. Among the phytosanitary treatments, irradiation is recognized as a versatile treatment with broadspectrum activity against arthropod pests at dose levels that have minimal adverse effects on the quality of most commodities. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, initiated in 1998 a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Irradiation as a Phytosanitary Treatment of Food and Agricultural Commodities. This CRP included 16 participants from Australia, Brazil, Chile, China (2), India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey and the USA (2). Research coordination meetings were held in Bangkok, Thailand, 29 March - 2 April 1999; Fresno, California, 13-16 November 2001; and Vienna, 2-4 November 2002. This CRP built on the achievements of two previous CRPs on Irradiation as a Quarantine Treatment of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, (1986-1990), and Irradiation as a Quarantine Treatment of Mites, Nematodes and Insects other than Fruit Flies(1992-1997). This publication presents the research results

  8. 31 CFR 560.520 - Exportation of agricultural commodities on contracts entered into prior to May 7, 1995.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... States to Iran of any agricultural commodity under an export sales contract are authorized, provided: (1... other financing agreements with respect to exports authorized by this section is authorized pursuant to..., wheat, cotton, peanuts, tobacco, dairy products, and oilseeds (including vegetable oil). (d) Specific...

  9. Commodity Price Volatility in the Biofuel Era: An Examination of the Linkage Between Energy and Agricultural Markets

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas W. Hertel; Jayson Beckman

    2011-01-01

    Agricultural and energy commodity prices have traditionally exhibited relatively low – even negative correlation. However, the recent increases in biofuel production have altered the agriculture-energy relationship in a fundamental way. The amount of corn utilized for ethanol production in the US has increased from 5% in 2001 to over one-third by the end of the decade. This increase has drawn corn previously sold to other uses (exports, food, feed), as well as acreage devoted to other crops (...

  10. Shade-grown coffee in Puerto Rico: Opportunities to preserve biodiversity while reinvigorating a struggling agricultural commodity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borkhataria, R.; Collazo, J.A.; Groom, Martha J.; Jordan-Garcia, A.

    2012-01-01

    Shade-grown coffee contributes to biodiversity conservation and has many ecological benefits. We reviewed historical trends in coffee production and interviewed 100 coffee growers in 1999 to determine current management practices and attitudes toward the cultivation of sun and shade coffee in Puerto Rico. We discuss the outlook for the coffee industry in the 21st century and implications for biodiversity conservation, hoping lessons from Puerto Rico will apply to the international coffee industry. Throughout the 20th century, government intervention, including subsidies and technical assistance, supported coffee farming in Puerto Rico. In an effort to modernize coffee production and increase yields, the conversion from shade to sun coffee plantations was encouraged. Despite government support, the amount of land devoted to this once dominant agricultural commodity declined markedly between 1982 and 2007 (84%), due to labor shortages, low income, and catastrophic hurricanes. We found that a return to shaded plantations would be embraced by most farmers. Growers of shaded coffee were generally happier with their cultivation practices (89.3% satisfied) than growers of sun coffee (60.9% satisfied), valued biodiversity, and were willing to cultivate coffee under shade if given similar incentives to those received for farming sun coffee. The future of the coffee industry in Puerto Rico may depend on government programs that capitalize upon emerging markets for sustainably produced, shade-grown coffee. We conclude that where governments have close ties to the coffee industry, they should strive to wed economic development with the conservation of biodiversity and associated ecological services by providing support and incentives for the production of shade coffee. ?? 2011 Elsevier B.V.

  11. Comparing Critical Capitalist Commodity Chains in the Early Twenty-first Century: Opportunities For and Constraints on Labor and Political Movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Sowers

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available There have been a number of critical historical opportunities for labor to exert power by interrupting long distance flows of commodities at the extraction, processing, and transport stages. This vulnerability has been used by workers in these industries to gain higher wages and better working conditions and to achieve political goals in national and international arenas. In this paper, we compare two commodity chains that are critical components of the global economy. The first, which we describe as transport, is a broad category involving a range of manufactured goods, whose delivery to customers around the world was fundamentally changed in the past fifty years via "containerization" and "the logistics revolution." The second is oil and gas, which also has experienced recently dramatic changes in both extraction (via "tar sands" and "[racking" and transportation. In each case, we discuss possibilities and challenges for labor and political organizing to disrupt capital in these key commodity chains. We identify the "stakes" in each commodity chain by demonstrating the vulnerabilities on which labor and political organizations/movements could capitalize, which usually stem from the capital intensity and global integration of each critical commodity chain. These vulnerabilities are the factors which form the most basic opportunities for organizing in these sectors. Our analysis further suggests that while transport and raw materials remain vulnerable nodes in capitalist commodity chains, there are also constraints and challenges to be faced by labor and social movement organizations (SMOs that might attempt to leverage power over these circuits of the world-economy.

  12. Speculation and volatility spillover in the crude oil and agricultural commodity markets: A Bayesian analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Xiaodong; Yu, Cindy L.; Hayes, Dermot J.

    2011-01-01

    This paper assesses factors that potentially influence the volatility of crude oil prices and the possible linkage between this volatility and agricultural commodity markets. Stochastic volatility models are applied to weekly crude oil, corn, and wheat futures prices from November 1998 to January 2009. Model parameters are estimated using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. Speculation, scalping, and petroleum inventories are found to be important in explaining the volatility of crude oil prices. Several properties of crude oil price dynamics are established, including mean-reversion, an asymmetry between returns and volatility, volatility clustering, and infrequent compound jumps. We find evidence of volatility spillover among crude oil, corn, and wheat markets after the fall of 2006. This can be largely explained by tightened interdependence between crude oil and these commodity markets induced by ethanol production.

  13. A method for calculating a land-use change carbon footprint (LUC-CFP) for agricultural commodities - applications to Brazilian beef and soy, Indonesian palm oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, U Martin; Henders, Sabine; Cederberg, Christel

    2014-11-01

    The world's agricultural system has come under increasing scrutiny recently as an important driver of global climate change, creating a demand for indicators that estimate the climatic impacts of agricultural commodities. Such carbon footprints, however, have in most cases excluded emissions from land-use change and the proposed methodologies for including this significant emissions source suffer from different shortcomings. Here, we propose a new methodology for calculating land-use change carbon footprints for agricultural commodities and illustrate this methodology by applying it to three of the most prominent agricultural commodities driving tropical deforestation: Brazilian beef and soybeans, and Indonesian palm oil. We estimate land-use change carbon footprints in 2010 to be 66 tCO2 /t meat (carcass weight) for Brazilian beef, 0.89 tCO2 /t for Brazilian soybeans, and 7.5 tCO2 /t for Indonesian palm oil, using a 10 year amortization period. The main advantage of the proposed methodology is its flexibility: it can be applied in a tiered approach, using detailed data where it is available while still allowing for estimation of footprints for a broad set of countries and agricultural commodities; it can be applied at different scales, estimating both national and subnational footprints; it can be adopted to account both for direct (proximate) and indirect drivers of land-use change. It is argued that with an increasing commercialization and globalization of the drivers of land-use change, the proposed carbon footprint methodology could help leverage the power needed to alter environmentally destructive land-use practices within the global agricultural system by providing a tool for assessing the environmental impacts of production, thereby informing consumers about the impacts of consumption and incentivizing producers to become more environmentally responsible. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. The analysis of return on speculative trading with futures contracts of agriculture commodities in the context of the currency risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oldřich Šoba

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on analysis of return on speculative operations with futures contracts from the view of participators not undertaking and undertaking the currency risk. The currency risk is determined by unexpected change of relevant exchange rate (currency denomination of futures contracts / domestic currency of participator. The paper analyses the basic factors influencing the profitability of these operations such as relative change of futures contract value, leverage incidence and relative change of relevant exchange rate. The paper is focused on futures contracts of the world most important agricultural commodities. The conclusion of the paper for participators not undertaking the currency risk is following: The relative change of futures contract is main factor for the calculation of return on speculative operation. This change is multiplied by leverage incidence finally. The conclusion of the paper for participators undertaking the currency risk is following: The relative change of relevant exchange rate is not usually relevant for the calculation of return on speculative operation. Main factor is the relative change of futures contract because this change is multiplied by leverage incidence finally but the relative change of relevant exchange rate isn’t.Neverthless the conclusions of this paper are not valid only for futures contracts of agricultural commodities but generally also for other commodity futures contracts and futures contracts where underlying assets are not commodities but for example financial assets.

  15. Supplement: Commodity Index Report

    Data.gov (United States)

    Commodity Futures Trading Commission — Shows index traders in selected agricultural markets. These traders are drawn from the noncommercial and commercial categories. The noncommercial category includes...

  16. Agricultural Education: Key to Providing Broader Opportunities for Third World Women in Production Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lelle, Mark A.; Holt, Barbara A.

    1987-01-01

    The authors focus on providing opportunities for women in Third World countries in agriculture. A review of the body of knowledge in agricultural development and of the issues surrounding current world food crises is included. (CH)

  17. Comparison of production-phase environmental impact metrics derived at the farm- and national-scale for United States agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costello, Christine; Xue, Xiaobo; Howarth, Robert W

    2015-01-01

    Agricultural production is critical for human survival and simultaneously contributes to ecosystem degradation. There is a need for transparent, rapid methods for evaluating the environmental impacts of agricultural production at the system-level in order to develop sustainable food supplies. We have developed a method for estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG), land use and reactive nitrogen inputs associated with the agricultural production phase of major crop and livestock commodities produced in the United States (US). Materials flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques were applied to national inventory datasets. The net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) toolbox served as the primary accounting tool for LCA and MFA. NANI was updated to create links between nitrogen fertilizer and nitrogen fixation associated with feed crops and animal food commodities. Results for the functional units kilogram (kg) of product and kg of protein for 2002 data fall within ranges of published LCA results from farm-scale studies across most metrics. Exceptions include eutrophication potential for milk and GHGs for chicken and eggs, these exceptions arise due to differing methods and boundary assumptions; suggestions for increasing agreement are identified. Land use for livestock commodities are generally higher than reported by other LCA studies due to the inclusion of all land identified as pasture or grazing land in the US in this study and given that most of the estimates from other LCAs were completed in Europe where land is less abundant. The method provides a view of the entire US agricultural system and could be applied to any year using publically available data. Additionally, utilizing a top-down approach reduces data collection and processing time making it possible to develop environmental inventory metrics rapidly for system-level decision-making. (letter)

  18. Improving agricultural commodity supply-chain to promote economic activities in rural area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padjung, R.

    2018-05-01

    Long supply chain of agricultural commodities has become concern to governments particularly in large countries such as Indonesia as it causes high price disparity between farm-gate and retailer. Policies to overcome such problem are usually by shortening the chain, by which farmers sell the products directly to retailers. Using an action research in AEDEF (Aceh Economic Development Financing Facilities) Program, conducted in the province of Nangro Aceh Darussalam (NAD) Indonesia, the paper shows that shortening the commodity supply chain is not the best solution to such problem, as it causes loss of jobs in the villages. High price disparity between farm-gate and retailer is not necessary brought about by long supply-chain but by the efficiency of the chain instead. Efficiency of the chain can be improved by creating enabling business environment such that every actors and players work in a fair manner. This can be achieved by transparency in price and quality grade. With development achieved in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), having a good and reliable flow of such information is not difficult. In addition to information flow, the availability and quality of infrastructure to support flow of goods from farm-gate to end-user is of reasonably important.

  19. Cross-correlations between agricultural commodity futures markets in the US and China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhihui; Lu, Xinsheng

    2012-08-01

    This paper examines the cross-correlation properties of agricultural futures markets between the US and China using a cross-correlation statistic test and multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA). The results show that the cross-correlations between the two geographically distant markets for four pairs of important agricultural commodities futures are significantly multifractal. By introducing the concept of a “crossover”, we find that the multifractality of cross-correlations between the two markets is not long lasting. The cross-correlations in the short term are more strongly multifractal, but they are weakly so in the long term. Moreover, cross-correlations of small fluctuations are persistent and those of large fluctuations are anti-persistent in the short term while cross-correlations of all kinds of fluctuations for soy bean and soy meal futures are persistent and for corn and wheat futures are anti-persistent in the long term. We also find that cross-correlation exponents are less than the averaged generalized Hurst exponent when q0 in the short term, while in the long term they are almost the same.

  20. 7 CFR 226.5 - Donation of commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Donation of commodities. 226.5 Section 226.5 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM Assistance to States § 226.5 Donation...

  1. Incorporating agroforestry approaches into commodity value chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, Edward

    2011-08-01

    The productivity of tropical agricultural commodities is affected by the health of the ecosystem. Shade tolerant crops such as coffee and cocoa benefit from environmental services provided by forested landscapes, enabling landscape design that meets biodiversity conservation and economic needs. What can motivate farmers to apply and maintain such landscape approaches? Rather than rely on a proliferation of externally funded projects new opportunities are emerging through the international market that buys these commodities. As part of their growing commitment to sustainable supply chains, major companies are supporting agroforestry approaches and requiring producers and traders to demonstrate that the source of their commodities complies with a set of principles that conserves forested landscapes and improves local livelihoods. The paper presents examples of international companies that are moving in this direction, analyzes why and how they are doing it and discusses the impact that has been measured in coffee and cocoa communities in Latin America and Africa. It particularly considers the role of standards and certification systems as a driver of this commitment to promote profitable operations, environmental conservation and social responsibility throughout the coffee and cocoa value chains. Such approaches are already being taken to scale and are no longer operating only in small niches of the market but the paper also considers the limitations to growth in this market-based approach.

  2. Incorporating Agroforestry Approaches into Commodity Value Chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, Edward

    2011-08-01

    The productivity of tropical agricultural commodities is affected by the health of the ecosystem. Shade tolerant crops such as coffee and cocoa benefit from environmental services provided by forested landscapes, enabling landscape design that meets biodiversity conservation and economic needs. What can motivate farmers to apply and maintain such landscape approaches? Rather than rely on a proliferation of externally funded projects new opportunities are emerging through the international market that buys these commodities. As part of their growing commitment to sustainable supply chains, major companies are supporting agroforestry approaches and requiring producers and traders to demonstrate that the source of their commodities complies with a set of principles that conserves forested landscapes and improves local livelihoods. The paper presents examples of international companies that are moving in this direction, analyzes why and how they are doing it and discusses the impact that has been measured in coffee and cocoa communities in Latin America and Africa. It particularly considers the role of standards and certification systems as a driver of this commitment to promote profitable operations, environmental conservation and social responsibility throughout the coffee and cocoa value chains. Such approaches are already being taken to scale and are no longer operating only in small niches of the market but the paper also considers the limitations to growth in this market-based approach.

  3. Development of commodity exchange in Croatia

    OpenAIRE

    Sicel, Mladen

    2009-01-01

    Purpose of this thesis work is to show relevance and necessarity for existing of commodity exchange and it’s influence to the economy of Croatia. Because eastern part of Croatia, region called Slavonia is mostly agricultural oriented, it is of essential relevance to establish and make operate of first commodity exchange in Croatia.

  4. The water footprints of Morocco and the Netherlands: Global water use as a result of domestic consumption of agricultural commodities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert; Chapagain, Ashok

    2007-01-01

    The volume of international trade in agricultural commodities is increasing faster than the global volume of production, which is an indicator of growing international dependencies in the area of food supply. Although less obvious, it also implies growing international dependencies in the field of

  5. Commodity Price Fluctuations: A Century of Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Walter Labys

    2005-01-01

    Commodity prices again! The twentieth century has only been the latest spectator to the impacts and importance of commodity price fluctuations. It is reasonably well known that commodity price records have come down to us from the ancient civilizations of India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Earlier in the century, formal research began on the relationships between agricultural demand, supply and prices in a market context. This research not only evolved in sophistication but extended ...

  6. UNCTAD commodity yearbook 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    The Commodity Yearbook is intended to provide disaggregated data at the world, regional and country levels for trade and consumption in selected agricultural primary commodities and minerals, ores and metals. Production series have been included for the latter group of commodities, since comprehensive diaggregated data are unavailable elsewhere. Basic tables have been designed, from both the commodity and the country point of view, to serve as background material to international commodity discussions and negotiations in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The classification of countries and territories by region has been adopted for statistical convenience only, and follows that employed by the Statistical Office of the United Nations. Four main regions are defined: Developed market economy countries, Countries of Eastern Europe, Socialist countries of Asia and Developing countries and territories. For developed and developing countries and territories, the main regions have been further subdivided (e.g., EEC, EFTA, Africa, etc.) to provide additional information. The exact composition of each region is shown in section V of the general notes

  7. 7 CFR 17.5 - Contracts between commodity suppliers and importers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... officers and a description of the firm's experience as an exporter of U.S. agricultural commodities. Copies... under this part and the purchase authorization. (3) If, at the time the commodity supplier reports the... requirements unless otherwise specified in the purchase authorization. (1) Commodity contracts between...

  8. Multiple pathways of commodity crop expansion in tropical forest landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyfroidt, Patrick; Carlson, Kimberly M.; Fagan, Matthew E.; Gutiérrez-Vélez, Victor H.; Macedo, Marcia N.; Curran, Lisa M.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Dyer, George A.; Gibbs, Holly K.; Lambin, Eric F.; Morton, Douglas C.; Robiglio, Valentina

    2014-07-01

    Commodity crop expansion, for both global and domestic urban markets, follows multiple land change pathways entailing direct and indirect deforestation, and results in various social and environmental impacts. Here we compare six published case studies of rapid commodity crop expansion within forested tropical regions. Across cases, between 1.7% and 89.5% of new commodity cropland was sourced from forestlands. Four main factors controlled pathways of commodity crop expansion: (i) the availability of suitable forestland, which is determined by forest area, agroecological or accessibility constraints, and land use policies, (ii) economic and technical characteristics of agricultural systems, (iii) differences in constraints and strategies between small-scale and large-scale actors, and (iv) variable costs and benefits of forest clearing. When remaining forests were unsuitable for agriculture and/or policies restricted forest encroachment, a larger share of commodity crop expansion occurred by conversion of existing agricultural lands, and land use displacement was smaller. Expansion strategies of large-scale actors emerge from context-specific balances between the search for suitable lands; transaction costs or conflicts associated with expanding into forests or other state-owned lands versus smallholder lands; net benefits of forest clearing; and greater access to infrastructure in already-cleared lands. We propose five hypotheses to be tested in further studies: (i) land availability mediates expansion pathways and the likelihood that land use is displaced to distant, rather than to local places; (ii) use of already-cleared lands is favored when commodity crops require access to infrastructure; (iii) in proportion to total agricultural expansion, large-scale actors generate more clearing of mature forests than smallholders; (iv) property rights and land tenure security influence the actors participating in commodity crop expansion, the form of land use displacement

  9. Multiple pathways of commodity crop expansion in tropical forest landscapes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyfroidt, Patrick; Lambin, Eric F; Carlson, Kimberly M; Fagan, Matthew E; DeFries, Ruth S; Gutiérrez-Vélez, Victor H; Macedo, Marcia N; Curran, Lisa M; Dyer, George A; Gibbs, Holly K; Morton, Douglas C; Robiglio, Valentina

    2014-01-01

    Commodity crop expansion, for both global and domestic urban markets, follows multiple land change pathways entailing direct and indirect deforestation, and results in various social and environmental impacts. Here we compare six published case studies of rapid commodity crop expansion within forested tropical regions. Across cases, between 1.7% and 89.5% of new commodity cropland was sourced from forestlands. Four main factors controlled pathways of commodity crop expansion: (i) the availability of suitable forestland, which is determined by forest area, agroecological or accessibility constraints, and land use policies, (ii) economic and technical characteristics of agricultural systems, (iii) differences in constraints and strategies between small-scale and large-scale actors, and (iv) variable costs and benefits of forest clearing. When remaining forests were unsuitable for agriculture and/or policies restricted forest encroachment, a larger share of commodity crop expansion occurred by conversion of existing agricultural lands, and land use displacement was smaller. Expansion strategies of large-scale actors emerge from context-specific balances between the search for suitable lands; transaction costs or conflicts associated with expanding into forests or other state-owned lands versus smallholder lands; net benefits of forest clearing; and greater access to infrastructure in already-cleared lands. We propose five hypotheses to be tested in further studies: (i) land availability mediates expansion pathways and the likelihood that land use is displaced to distant, rather than to local places; (ii) use of already-cleared lands is favored when commodity crops require access to infrastructure; (iii) in proportion to total agricultural expansion, large-scale actors generate more clearing of mature forests than smallholders; (iv) property rights and land tenure security influence the actors participating in commodity crop expansion, the form of land use displacement

  10. Analysis of the development of export prices of selected agricultural and food commodities in the Czech Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milan Palát

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on the description of average level, variability and developmental trends the export prices of selected agricultural and food commodities in the Czech Republic with differentiation according to particular countries within the defined reference period 1993–2002. Thre is also presented the short-time point and interval extrapolation prediction of studied events. Methods of regression and correlation analysis and developmental trends were applied for the mathematical-statistical analysis.

  11. Agriculture and Energy: Implications for Food Security, Water, and Land Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokgoz, S.; Zhang, W.; Msangi, S.; Bhandary, P.

    2011-12-01

    Sustainable production of agricultural commodities and growth of international trade in these goods are challenged as never before by supply-side constraints (such as climate change, water and land scarcity, and environmental degradation) and by demand-side dynamics (volatility in food and energy markets, the strengthening food-energy linkage, population growth, and income growth). On the one hand, the rapidly expanding demand can potentially create new market opportunities for agriculture. On the other hand, there are many threats to a sufficient response by the supply side to meet this growing and changing demand. Agricultural production systems in many countries are neither resource-efficient, nor producing according to their full potential. The stock of natural resources such as land, water, nutrients, energy, and genetic diversity is shrinking relative to demand, and their use must become increasingly efficient in order to reduce environmental impacts and preserve the planet's productive capacity. World energy prices have increased rapidly in recent years. At the same time, agriculture has become more energy-intensive. Higher energy costs have pushed up the cost of producing, transporting and processing agricultural commodities, driving up commodity prices. Higher energy costs have also affected water use and availability through increased costs of water extraction, conveyance and desalinization, higher demand for hydroelectric power, and increased cost of subsidizing water services. In the meantime, the development of biofuels has diverted increasing amounts of agricultural land and water resources to the production of biomass-based renewable energy. This more "intensified" linkage between agriculture and energy comes at a time when there are other pressures on the world's limited resources. The related high food prices, especially those in the developing countries, have led to setbacks in the poverty alleviation effort among the global community with more

  12. Studies on the application of ionizing radiation for the advanced quarantine management of agricultural commodities for export and international trade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Ju Woon; Kim, Jae Hun; Song, Beom Seok; Lee, Kwang Youll; Choi, Yeong Jun [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-12-15

    {Omicron} Quarantine waste of agricultural goods for export are 50 billion won per year in Korea. The major reason of quarantine waste were inspected of quarantine regulated pest or detected of pesticide residues during importation or exportation clearance. {Omicron} According to the Montreal protocol, reduce the using of chemical fumigant(Methyl Bromide) and required alternative quarantine treatment {Omicron} It is necessary for commercialization project that to practice evaluation and development of quarantine management system using irradiation as a phytosanitary measure for exportation agricultural commodities.

  13. Expanding Business Opportunities for African Youth in Agricultural ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Expanding Business Opportunities for African Youth in Agricultural Value ... sector actors who can help commercialize them and achieve large-scale impacts. ... CultiAF supports research to achieve long-term food security in Eastern and ...

  14. Price transmission for agricultural commodities in Uganda: An empirical vector autoregressive analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen Kaspersen, Line; Føyn, Tullik Helene Ystanes

    This paper investigates price transmission for agricultural commodities between world markets and the Ugandan market in an attempt to determine the impact of world market prices on the Ugandan market. Based on the realization that price formation is not a static concept, a dynamic vector...... price relations, i.e. the price variations between geographically separated markets in Uganda and the world markets. Our analysis indicates that food markets in Uganda, based on our study of sorghum price transmission, are not integrated into world markets, and that oil prices are a very determining...... autoregressive (VAR) model is presented. The prices of Robusta coffee and sorghum are examined, as both of these crops are important for the domestic economy of Uganda – Robusta as a cash crop, mainly traded internationally, and sorghum for consumption at household level. The analysis focuses on the spatial...

  15. 7 CFR 1599.9 - Damage to or loss of commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE McGOVERN-DOLE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FOR EDUCATION AND CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM § 1599.9... commodities, the participant shall arrange for the recovery of that portion of the donated commodities...

  16. Is voluntary certification of tropical agricultural commodities achieving sustainability goals for small-scale producers? A review of the evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeFries, Ruth S.; Fanzo, Jessica; Mondal, Pinki; Remans, Roseline; Wood, Stephen A.

    2017-03-01

    Over the last several decades, voluntary certification programs have become a key approach to promote sustainable supply chains for agricultural commodities. These programs provide premiums and other benefits to producers for adhering to environmental and labor practices established by the certifying entities. Following the principles of Cochrane Reviews used in health sciences, we assess evidence to evaluate whether voluntary certification of tropical agricultural commodities (bananas, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, and tea) has achieved environmental benefits and improved economic and social outcomes for small-scale producers at the level of the farm household. We reviewed over 2600 papers in the peer-review literature and identified 24 cases of unique combinations of study area, certification program, and commodity in 16 papers that rigorously analyzed differences between treatment (certified households) and control groups (uncertified households) for a wide range of response variables. Based on analysis of 347 response variables reported in these papers, we conclude that certification is associated on average with positive outcomes for 34% of response variables, no significant difference for 58% of variables, and negative outcomes for 8% of variables. No significant differences were observed for different categories of responses (environmental, economic and social) or for different commodities (banana, coffee and tea), except negative outcomes were significantly less for environmental than other outcome categories (p = 0.01). Most cases (20 out of 24) investigated coffee certification and response variables were inconsistent across cases, indicating the paucity of studies to conduct a conclusive meta-analysis. The somewhat positive results indicate that voluntary certification programs can sometimes play a role in meeting sustainable development goals and do not support the view that such programs are merely greenwashing. However, results also indicate that

  17. Regime shift in fertilizer commodities indicates more turbulence ahead for food security.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James J Elser

    Full Text Available Recent human population increase has been enabled by a massive expansion of global agricultural production. A key component of this "Green Revolution" has been application of inorganic fertilizers to produce and maintain high crop yields. However, the long-term sustainability of these practices is unclear given the eutrophying effects of fertilizer runoff as well as the reliance of fertilizer production on finite non-renewable resources such as mined phosphate- and potassium-bearing rocks. Indeed, recent volatility in food and agricultural commodity prices, especially phosphate fertilizer, has raised concerns about emerging constraints on fertilizer production with consequences for its affordability in the developing world. We examined 30 years of monthly prices of fertilizer commodities (phosphate rock, urea, and potassium for comparison with three food commodities (maize, wheat, and rice and three non-agricultural commodities (gold, nickel, and petroleum. Here we show that all commodity prices, except gold, had significant change points between 2007-2009, but the fertilizer commodities, and especially phosphate rock, showed multiple symptoms of nonlinear critical transitions. In contrast to fertilizers and to rice, maize and wheat prices did not show significant signs of nonlinear dynamics. From these results we infer a recent emergence of a scarcity price in global fertilizer markets, a result signaling a new high price regime for these essential agricultural inputs. Such a regime will challenge on-going efforts to establish global food security but may also prompt fertilizer use practices and nutrient recovery strategies that reduce eutrophication.

  18. Competitiveness of Slovak agri-food commodities in third country markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iveta Ubrežiová

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The impression of a single “European” market is gradually generated mainly due to action of the Common Agricultural Policy. Most of the agro-food complex enterprises see opportunities especially in the internationalization, globalization and regionalization in the agri-food sector, in pursuance of this, they are gradually smouldering innovative activities and trying to work on their competitive advantages. Based on the written we can say, that the issue of the competitiveness of enterprises, as well as of various commodities is in the current period highly current and adequate. The importance of the trade with so-called third countries is still increasing. This increase is mainly caused by the enlargement of the European Union in the term of foreign trade and it can be also confirmed from the results of the research. As the results of the research shows, the most important customers of the Slovak agri-food commodities are the Commonwealth of Independent States, where in the followed four-year period went within third countries at the average of 32.9% of the total Slovak agriculture export, also countries of EUROMED, where this proportion was 18.4%, and Croatia, with the proportion of 19.1%. These countries are the largest buyers of such Slovak agri-food commodities as are for example malt, chocolate and live cattle. On the other hand, Slovak republic is in agri-food import mostly dependent on such countries as are for example MERCOSUR countries, Mediterranean countries EUROMED, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP, China, ASEAN and the U.S., which are the major suppliers of so-called „irreplaceable“ items, which Slovak republic can not produce.Results of the research also shows that while the importance of the trade with those countries (note- third countries is still increasing, Slovak export to third countries, in the contrast to its import, is still decreasing and that the most competitive agri-food commodities are for example live

  19. Partnering for change in chains : on the capacity of partnerships to promote sustainable change in global agricultural commodity chains

    OpenAIRE

    Bitzer, V.C.

    2011-01-01

    Partnerships mirror the changing nature of the relationships among state, business and civil society organizations, and are often considered as innovative mechanisms to overcome single actor failure in the context of globalization. This thesis analyzes the capacity of partnerships to promote sustainable change in global agricultural commodity chains, using the global coffee, cotton and cocoa chains as main fields of application for the empirical analyses. All three chains are characterized by...

  20. How market structure drives commodity prices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bin; Wong, K. Y. Michael; Chan, Amos H. M.; So, Tsz Yan; Heimonen, Hermanni; Wei, Junyi; Saad, David

    2017-11-01

    We introduce an agent-based model, in which agents set their prices to maximize profit. At steady state the market self-organizes into three groups: excess producers, consumers and balanced agents, with prices determined by their own resource level and a couple of macroscopic parameters that emerge naturally from the analysis, akin to mean-field parameters in statistical mechanics. When resources are scarce prices rise sharply below a turning point that marks the disappearance of excess producers. To compare the model with real empirical data, we study the relationship between commodity prices and stock-to-use ratios in a range of commodities such as agricultural products and metals. By introducing an elasticity parameter to mitigate noise and long-term changes in commodities data, we confirm the trend of rising prices, provide evidence for turning points, and indicate yield points for less essential commodities.

  1. Land-use policies and corporate investments in agriculture in the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano

    Science.gov (United States)

    le Polain de Waroux, Yann; Garrett, Rachael D.; Heilmayr, Robert; Lambin, Eric F.

    2016-01-01

    Growing demand for agricultural commodities is causing the expansion of agricultural frontiers onto native vegetation worldwide. Agribusiness companies linking these frontiers to distant spaces of consumption through global commodity chains increasingly make zero-deforestation pledges. However, production and land conversion are often carried out by less-visible local and regional actors that are mobile and responsive to new agricultural expansion opportunities and legal constraints on land use. With more stringent deforestation regulations in some countries, we ask whether their movements are determined partly by differences in land-use policies, resulting in “deforestation havens.” We analyze the determinants of investment decisions by agricultural companies in the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano, a region that has become the new deforestation “hot spot” in South America. We test whether companies seek out less-regulated forest areas for new agricultural investments. Based on interviews with 82 companies totaling 2.5 Mha of properties, we show that, in addition to proximity to current investments and the availability of cheap forestland, lower deforestation regulations attract investments by companies that tend to clear more forest, mostly cattle ranching operations, and that lower enforcement attracts all companies. Avoiding deforestation leakage requires harmonizing deforestation regulations across regions and commodities and promoting sustainable intensification in cattle ranching. PMID:27035995

  2. Land-use policies and corporate investments in agriculture in the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano.

    Science.gov (United States)

    le Polain de Waroux, Yann; Garrett, Rachael D; Heilmayr, Robert; Lambin, Eric F

    2016-04-12

    Growing demand for agricultural commodities is causing the expansion of agricultural frontiers onto native vegetation worldwide. Agribusiness companies linking these frontiers to distant spaces of consumption through global commodity chains increasingly make zero-deforestation pledges. However, production and land conversion are often carried out by less-visible local and regional actors that are mobile and responsive to new agricultural expansion opportunities and legal constraints on land use. With more stringent deforestation regulations in some countries, we ask whether their movements are determined partly by differences in land-use policies, resulting in "deforestation havens." We analyze the determinants of investment decisions by agricultural companies in the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano, a region that has become the new deforestation "hot spot" in South America. We test whether companies seek out less-regulated forest areas for new agricultural investments. Based on interviews with 82 companies totaling 2.5 Mha of properties, we show that, in addition to proximity to current investments and the availability of cheap forestland, lower deforestation regulations attract investments by companies that tend to clear more forest, mostly cattle ranching operations, and that lower enforcement attracts all companies. Avoiding deforestation leakage requires harmonizing deforestation regulations across regions and commodities and promoting sustainable intensification in cattle ranching.

  3. Reconciling biofuels, sustainability and commodities demand. Pitfalls and policy options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uslu, A.; Bole, T.; Londo, M.; Pelkmans, L.; Berndes, G.; Prieler, S.; Fischer, G.; Cueste Cabal, H.

    2010-06-01

    Increasing fossil fuel prices, energy security considerations and environmental concerns, particularly concerning climate change, have motivated countries to explore alternative energy sources including biofuels. Global demand for biofuels has been rising rapidly due to biofuel support policies established in many countries. However, proposed strong links between biofuels demand and recent years' high food commodity prices, and notions that increasing biofuels production might bring about serious negative environmental impacts, in particularly associated with the land use change to biofuel crops, have shifted public enthusiasm about biofuels. In this context, the ELOBIO project aims at shedding further light to these aspects of biofuel expansion by collecting and reviewing the available data, and also developing strategies to decrease negative effects of biofuels while enabling their positive contribution to climate change, security of supply and rural development. ELOBIO considers aspects associated with both 1st and 2nd generation biofuels, hence analyses effects on both agricultural commodity markets and lignocellulosic markets. This project, funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, consists of a review of current experiences with biofuels and other renewable energy policies and their impacts on other markets, iterative stakeholder-supported development of low-disturbing biofuels policies, model supported assessment of these policies' impacts on food, feed and lignocellulosic markets, and finally an assessment of the effects of selected optimal policies on biofuels costs and potentials. Results of the ELOBIO study show that rapid biofuel deployment without careful monitoring of consequences and implementation of mitigating measures risks leading to negative consequences. Implementing ambitious global biofuel targets for 2020, based on current 1st generation technologies, can push international agricultural commodity prices upwards and increase crop

  4. The Principles and the Specifics of Trading in Commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baran, Dušan; Herbacsková, Anita

    2012-12-01

    In the present period of instability on financial markets, investments in commodities are the solution for elimination of the consequences of inflation and ensure the yield. When investing in commodities, the use of specifics of commodities compared to other assets. The distribution of commodities we can interpret for agricultural commodities, commodities of energy, precious and other metals, and weather. Therefore, in the framework of the investment portfolio are the commodities. This is the reason why one of the most popular types of investment assets now become commodities. In the interpretation of particular commodities we talk about commodity futures. The reason is that the spot market with commodities is limited storage facilities. The growth of the popularity, which allows a wide range of commodities, has caused that in addition to from institutional investors and speculators for trade may involve even small investors. This development will be supplemented by interpretation of the charts and figers, which will be commented and used for generalization of knowledge. Finally, the article will be interpreted by the further development of the market for commodities as it by article assumes from the results of research.

  5. 7 CFR 917.122 - Qualification requirements and nominiation procedure for public members of Commodity Committees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits... members of Commodity Committees. (a) Public members shall not have a financial interest in or be associated with production, processing, financing, or marketing (except as consumers) of the commodities...

  6. Commodity team motivation and performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Englyst, Linda; Jørgensen, Frances; Johansen, John

    2008-01-01

    In this article, an in-depth single case study is presented in order to explore and discuss the functioning of commodity teams in a global sourcing context. Specifically, the study aimed at identifying factors that may influence team members' motivation to participate in activities that create...... opportunities for synergy and coordination of purchasing. In the teams studied, motivation appeared to be influenced to some degree by a number of factors, including rewards, leadership behaviours, goal setting, and the career goals of the commodity team members. In some cases, inconsistencies between...

  7. Commodity Team Motivation and Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Englyst, Linda; Jørgensen, Frances; Johansen, John

    2008-01-01

    In this article, an in-depth single case study is presented in order to explore and discuss the functioning of commodity teams in a global sourcing context. Specifically, the study aimed at identifying factors that may influence team members' motivation to participate in activities that create...... opportunities for synergy and coordination of purchasing. In the teams studied, motivation appeared to be influenced to some degree by a number of factors, including rewards, leadership behaviours, goal setting, and the career goals of the commodity team members. In some cases, inconsistencies between...

  8. Opportunities for Demand Response in California Agricultural Irrigation: A Scoping Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marks, Gary [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Wilcox, Edmund [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Olsen, Daniel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Goli, Sasank [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2013-01-02

    California agricultural irrigation consumes more than ten billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually and has significant potential for contributing to a reduction of stress on the grid through demand response, permanent load shifting, and energy efficiency measures. To understand this potential, a scoping study was initiated for the purpose of determining the associated opportunities, potential, and adoption challenges in California agricultural irrigation. The primary research for this study was conducted in two ways. First, data was gathered and parsed from published sources that shed light on where the best opportunities for load shifting and demand response lie within the agricultural irrigation sector. Secondly, a small limited survey was conducted as informal face-to-face interviews with several different California growers to get an idea of their ability and willingness to participate in permanent load shifting and/or demand response programs. Analysis of the data obtained from published sources and the survey reveal demand response and permanent load shifting opportunities by growing region, irrigation source, irrigation method, grower size, and utility coverage. The study examines some solutions for demand response and permanent load shifting in agricultural irrigation, which include adequate irrigation system capacity, automatic controls, variable frequency drives, and the contribution from energy efficiency measures. The study further examines the potential and challenges for grower acceptance of demand response and permanent load shifting in California agricultural irrigation. As part of the examination, the study considers to what extent permanent load shifting, which is already somewhat accepted within the agricultural sector, mitigates the need or benefit of demand response for agricultural irrigation. Recommendations for further study include studies on how to gain grower acceptance of demand response as well as other related studies such as

  9. Harmonisation of food consumption data format for dietary exposure assessments of chemicals analysed in raw agricultural commodities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boon, Polly E.; Ruprich, Jiri; Petersen, Annette

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we present an approach to format national food consumption data at raw agricultural commodity (RAC) level. In this way, the data is both formatted in a harmonised way given the comparability of RACs between countries, and suitable to assess the dietary exposure to chemicals analysed......, and the use of the FAO/WHO Codex Classification system of Foods and Animal Feeds to harmonise the classification. We demonstrate that this approach works well for pesticides and glycoalkaloids, and is an essential step forward in the harmonisation of risk assessment procedures within Europe when addressing...... chemicals analysed in RACs by all national food control systems....

  10. Energy and Food Commodity Prices Linkage: An Examination with Mixed-Frequency Data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trujillo Barrera, A.A.; Pennings, J.M.E.

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Is the relationship between energy and agricultural commodities an important factor in the increasing price variability of food commodities? Findings from the literature appear to be mixed and highly influenced by the data frequency used in those analysis. A recurrent task in time series

  11. Tips for Organizing an Educational Agricultural Commodity Trading Club

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yost, John

    2011-01-01

    Educational commodity marketing clubs have been an effective tool for producers to develop their grain and livestock marketing skills. These groups are further enhanced when the participants engage in "actual trading" versus "paper trading" techniques. When a club chooses to try actual trading, it becomes more complicated than pooling monies…

  12. A Marketing Approach to Commodity Futures Exchanges : A Case Study of the Dutch Hog Industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meulenberg, M.T.G.; Pennings, J.M.E.

    2002-01-01

    This paper proposes a marketing strategic approach to commodity futures exchanges to optimise the (hedging) services offered. First, the environment of commodity futures exchanges is examined. Second, the threats and opportunities of commodity futures exchanges are analysed. Our analysis

  13. The effect of exchange rate devaluation on selected agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect of exchange rate devaluation on selected agricultural export commodities in Nigeria. ... The overall results confirmed that in most cases, the lagged values of exchange rate devaluation had a significant and positive relationship with agricultural export commodities but of a higher magnitude in the Total agricultural ...

  14. DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI IN PAKISTAN’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeshan ANWAR

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Pakistan is an agricultural based economy, therefore, agricultural sector is one of the most important sectors of Pakistan as it provides employment opportunities to millions of people, contributes significantly in GDP, fulfills local demand for food items, export variety of commodities to foreign countries, boosts foreign exchange reserves and eventually enhances economic growth rate of Pakistan’s economy. This study has investigated the determinants of FDI in agricultural sector of Pakistan. The results have shown that GDP and trade openness have positive and significant relationship with FDI inflows in Pakistan agricultural sector whereas government debt has negative and significant relationship. The results have further revealed that inflation has positive whereas exchange rate has negative relationship with FDI inflows in Pakistan’s agricultural sector but both of these variables have insignificant relationship with FDI.

  15. Introducing perennial biomass crops into agricultural landscapes to address water quality challenges and provide other environmental services: Integrating perennial bioenergy crops into agricultural landscapes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cacho, J. F. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Negri, M. C. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Zumpf, C. R. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Campbell, P. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA

    2017-11-29

    The world is faced with a difficult multiple challenge of meeting nutritional, energy, and other basic needs, under a limited land and water budget, of between 9 and 10 billion people in the next three decades, mitigating impacts of climate change, and making agricultural production resilient. More productivity is expected from agricultural lands, but intensification of production could further impact the integrity of our finite surface water and groundwater resources. Integrating perennial bioenergy crops in agricultural lands could provide biomass for biofuel and potential improvements on the sustainability of commodity crop production. This article provides an overview of ways in which research has shown that perennial bioenergy grasses and short rotation woody crops can be incorporated into agricultural production systems with reduced indirect land use change, while increasing water quality benefits. Current challenges and opportunities as well as future directions are also highlighted.

  16. Deforestation risk due to commodity crop expansion in sub-Saharan Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordway, Elsa M.; Asner, Gregory P.; Lambin, Eric F.

    2017-04-01

    Rapid integration of global agricultural markets and subsequent cropland displacement in recent decades increased large-scale tropical deforestation in South America and Southeast Asia. Growing land scarcity and more stringent land use regulations in these regions could incentivize the offshoring of export-oriented commodity crops to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We assess the effects of domestic- and export-oriented agricultural expansion on deforestation in SSA in recent decades. Analyses were conducted at the global, regional and local scales. We found that commodity crops are expanding in SSA, increasing pressure on tropical forests. Four Congo Basin countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire were most at risk in terms of exposure, vulnerability and pressures from agricultural expansion. These countries averaged the highest percent forest cover (58% ± 17.93) and lowest proportions of potentially available cropland outside forest areas (1% ± 0.89). Foreign investment in these countries was concentrated in oil palm production (81%), with a median investment area of 41 582 thousand ha. Cocoa, the fastest expanding export-oriented crop across SSA, accounted for 57% of global expansion in 2000-2013 at a rate of 132 thousand ha yr-1. However, cocoa only amounted to 0.89% of foreign land investment. Commodity crop expansion in SSA appears largely driven by small- and medium-scale farmers rather than industrial plantations. Land-use changes associated with large-scale investments remain to be observed in many countries. Although domestic demand for commodity crops was associated with most agricultural expansion, we provide evidence of a growing influence of distant markets on land-use change in SSA.

  17. 7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart A of... - Memorandum of Understanding and Blanket Commodity Lien Waiver

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodity with respect to which the loan or purchase is made. The word “subordinated” means that, in the... makes loans to farmers on the security of agricultural commodities that are eligible for price support under loan and purchase programs conducted by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). FmHA or its...

  18. DESIGNING GREEN SUPPORT: INCENTIVE COMPATIBILITY AND THE COMMODITY PROGRAMS

    OpenAIRE

    Runge, C. Ford

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this brief analysis is to consider the potential points of contact between a program of "green support" and the existing commodity programs in U.S. agriculture. These points of contact may take the form of conflict, complementarity, or neutrality. We shall assume initially that green support is "added" to the programs as they exist in 1994. Five main commodity program areas are considered: A. Deficiency payments resulting from the loan rate/target price structure B. Acreage red...

  19. GLOBAL CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SLOVAKIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalana Bartosova

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on the evaluation of economic, social and environmental challenges of sustainable agriculture. The selected indicators of the economic challenges of sustainable agriculture imply that agriculture in Slovakia is not in long term be able to ensure competitiveness in the European market, gross agricultural output is characterized by a faster decline in animal production than in crop production and the value of import of agri-food commodities is higher than the value of export. According to selected indicators of social challenges of sustainable agriculture the number of persons working in agriculture has decreasing tendency in last years. The evaluation of selected indicators of environmental challenges of sustainable agriculture implies that area of organic agriculture is the most widely applied sub-measure within the measure agri-environmental payments. For ensuring the balance of the three mentioned dimensions of sustainable agriculture is necessary to increase of local production and consumption of local products, to ensure the protection of nature and landscape, to ensure rural development and to increase the employment opportunities in countryside.

  20. From the USDA: Educating the Next Generation: Funding Opportunities in Food, Agricultural, Natural Resources, and Social Sciences Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Joyce E; Wagner, David J

    The National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides leadership, capacity, and funds to support the continuing development of a safe and competitive agricultural system. Many of the agency's educational programs are led by the Division of Community and Education (DOCE). These programs span agricultural education, enhancing agricultural literacy through both formal and nonformal education. Here, we have highlighted funding opportunities within DOCE that enhance agricultural education and literacy by supporting the improvement of students' critical communication, leadership skills, and experiential learning opportunities. Some of these programs include opportunities for which students can apply, while others focus on faculty applications. Opportunities faculty can apply for may support student-recruitment and student-retention techniques, curriculum development, innovative teaching methods, and institutional capacity-building programs. Overall, these programs foster a diverse workforce in agricultural science that matches the increasing diversity of the country. © 2016 J. E. Parker and D. J. Wagner. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  1. A Study on Market Efficiency of Selected Commodity Derivatives Traded on NCDEX During 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajipriya, N.

    2012-10-01

    The study aims at testing the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis in the context of an emerging commodity market - National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), which is considered as the prime commodity derivatives market in India. The study considered daily spot and futures prices of five selected commodities traded on NCDEX over 12 month period (the futures contracts originating and expiring during the period January 2011 to December 2011) The five commodities chosen are Pepper, Crude palm Oil, steel silver and Chana as they account for almost two-thirds of the value of agricultural commodity derivatives traded on NCDEX. The results of Run test indicate that both spot and futures prices are weak form efficient

  2. 7 CFR 1599.11 - Use of commodities and sale proceeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE McGOVERN-DOLE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FOR EDUCATION AND CHILD NUTRITION... sell the donated commodities at a reasonable market price in the economy where the sale occurs. The...

  3. Recent developments in nanotechnology transforming the agricultural sector: a transition replete with opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dae-Young; Kadam, Avinash; Shinde, Surendra; Saratale, Rijuta Ganesh; Patra, Jayanta; Ghodake, Gajanan

    2018-02-01

    The applications and benefits of nanotechnology in the agricultural sector have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the invention of unique nanopesticides and nanofertilisers. The contemporary developments in nanotechnology are acknowledged and the most significant opportunities awaiting the agriculture sector from the recent scientific and technical literature are addressed. This review discusses the significance of recent trends in nanomaterial-based sensors available for the sustainable management of agricultural soil, as well as the role of nanotechnology in detection and protection against plant pathogens, and for food quality and safety. Novel nanosensors have been reported for primary applications in improving crop practices, food quality, and packaging methods, thus will change the agricultural sector for potentially better and healthier food products. Nanotechnology is well-known to play a significant role in the effective management of phytopathogens, nutrient utilisation, controlled release of pesticides, and fertilisers. Research and scientific gaps to be overcome and fundamental questions have been addressed to fuel active development and application of nanotechnology. Together, nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology offer a plethora of opportunities, proving a viable alternative in the agriculture and food processing sector, by providing a novel and advanced solutions. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Increase of food commodities prices and their relationship with biofuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortiz-Alvarez, Marianela; Piloto-Rodríguez, Ramón

    2017-01-01

    Biofuels are without any doubt, an alternative to the actual energy matrix. In this work, through the analysis of the main influencing factors in the increase of food commodities prices, is demonstrated that this phenomena is not exclusive due to biofuels production. Comparing the food commodities prices with biofuels production and petroleum prices respectively, a stronger correlation between food and petroleum prices was observed, demonstrating the strong influence of the conventional energy market on agricultural products. (author)

  5. CLUSTER OF INDONESIA KABUPATEN-KOTA POTENTIAL IN DEVELOPING FOOD CROP AND HORTICULTURE COMMODITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imam Wahyudi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Identification of potential areas in an agricultural sector is needed in order to meet the national food needs, among others, by carrying out mapping the potential areas through clustering the Kabupaten-Kota in Indonesia, especially on imported agricultural commodities of food crops and horticultures. The use of cluster analysis with top-down clustering method (K-means produces the best cluster. Of 268 regencies-cities, there are 7 clusters, namely Cluster 1 consisting of 154 regencies, Cluster 2 consisting of 2 regencies, Cluster 3 consisting of only1 regency, Cluster 4 consisting of 8 regencies, Cluster 5 consisting of 24 regencies, Cluster 6 consisting of 75 regencies, and Cluster 7 consisting of 4 regencies. Each cluster has its own dominant commodity characteristics.  The results of typology klassen on constructed clusters show that food crop and horticulture commodities have grown well and fast. Out of 13 commodities, there are 7 major commodities: Cluster 1: rice and corns; Clusters 2, 3 and 7: cassava; Cluster 4: corns, cassavas and chilly; Cluster 5: apples; Cluster 6: corns, shallots, and garlic. Six other commodities do not grow well, namely sorghum, potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, oranges, and grapes. The potential lack of an area is due to the plants’ low productivity, which is mainly because of plant pests, highly operational cost, climates and natural disasters. Keywords: imports, food crops, horticulture, cluster, and leading sector.

  6. Radiation technology for value addition to food and agro commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Arun

    2012-01-01

    Assuring adequate food security to citizens of the country requires deployment of strategies for augmenting agricultural production while reducing post-harvest losses. Appropriate post-harvest processing, handling, storage and distribution practices are as important as the efforts to increase productivity for sustained food security, food safety and international trade in agricultural commodities. Nuclear energy has played a significant role both in the improvement of crop productivity, as well as, in the preservation and hygienization of agricultural produce

  7. 7 CFR 1425.17 - Eligible commodity and pooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... to generally accepted accounting principles. (l) A CMA shall not apply marketing losses from a..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS COOPERATIVE MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS § 1425.17... marketing proceeds from the commodity in accordance with § 1425.18; and (5) Members agreed to accept a...

  8. Discussion: Agricultural Commodities and Agribusiness Stocks as Financial Assets

    OpenAIRE

    Brorsen, B. Wade

    2012-01-01

    Nonfarm investors might benefit from diversifying their portfolios by investing in the agricultural sector. Such diversifying investments could include investments in agricultural stocks or long-only futures positions through index funds. The papers in this session investigate the diversification potential of agricultural investments and discuss the effects of investments in index funds on agricultural markets.

  9. Why does Colombia lack agricultural commodity futures?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Moreno-Alemay

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the reasons why futures contracts are not traded as an alternative to price hedging for agricultural goods in Colombia. Based on surveys, interviews and statistical analysis, this study identified that conceptual gaps in contract negotiation, lack of consensus in the agricultural sector regarding the use of financial mechanisms and the sector’s infrequent contact with Colombia’s financial institutions, are the main reasons why a futures contracts market has not emerged.

  10. Duurzaamheid en grondstoffen voor diervoeding = Sustainability and feed commodity production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gosselink, J.M.J.; Bindraban, P.S.; Bos, J.F.F.P.

    2010-01-01

    This study creates a preliminary framework to judge the sustainability of production of agricultural commodities for the purpose of animal nutrition. Criteria are selected according to the economic, societal and ecological dimensions of sustainability.

  11. 7 CFR 33.14 - Opportunity for hearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMODITY STANDARDS AND STANDARD CONTAINER REGULATIONS REGULATIONS ISSUED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE EXPORT APPLE ACT Withholding Certificates § 33.14...

  12. Colocation opportunities for large solar infrastructures and agriculture in drylands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravi, Sujith; Macknick, Jordan; Lobell, David; Field, Christopher; Ganesan, Karthik; Jain, Rishabh; Elchinger, Michael; Stoltenberg, Blaise

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We explored the potential to colocate solar installations and agriculture. • Water use at solar installations are similar to amounts required for desert plants. • Co-located systems are economically viable in some areas. • Colocation can maximize land and water use efficiency in drylands. - Abstract: Solar energy installations in arid and semi-arid regions are rapidly increasing due to technological advances and policy support. Although solar energy provides several benefits such as reduction of greenhouse gases, reclamation of degraded land, and improved quality of life in developing countries, the deployment of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure may negatively impact land and water resources. Meeting the ever-expanding energy demand with limited land and water resources in the context of increasing demand for alternative uses such as agricultural and domestic consumption is a major challenge. The goal of this study was to explore opportunities to colocate solar infrastructures and agricultural crops to maximize the efficiency of land and water use. We investigated the energy inputs/outputs, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and economics of solar installations in northwestern India in comparison to aloe vera cultivation, another widely promoted and economically important land use in these systems. The life cycle analyses show that the colocated systems are economically viable in some rural areas and may provide opportunities for rural electrification and stimulate economic growth. The water inputs for cleaning solar panels are similar to amounts required for annual aloe productivity, suggesting the possibility of integrating the two systems to maximize land and water use efficiency. A life cycle analysis of a hypothetical colocation indicated higher returns per m"3 of water used than either system alone. The northwestern region of India has experienced high population growth in the past decade, creating additional demand for land

  13. Improved (ERTS) information and its impact on U.S. markets for agricultural commodities: A quantitiative economic investigation of production, distribution and net export effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    1974-01-01

    An econometric investigation into the markets for agricultural commodities is summarized. An overview of the effort including the objectives, scope, and architecture of the analysis and the estimation strategy employed is presented. The major empirical results and policy conclusions are set forth. These results and conclusions focus on the economic importance of improved crop forecasts, U.S. exports, and government policy operations. A number of promising avenues of further investigation are suggested.

  14. 48 CFR 470.202 - Acquisition of commodities for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Acquisition of commodities... Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS COMMODITY...) programs. (a) Lowest landed cost and delivery considerations. (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (a)(3...

  15. Trends and volatility in sub Saharan Africa’s key primary commodity exports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Ocran

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Using a GARCH model the paper sought to test the hypothesis that price volatility of key Sub Saharan Africa primary commodity exports, have not changed over the past four decades. Whilst crude oil, aluminium, cocoa and six others have not experienced significant change in price volatility over the period, nine other major commodities recorded changes. Efforts need to be made to extensively diversify the portfolio of agricultural commodity exports by including new products of which price volatilities in the past decades have been reduced. This is crucial for countries that depend on up to three primary commodities for the bulk of their foreign exchange earnings. Other measures such as value addition can also help in reducing impacts of unfavourable price movements.

  16. The changing dynamics between biofuels and commodity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bole, T.; Londo, H.M.

    2008-06-01

    The recent development of the biofuel industries coincides with significant increases in prices of basic commodities such as food and feed. Against popular perception, it appears that there is not a straightforward causal relationship between the two; there are a number of factors that determine the level and strength of the impact of the biofuels sector on other commodities. For the case of markets of agricultural raw material these factors include the amount of feedstock claimed by the biofuels industry, its relative purchasing power, the responsiveness of the agricultural sector to price incentives and availability of substitutes. For consumer food markets we must additionally consider the relative share of agricultural input costs in the retail food price and the demand elasticity. Based on the analysis of these factors and estimates of other studies that attempted to quantify the price impacts of biofuels on crop prices, we conclude that the impact of biofuels is relatively small, especially when compared with other causes that triggered the recent price increases. We end the paper with a recommendation for future efforts in curbing food price inflations while keeping ambitious biofuel targets and suggest a shift in focus of the debate around the social costs of biofuels

  17. Does Excluding Cross-commodity Interactions Matter? Beef and Lamb in Australia

    OpenAIRE

    Dent, Siobahn K.; Piggott, Roley R.; O'Donnell, Christopher J.; Griffith, Garry R.

    2003-01-01

    Australian broadacre agriculture is typified by strong cross-commodity relationships, where sheep and cattle grazing enterprises compete for pasture and both compete with wheat and other crops for land. Further, some commodities produced by multi-product farms are also used in the production of final products that are substitutes in demand, such as beef and lamb. Economic analyses of the beef market, for example, should also include consideration of the market for the related product, lamb. I...

  18. Agriculture et politiques agricoles aux États-Unis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devienne Sophie

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available The new Farm Bill has just been voted, after difficult negotiations between the White House and Congress. Since the beginning of the commodity-based programs in the 1930s, the agricultural policies in United States were aimed at supporting farm commodity markets and stabilizing farmers incomes. These commodity support policies have been an important contributor to the growth of agricultural productivity and commodity surplus. In the 1950s it became apparent that export demand was capable of creating farm prosperity and became important for the surplus disposal. The US agricultural policies aimed at expanding agricultural exports, and became more offensive as the export competition grew keener. For the first time in 1996, as the market estimates were optimistic, the Fair Act raised the possibility of an end to price support activities as a mean of farm income support. But in 1998 and 1999 weakened export demand led to marked reductions in the prices of the main crops. The 2002 Farm Bill restored the safety net for the farm income. Despite high prices and expansion of demand, and in contradiction with US commitments at the WTO, the new Farm Bill keep on aiming at providing a strong safety net for farm income, which allows the growth of agricultural productivity and the increase in US agriculture competitiveness, and at expanding trade.

  19. 7 CFR 1210.505 - Department of Agriculture costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Department of Agriculture costs. 1210.505 Section 1210.505 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WATERMELON...

  20. Current Status of Mycotoxin Contamination of Food Commodities in Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nancy Nleya

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural products, especially cereal grains, serve as staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, climatic conditions in this region can lead to contamination of these commodities by moulds, with subsequent production of mycotoxins posing health risks to both humans and animals. There is limited documentation on the occurrence of mycotoxins in sub-Saharan African countries, leading to the exposure of their populations to a wide variety of mycotoxins through consumption of contaminated foods. This review aims at highlighting the current status of mycotoxin contamination of food products in Zimbabwe and recommended strategies of reducing this problem. Zimbabwe is one of the African countries with very little information with regards to mycotoxin contamination of its food commodities, both on the market and at household levels. Even though evidence of multitoxin occurrence in some food commodities such as maize and other staple foods exist, available published research focuses only on Aspergillus and Fusarium mycotoxins, namely aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON, trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone (ZEA. Occurrence of mycotoxins in the food chain has been mainly associated with poor agricultural practices. Analysis of mycotoxins has been done mainly using chromatographic and immunological methods. Zimbabwe has adopted European standards, but the legislation is quite flexible, with testing for mycotoxin contamination in food commodities being done voluntarily or upon request. Therefore, the country needs to tighten its legislation as well as adopt stricter standards that will improve the food safety and security of the masses.

  1. Current Status of Mycotoxin Contamination of Food Commodities in Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nleya, Nancy; Adetunji, Modupeade Christianah; Mwanza, Mulunda

    2018-05-03

    Agricultural products, especially cereal grains, serve as staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, climatic conditions in this region can lead to contamination of these commodities by moulds, with subsequent production of mycotoxins posing health risks to both humans and animals. There is limited documentation on the occurrence of mycotoxins in sub-Saharan African countries, leading to the exposure of their populations to a wide variety of mycotoxins through consumption of contaminated foods. This review aims at highlighting the current status of mycotoxin contamination of food products in Zimbabwe and recommended strategies of reducing this problem. Zimbabwe is one of the African countries with very little information with regards to mycotoxin contamination of its food commodities, both on the market and at household levels. Even though evidence of multitoxin occurrence in some food commodities such as maize and other staple foods exist, available published research focuses only on Aspergillus and Fusarium mycotoxins, namely aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone (ZEA). Occurrence of mycotoxins in the food chain has been mainly associated with poor agricultural practices. Analysis of mycotoxins has been done mainly using chromatographic and immunological methods. Zimbabwe has adopted European standards, but the legislation is quite flexible, with testing for mycotoxin contamination in food commodities being done voluntarily or upon request. Therefore, the country needs to tighten its legislation as well as adopt stricter standards that will improve the food safety and security of the masses.

  2. 75 FR 29307 - Web Based Supply Chain Management Commodity Offer Form, Paperwork Collection Notice

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-25

    ... Based Supply Chain Management Commodity Offer Form, Paperwork Collection Notice AGENCY: Agricultural... collection request is required for the implementation of a new system named Web Based Supply Chain Management...-2782. Mail: David Tuckwiller, Project Manager, Web Based Supply Chain Management System, Agricultural...

  3. Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jurenas, Remy

    2005-01-01

    Falling agricultural exports and declining commodity prices led farm groups and agribusiness firms to urge the 106th Congress to pass legislation exempting foods and agricultural commodities from U.S...

  4. Agricultural Minerals Operations

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — This map layer includes agricultural minerals operations in the United States. The data represent commodities covered by the Minerals Information Team (MIT) of the...

  5. Multifractal analysis of the Korean agricultural market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hongseok; Oh, Gabjin; Kim, Seunghwan

    2011-11-01

    We have studied the long-term memory effects of the Korean agricultural market using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) method. In general, the return time series of various financial data, including stock indices, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices, are uncorrelated in time, while the volatility time series are strongly correlated. However, we found that the return time series of Korean agricultural commodity prices are anti-correlated in time, while the volatility time series are correlated. The n-point correlations of time series were also examined, and it was found that a multifractal structure exists in Korean agricultural market prices.

  6. A Conceptual Overview to Understand Commodities, Linkages and Industrial Development in Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Kaplinsky, Raphael; Morris, Mike; Kaplan, Dave

    2011-01-01

    Sub-Sahara African commodity exporting economies have benefitted greatly from the commodities boom of the past decade. The conventional wisdom argues that resource extraction is corrosive of industrial development due to a combination of the macroeconomic consequences of resource exploitation and the assumed enclave nature of mineral and energy extraction. The paper challenges this pessimistic ‘resource curse’ argument, arguing that there are unexploited opportunities for promoting industrial...

  7. Processing of food and agricultural commodities with electron beam from microtron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Arun; Behere, Arun; Jadhav, S.S.; Bongirwar, D.R.; Kaul, Ahinsa; Soni, H.C.; Ganesh, S.

    2001-01-01

    A microtron machine source installed by the Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), Indore, at Mangalore University, was used in the study. The machine was operated at a beam power of 1.8 W, beam energy of 8.6 MeV, and a beam current of 20 mA. After initial standardization, the irradiation of commodities was carried out. The doses employed were 0.06 kGy for onion, 0.10 kGy for potato, 0.25 kGy for rawa, and 8 kGy for spices. The desired dose was delivered by exposing the samples from the two opposite sides of the box. The microbial load in spice samples was determined immediately after the experiment, as well as after six months of storage at the ambient temperature (26±2 degC). Onion and potato samples were stored for a six months period both at ambient temperature and 15 degC for observing the effect of electron beam irradiation on sprouting in these commodities. Rawa samples were stored at ambient temperature for observing the effect of electron beam irradiation on insect disinfestation. The electron beam irradiation at the recommended doses was found to be as effective as gamma radiation in bringing down the microbial load of the tested spices to the desired level, disinfestations of rawa, and inhibition of sprouting in onion. In the case of potato even four-side irradiation of the product box did not inhibit the sprouting completely. This indicated the necessity of standardization of machine parameters for uniform dose distribution in the product box for each commodity. These lab-scale studies showed that electron beam could in principle be used for processing of various food products after standardizing the machine parameters and ensuring uniform dose distribution in the product. Use of this technology on commercial scale would need standardization on larger machines

  8. Price formation and transmission along the food commodity chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Blažková

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is focused on analysis of price transmission along the wheat commodity chain in the Czech Republic, with the distinction on wheat products with low value added (wheat flour, respectively high value added (wheat rolls. The degree of vertical price transmission is measured to identify potential market failures, because asymmetric price transmission can be the result of existence of market power within the food commodity chain. The data basis is made up from monthly prices on partial markets of the analyzed commodity chain published by Czech Statistical Office and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. The monitored time period is from January 2000 till October 2009. The analysis is based on calculation of the price transmission elasticity coefficient (evaluation of price transmission along the chain and the intensity of dependency of positive and negative inter-market price differences (evaluation whether positive or negative price changes are better transmitted among particular vertical markets. Time lag is tested as well. The assessment of price transmission along the wheat commodity chain confirmed the existence of market power especially on the retail stage and low impact of price changes of farm prices on final consumer food prices.

  9. Papaya Development Model As A Competitive Local Superior Commodity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reny Sukmawani

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to study the comparative advantage and papaya competitive and to design its development model by using the approach of local base agriculture development. This research uses survey method. The resulting research shows that papaya is a base commodity that has comparative advantage and competitive. The development papaya in the district of Sukabumi is quite good bases on eight superior creations. But in order to be the main sector in economic development and has a competition, the development of papaya must concern to its influence factors. In supporting papaya development as a competitive local superior commodity, it needs to be done some efforts are as follows: (1 increase a skillful worker; (2 improve business management; (3 increase papaya productivity by using technology and study papaya planted technology in specific local superior commodity; (4 develop the involvement of the business relation; (5 provide market information and information technology network; and (6 improve infrastructures.

  10. Unveiled Risks in a Telecoupled Arena Dependent on Agricultural Commodity Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batistella, M.; Silva, R. F. B. D.; Liu, J.; Moran, E. F.; Torres, S.; Dou, Y.

    2017-12-01

    In less than five years, a new field of interdisciplinary research has been widely developed within the coupled human-natural systems (CHANS) community. Based on well-known concepts acting over long distances, such as teleconnections for biophysical sciences and globalization for human sciences, the telecoupling framework states that long distant CHANS may be integrated through flows of capital, information, and matter, shaping environmental and socioeconomic changes within local systems. An international project including researchers from Brazil, China, United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America (USA) is using such a framework to study the flows of agricultural commodities between sending systems such as Brazil and the USA, and receiving systems such as China with soybean trade as a case in point. Many findings have already shown that these dynamics are intrinsically connected and changes in environmental conditions in one system may affect economic conditions in other systems. In the case of the double-crop practice (i.e., soybean followed by maize, two crops year round) used in some regions of Brazil, maize production is strongly connected with soybean production through the supply chain, logistics, producer regions, and farmers. Consequently, maize has been displaced to second-crop status, making it more vulnerable to rain shortfalls. The use of the telecoupling framework has also unveiled a possible threat for soybean production in the long run if it only relies on international demand and inputs. The telecoupled soybean production system has put some Brazilian farmers at economic risk, and is pushing them towards diversification and alternative production practices (e.g., non-GMO crops, biological control, in-farm seed production) to reduce their risk. This, in turn, may affect the demand-consumption relationship among traditional trading partners. With this paper, we also highlight the role of cascading effects and spillover systems of telecoupling in

  11. 29 CFR 780.611 - Workweek exclusively in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Workweek exclusively in agriculture. 780.611 Section 780... AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Employment in Agriculture and Livestock Auction Operations Under the Section 13(b)(13) Exemption Requirements...

  12. The Ivorian pineapple : social action within the international pineapple commodity network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willems, S.

    2006-01-01

    Today, a significant part of the agricultural commodities that we find at markets in the West are cultivated in developing countries. Many of these products are shipped around the world, passing through a complex network of actors involved in production, distribution and marketing activities. Who

  13. Water Resources and Sustainable Agriculture in 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asrar, G.

    2008-05-01

    Global agriculture faces some unique challenges and opportunities for the rest of this century. The need for food, feed and fiber will continues to grow as the world population continue to increase in the future. Agricultural ecosystems are also expected to be the source of a significant portion of renewable energy and fuels around the world, without further compromising the integrity of the natural resources base. How can agriculture continue to provide these services to meet the growing needs of world population while sustaining the integrity of agricultural ecosystems and natural resources, the very foundation it depends on? In the last century, scientific discoveries and technological innovations in agriculture resulted in significant increase in food, feed and fiber production globally, while the total amount of water, energy, fertilizers and other input used to achieve this growth remained the same or even decreased significantly in some parts of the world. Scientific and technical advances in understanding global and regional water and energy cycles, water resources management, soil and water conservation practices, weather prediction, plant breeding and biotechnology, and information and communication technologies contributed to this tremendous achievement. The projected increase in global population, urbanization, and changing lifestyles will continue the pressure on both agriculture and other managed and natural ecosystems to provide necessary goods and services for the rest of this century. To meet these challenges, we must obtain the requisite scientific and technical advances in the functioning of Earth's water, energy, carbon and biogeochemical cycles. We also need to apply the knowledge we gain and technologies we develop in assessing Earth's ecosystems' conditions, and their management and stewardship. In agricultural ecosystems, management of soil and water quality and quantity together with development of new varieties of plants based on advances

  14. Bio-energy utilizes surplusses at the agricultural commodity markets. Large potentials of the biomass; Bioenergie verwertet Ueberschuesse an den Agrarmaerkten. Grosse Potenziale der Biomasse

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-03-19

    At the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, the situation in agricultural markets relaxes visibly. After the year 2012 was characterized by periods of drought in the United States and some Eastern European countries, in recent months good harvests in major producing countries in the southern hemisphere have provided that the stocks of major agricultural commodities are grown again. Thus, enough resources are still available for the supply of food and energy. There still exists land potential in Europe and on other continents for the use of bio-energy. In addition to new power plant crops, known arable crop cultures contribute to the exploration of such a potential: An example of this is the sugar beet. The view on the global supply balance in agricultural goods inter alia the major staple food rice shows that there exist large surpluses on the food markets. However, these surpluses do not benefit the hungry persons in the world. Hunger is a problem of distribution which is not associated with the growth of bio-energy.

  15. Assessment of Biotechnology Policies and International Trade in Key Markets for U.S. Agriculture

    OpenAIRE

    Marchant, Mary A.; Song, Baohui

    2005-01-01

    The United States leads the world in agricultural biotechnology research, adoption, commercialization, and exports. Our biotech commodities are highly dependent on international markets. Thus, any biotech policy changes by key importing countries may affect U.S. agricultural biotech product exports. This article identifies key markets for U.S. agricultural exports including biotech commodities and discusses current and proposed biotech policies in key markets for U.S. agricultural exports foc...

  16. Natural disasters and agricultural protection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klomp, Jeroen; Hoogezand, Barry

    2018-01-01

    We explore the impact of natural disasters on the degree of agricultural protection using data from 76 countries thereby covering more than 70 of the most traded agricultural commodities. Theoretically, the direction of this effect is not a priori directly clear as it balances the trade-off

  17. 75 FR 5877 - Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): Amendment Removing Priority Given to Women, Infants...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-05

    ... Education, Food assistance programs, Grant programs--health, Grant programs--social programs, Indians... requirements, Surplus agricultural commodities, Women. 0 Accordingly, 7 CFR part 247 is amended as follows...

  18. Applications of satellite 'hyper-sensing' in Chinese agriculture: Challenges and opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onojeghuo, Alex Okiemute; Blackburn, George Alan; Huang, Jingfeng; Kindred, Daniel; Huang, Wenjiang

    2018-02-01

    Ensuring adequate food supplies to a large and increasing population continues to be the key challenge for China. Given the increasing integration of China within global markets for agricultural products, this issue is of considerable significance for global food security. Over the last 50 years, China has increased the production of its staple crops mainly by increasing yield per unit land area. However, this has largely been achieved through inappropriate agricultural practices, which have caused environmental degradation, with deleterious consequences for future agricultural productivity. Hence, there is now a pressing need to intensify agriculture in China using practices that are environmentally and economically sustainable. Given the dynamic nature of crops over space and time, the use of remote sensing technology has proven to be a valuable asset providing end-users in many countries with information to guide sustainable agricultural practices. Recently, the field has experienced considerable technological advancements reflected in the availability of 'hyper-sensing' (high spectral, spatial and temporal) satellite imagery useful for monitoring, modelling and mapping of agricultural crops. However, there still remains a significant challenge in fully exploiting such technologies for addressing agricultural problems in China. This review paper evaluates the potential contributions of satellite 'hyper-sensing' to agriculture in China and identifies the opportunities and challenges for future work. We perform a critical evaluation of current capabilities in satellite 'hyper-sensing' in agriculture with an emphasis on Chinese sensors. Our analysis draws on a series of in-depth examples based on recent and on-going projects in China that are developing 'hyper-sensing' approaches for (i) measuring crop phenology parameters and predicting yields; (ii) specifying crop fertiliser requirements; (iii) optimising management responses to abiotic and biotic stress in crops

  19. Development of hazard analysis by critical control points (HACCP) procedures to control organic chemical hazards in the agricultural production of raw food commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ropkins, Karl; Ferguson, Andrew; Beck, Angus J

    2003-01-01

    Hazard Analysis by Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic approach to the identification, assessment, and control of hazards in the food chain. Effective HACCP requires the consideration of all chemical microbiological, and physical hazards. However, current procedures focus primarily on microbiological and physical hazards, while chemical aspects of HACCP have received relatively little attention. In this article we discuss the application of HACCP to organic chemical contaminants and the problems that are likely to be encountered in agriculture. We also present generic templates for the development of organic chemical contaminant HACCP procedures for selected raw food commodities, that is, cereal crops,raw meats, and milk.

  20. Development and application of modern agricultural biotechnology in Botswana: the potentials, opportunities and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batlang, Utlwang; Tsurupe, Gorata; Segwagwe, Amogelang; Obopile, Motshwari

    2014-07-03

    In Botswana, approximately 40% of the population live in rural areas and derive most of their livelihood from agriculture by keeping livestock and practising arable farming. Due to the nature of their farming practises livestock and crops are exposed to diseases and environmental stresses. These challenges offer opportunities for application of biotechnology to develop adaptable materials to the country's environment. On the other hand, the perceived risk of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has dimmed the promise of the technology for its application in agriculture. This calls for a holistic approach to the application of biotechnology to address issues of biosafety of GMOs. We have therefore assessed the potentials, challenges and opportunities to apply biotechnology with specific emphasis on agriculture, taking cognisance of requirement for its research, development and application in research and teaching institutions. In order to achieve this, resource availability, infrastructure, human and laboratory requirements were analyzed. The analysis revealed that the country has the capacity to carry out research in biotechnology in the development and production of genetically modified crops for food and fodder crops. These will include gene discovery, genetic transformation and development of systems to comply with the world regulatory framework on biosafety. In view of the challenges facing the country in agriculture, first generation biotech crops could be released for production. Novel GM products for development may include disease diagnosis kits, animal disease vaccines, and nutrient use efficiency, drought, and pest and disease resistant food and fodder crops.

  1. Impacts of the Federal Energy Acts and Other Influences on Prices of Agricultural Commodities and Food

    OpenAIRE

    Ferris, John N.

    2013-01-01

    Most of the increase in ethanol production in the 2008-2012 period can be attributed to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and earlier federal energy legislation. The expansion in U.S. biofuel production, particularly ethanol, was the predominant cause of the elevated commodity prices. Other influences documented were a weak dollar, speculation and an increasingly inelastic commodity demand function. The supply function displayed more elasticity as crop farmers responded ...

  2. GCAM 3.0 Agriculture and Land Use: Data Sources and Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyle, G. Page; Luckow, Patrick; Calvin, Katherine V.; Emanuel, William R.; Nathan, Mayda; Zhou, Yuyu

    2011-12-12

    This report presents the data processing methods used in the GCAM 3.0 agriculture and land use component, starting from all source data used, and detailing all calculations and assumptions made in generating the model inputs. The report starts with a brief introduction to modeling of agriculture and land use in GCAM 3.0, and then provides documentation of the data and methods used for generating the base-year dataset and future scenario parameters assumed in the model input files. Specifically, the report addresses primary commodity production, secondary (animal) commodity production, disposition of commodities, land allocation, land carbon contents, and land values.

  3. 29 CFR 780.607 - “Primarily employed” in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false âPrimarily employedâ in agriculture. 780.607 Section 780... AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Employment in Agriculture and Livestock Auction Operations Under the Section 13(b)(13) Exemption Requirements...

  4. 29 CFR 780.128 - General statement on “secondary” agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false General statement on âsecondaryâ agriculture. 780.128... APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT General Scope of Agriculture Practices Exempt Under âsecondaryâ Meaning of Agriculture...

  5. 75 FR 38073 - Information Collection; Commodity Request (Food Aid Request Entry System (FARES))

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Development (USAID), private voluntary organizations (PVOs), the World Food Program (WFP), the Foreign... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Commodity Credit Corporation Farm Service Agency Information Collection... Chain Management system (WBSCM) is a new procurement system in development to replace FARES at a later...

  6. The Impact of the Global Commodity and Financial Crises on Poverty in Vietnam

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thurlow, James; Tarp, Finn; McCoy, Simon

    Economic growth in Vietnam has been fairly resilient to the global commodity and financial crises, but it is unclear why. In addition, the impact of the crises on employment and poverty is in dispute. We develop a dynamic computable general equilibrium model to decompose impacts and estimate...... distributional outcomes. Our results indicate that the 2008 commodity crisis increased employment and reduced poverty by favouring labour-intensive exports, especially in agriculture. The 2009 financial crisis reversed these gains. It pushed more than a million workers into unemployment and about 3 million...

  7. Co-Movement of Major Commodity Price Returns : Time-Series Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    de Nicola, Francesca; De Pace, Pierangelo; Hernandez, Manuel A.

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the degree of co-movement among the nominal price returns of 11 major energy, agricultural and food commodities based on monthly data between 1970 and 2013. A uniform-spacings testing approach, a multivariate dynamic conditional correlation model and a rolling regression procedure are used to study the extent and the time-evolution of uncondi...

  8. A strong argument for using non-commodities to generate electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santiago, Katarina Tatiana Marques; Campello de Souza, Fernando Menezes; Carvalho Bezerra, Diogo de

    2014-01-01

    An optimal control approach towards generating electricity is used to analyze the trade-off between using of primary sources which are regarded as commodities, such as fossil fuels, biomass and water to generate electricity, and exploiting these sources for their other economic uses (for example, in the petrochemical industry, in the production of fuels, in agriculture, in steelmaking, and so forth). In order to do so, a dynamic model is presented which establishes relationships between economic growth, the fossil fuel, water and biomass sectors, and energy policies, based on the application of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle. Among other results, the analysis establishes that, under the optimal path, the price of commodities for non-energy uses should be twice the price of the energy assets. This indicates that sources which are not commodities such as solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy, should be used to generate electricity. - Highlights: • We used an optimal control approach to analyze the trade-off between the multiple uses of energy resource. • We used a dynamic model which establishes relationships between economic growth, the fossil fuel, water and biomass sectors. • The analysis establishes that the price of commodities for non-energy uses should be twice the price of the energy assets

  9. PROVIDING AGRICULTURAL RISKS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: TRENDS, PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulia CAPRIAN

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the author presents results of scientific researches on the problems which farmers of the Republic of Moldova are facing in the field of risk management and insurance. In conclusion, the author formulates recommendations on farm managers’ opportunities to benefit from subsidized insurance, but also some recommendations resulting from the research of the experience of other countries from the European Union aimed to ensure the entrepreneurial risks in agricultural entities.

  10. Clustering of agricultural enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Beranová

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural business is a very specific branch which is characterized by very low financial performance while this characteristic is given mainly by external factors as market pricing of agricultural commodities on one side, and production costs of agricultural commodities on the other side. This way, agricultural enterprises recognize negative values of gross margin in the Profit and Loss Statement but positive value of operating profit after even there are items of costs which are deducted. These results are derived from agricultural production subsidies which are recognized as income in the P/L Statement. In connection with this fact, the government subsidies are a substantial component of financial performance of agricultural enterprises.Primary research proceeded on the statistical sample of one hundred agricultural companies, has shown that also other specifics influencing financial performance of these businesses exist here. In order to determine the influences, the cluster analysis has been applied at using more than 10 variables. This approach has led to construction of clusters (groups of agricultural business entities with different characteristics of the group. The objective of this paper is to identify the main determinants of financial performance of agricultural enterprises and to determine their influences under different economic characteristics of these business entities. For this purpose, the regression analysis has been subsequently applied on the groups of companies coming out from the cluster analysis. Besides the operating profit which is the main driving force of financial performance measured with the economic value added (EVA in agricultural enterprises, also capital structure and cost of capital have been observed as very strong influences on financial performance but these factors have different directions of their influence on the economic value added under different financial characteristics of agricultural

  11. Commodities and Stock Investment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study is a multivariate analysis of commodities and stock investment in a newly established market scenario. Return distribution asymmetry is examined with higher order movements. Skewness in commodity future’s return is largely insignificant, whereas kurtosis is highly significant for both stock and commodity future contracts. Correlation analysis is done with Pearson’s and Kendall’s tau measures. Commodities provide significant diversification benefits when added in a portfolio of stocks. Compared with stocks, commodity future’s returns show stronger correlation with unexpected inflation. The volatility is measured through Glosten-Jagannathan-Runkle - Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GJR-GARCH model and reflects that commodities have inverted asymmetric behavior, that is, more impact from the upward shocks compared with downward. Stocks have asymmetric volatility, that is, more impact from negative shocks compared with positive. Gold has highest inverted asymmetric volatility. Tail dependence, measured through Student’s t copula, shows no combined downside movement. In conclusion, commodity investments provide diversification and inflation protection.

  12. Budget Constraints Affect Male Rats' Choices between Differently Priced Commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wingerden, Marijn; Marx, Christine; Kalenscher, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    Demand theory can be applied to analyse how a human or animal consumer changes her selection of commodities within a certain budget in response to changes in price of those commodities. This change in consumption assessed over a range of prices is defined as demand elasticity. Previously, income-compensated and income-uncompensated price changes have been investigated using human and animal consumers, as demand theory predicts different elasticities for both conditions. However, in these studies, demand elasticity was only evaluated over the entirety of choices made from a budget. As compensating budgets changes the number of attainable commodities relative to uncompensated conditions, and thus the number of choices, it remained unclear whether budget compensation has a trivial effect on demand elasticity by simply sampling from a different total number of choices or has a direct effect on consumers' sequential choice structure. If the budget context independently changes choices between commodities over and above price effects, this should become apparent when demand elasticity is assessed over choice sets of any reasonable size that are matched in choice opportunities between budget conditions. To gain more detailed insight in the sequential choice dynamics underlying differences in demand elasticity between budget conditions, we trained N=8 rat consumers to spend a daily budget by making a number of nosepokes to obtain two liquid commodities under different price regimes, in sessions with and without budget compensation. We confirmed that demand elasticity for both commodities differed between compensated and uncompensated budget conditions, also when the number of choices considered was matched, and showed that these elasticity differences emerge early in the sessions. These differences in demand elasticity were driven by a higher choice rate and an increased reselection bias for the preferred commodity in compensated compared to uncompensated budget conditions

  13. Budget Constraints Affect Male Rats’ Choices between Differently Priced Commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalenscher, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    Demand theory can be applied to analyse how a human or animal consumer changes her selection of commodities within a certain budget in response to changes in price of those commodities. This change in consumption assessed over a range of prices is defined as demand elasticity. Previously, income-compensated and income-uncompensated price changes have been investigated using human and animal consumers, as demand theory predicts different elasticities for both conditions. However, in these studies, demand elasticity was only evaluated over the entirety of choices made from a budget. As compensating budgets changes the number of attainable commodities relative to uncompensated conditions, and thus the number of choices, it remained unclear whether budget compensation has a trivial effect on demand elasticity by simply sampling from a different total number of choices or has a direct effect on consumers’ sequential choice structure. If the budget context independently changes choices between commodities over and above price effects, this should become apparent when demand elasticity is assessed over choice sets of any reasonable size that are matched in choice opportunities between budget conditions. To gain more detailed insight in the sequential choice dynamics underlying differences in demand elasticity between budget conditions, we trained N=8 rat consumers to spend a daily budget by making a number of nosepokes to obtain two liquid commodities under different price regimes, in sessions with and without budget compensation. We confirmed that demand elasticity for both commodities differed between compensated and uncompensated budget conditions, also when the number of choices considered was matched, and showed that these elasticity differences emerge early in the sessions. These differences in demand elasticity were driven by a higher choice rate and an increased reselection bias for the preferred commodity in compensated compared to uncompensated budget

  14. 29 CFR 780.606 - Interpretation of term “agriculture.”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Employment in Agriculture and Livestock Auction Operations Under the Section 13(b)(13) Exemption Requirements for Exemption § 780.606 Interpretation of term “agriculture.” Section 3(f) of the Act, which defines...

  15. The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 3: Intensive use of living resources, agriculture. Part 3: The integrated impact of improved (ERS) information on US agricultural commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidel, A. D.

    1974-01-01

    The economic value of information produced by an assumed operational version of an earth resources survey satellite of the ERTS class is assessed. The theoretical capability of an ERTS system to provide improved agricultural forecasts is analyzed and this analysis is used as a reasonable input to the econometric methods derived by ECON. An econometric investigation into the markets for agricultural commodities is summarized. An overview of the effort including the objectives, scopes, and architecture of the analysis, and the estimation strategy employed is presented. The results and conclusions focus on the economic importance of improved crop forecasts, U.S. exports, and government policy operations. Several promising avenues of further investigation are suggested.

  16. Estimation of Truck Trips on Large-Scale Irrigation Project: A Combinatory Input-Output Commodity-Based Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ackchai Sirikijpanichkul

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For the agricultural-based countries, the requirement on transportation infrastructure should not only be limited to accommodate general traffic but also the transportation of crop and agricultural products during the harvest seasons. Most of the past researches focus on the development of truck trip estimation techniques for urban, statewide, or nationwide freight movement but neglect the importance of rural freight movement which contributes to pavement deterioration on rural roads especially during harvest seasons. Recently, the Thai Government initiated a plan to construct a network of reservoirs within the northeastern region, aiming at improving existing irrigation system particularly in the areas where a more effective irrigation system is needed. It is expected to bring in new opportunities on expanding the cultivation areas, increasing the economy of scale and enlarging the extent market of area. As a consequence, its effects on truck trip generation needed to be investigated to assure the service quality of related transportation infrastructure. This paper proposes a combinatory input-output commodity-based approach to estimate truck trips on rural highway infrastructure network. The large-scale irrigation project for the northeastern of Thailand is demonstrated as a case study.

  17. 76 FR 6095 - Commodity Options and Agricultural Swaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-03

    ... options authorized under Sec. 32.4 (e.g. options on coffee, sugar, cocoa, and other agricultural products...) imposing clearing and trade execution requirements on standardized derivative products; (3) creating robust..., soybean meal, livestock, livestock products, and frozen concentrated orange juice (but not onions). \\22...

  18. Agricultural policy and childhood obesity: a food systems and public health commentary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallinga, David

    2010-01-01

    For thirty-five years, U.S. agriculture has operated under a "cheap food" policy that spurred production of a few commodity crops, not fruit or vegetables, and thus of the calories from them. A key driver of childhood obesity is the consumption of excess calories, many from inexpensive, nutrient-poor snacks, sweets, and sweetened beverages made with fats and sugars derived from these policy-supported crops. Limiting or eliminating farm subsidies to commodity farmers is wrongly perceived as a quick fix to a complex agricultural system, evolved over decades, that promotes obesity. Yet this paper does set forth a series of policy recommendations that could help, including managing commodity crop oversupply and supporting farmers who produce more fruit and vegetables to build a healthier, more balanced agricultural policy.

  19. 77 FR 59840 - Statutory Amendments Affecting Transportation of Agricultural Commodities and Farm Supplies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-01

    ... transportation of farm supplies from the local farm retailer to the ultimate consumer within a 100 air-mile... wholesalers located at port or terminal facilities to either local farm retailers or farms. (See Question 33...] commodities.'' The exemption created by the Act applies to two types of transportation. The first type is...

  20. Indonesia Export, Import, and Demand for Domestic Commodities under Economics Liberalisation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andi Irawan

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to identify the behaviour of export, import and domestic commoditiesdemand in liberalization era both in the long run and the short run. This researchapplies the Vector Error Correction Model, Johansen Cointegration Test, Impulse ResponseAnalysis and Granger Causality Test. The data range from 1993:01 to 2002:12. The resultshows that in the long run the cross-price elasticity of imported non agricultural goods withrespect to demand for domestically produced goods have lower magnitudes than own priceelasticity of domestically produced goods. The demand elasticity of import commodities iselastic but that of domestic commodities is inelastic.Keywords: Import, Export, Economic Liberalization, Vector Error Correction Model

  1. Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Aksoy, M. Ataman; Beghin, John C.

    2005-01-01

    Global Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries explores the outstanding issues in global agricultural trade policy and evolving world production and trade patterns. This book presents research findings based on a series of commodity studies of significant economic importance to developing countries. Setting the stage with background chapters and investigations of cross-cutting issues, the authors describe trade and domestic policy regimes affecting agricultural and food markets and analyz...

  2. Toward Improved Market Access for ASEAN Agricultural Commodities

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is highly dependent on the agricultural sector, and on exports to overseas markets. This trade in turn depends on compliance with strict plant health and safety standards established by the World Trade Organization (WTO). ... Asian outlook: New growth dependent on new productivity.

  3. Summary report on the use of irradiation as a quarantine treatment of agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    Considerable data are available to demonstrate that gamma irradiation is an effective quarantine treatment for papaya infested with fruit fly species found in Hawaii. These data are acceptable to the USDA-APHIS as a quarantine treatment for this commodity. However, its practical application can be realized only when FDA approves the use of irradiation, either for this purpose alone or as a process of food preservation. Additional data are needed to develop quarantine treatment schedules for irradiation of other commodities such as citrus, stone fruits, tropical fruits, etc., against these and other insect species. For this reason, a Consultant Meeting was convened at the East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii from 21 to 23 November, 1983, to evaluate existing data and to define future activities to establish the possible use of irradiation as an acceptable quarantine treatment

  4. 12 CFR 614.4010 - Agricultural credit banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...) of this chapter, for the export (including the cost of freight) of agricultural commodities or... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agricultural credit banks. 614.4010 Section 614.4010 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS...

  5. Optimal resource allocation and load scheduling for a multi-commodity smart energy system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blaauwbroek, N.; Nguyen, H.P.; Shi, H.; Kamphuis, I.G.; Kling, W.L.; Konsman, M.J.

    2015-01-01

    The increasing introduction of district heating systems together with hybrid energy appliances as heat pumps and micro-combined heat and power installations, results in new opportunities for optimizing the available resources in multi-commodity smart energy systems, including electricity, heat and

  6. 7. Food and agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Livernash, R.

    1992-01-01

    Global food production has increased substantially over the past two decades, but factors such as population pressures and environmental degradation are undermining agriculture's current condition and future prospects. This chapter discusses the following: global trends; production trends (livestock and fisheries); per capita production trends (population density and agriculture); environmental trends (soil degradation, inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, and freshwater); economic trends (agricultural commodity prices, declining investment in irrigation, World Bank lending); trade liberalization and the Gatt negotiations; conventional agriculture and alternative agriculture; problems with the conventional model (on-farm impacts, off-farm impacts); agricultural policies - creating a new environment; policy impacts - distorted price structures; new policy options (reducing input subsidies, land conservation programs, management agreements, taxes, fees, and tax incentives, strengthening regulations, subsidizing conversion); the economics of alternative agriculture

  7. Dynamic of consumer groups and response of commodity markets by principal component analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobi, Ashadun; Alam, Shafiqul; Lee, Jae Woo

    2017-09-01

    This study investigates financial states and group dynamics by applying principal component analysis to the cross-correlation coefficients of the daily returns of commodity futures. The eigenvalues of the cross-correlation matrix in the 6-month timeframe displays similar values during 2010-2011, but decline following 2012. A sharp drop in eigenvalue implies the significant change of the market state. Three commodity sectors, energy, metals and agriculture, are projected into two dimensional spaces consisting of two principal components (PC). We observe that they form three distinct clusters in relation to various sectors. However, commodities with distinct features have intermingled with one another and scattered during severe crises, such as the European sovereign debt crises. We observe the notable change of the position of two dimensional spaces of groups during financial crises. By considering the first principal component (PC1) within the 6-month moving timeframe, we observe that commodities of the same group change states in a similar pattern, and the change of states of one group can be used as a warning for other group.

  8. Commodity Tracker: Mobile Application for Food Security Monitoring in Haiti

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, M. T.; Huang, X.; Baird, J.; Gourley, J. R.; Morelli, R.; de Lanerolle, T. R.; Haiti Food Security Monitoring Mobile App Team

    2011-12-01

    Megan Chiu, Jason Baird, Xu Huang, Trishan de Lanerolle, Ralph Morelli, Jonathan Gourley Trinity College, Computer Science Department and Environmental Science Program, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106 megan.chiu@trincoll.edu, Jason.baird@trincoll.edu, xu.huang@trincoll.edu, trishan.delanerolle@trincoll.edu, ralph.morelli@trincoll.edu, jonathan.gourley@trincoll.edu Price data for Haiti commodities such as rice and potatoes have been traditionally recorded by hand on paper forms for many years. The information is then entered onto computer manually, thus making the process a long and arduous one. With the development of the Haiti Commodity Tracker mobile app, we are able to make this commodity price data recording process more efficient. Officials may use this information for making inferences about the difference in commodity prices and for food distribution during critical time after natural disasters. This information can also be utilized by governments and aid agencies on their food assistance programs. Agronomists record the item prices from several sample sites in a marketplace and compare those results from other markets across the region. Due to limited connectivity in rural areas, data is first saved to the phone's database and then retransmitted to a central server via SMS messaging. The mobile app is currently being field tested by an international NGO providing agricultural aid and support in rural Haiti.

  9. Understanding international commodity price fluctuations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arezki, Rabah; Loungani, Prakash; van der Ploeg, Rick; Venables, Anthony J.

    An overview is provided of recent work on commodity prices, focusing on three themes: (i) "financialization" of commodity markets--commodities being considered by financial investors as a distinct asset class, (ii) trends and forecasts of commodity prices, and (iii) fracking-a shorthand for the

  10. Financialization of commodities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michał Falkowski

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The basic theory of price formation tells us how the price of a particular asset will change based on the adjustment to its supply and demand. However, values of assets are also determined by other business fundamentals, company’s and world events, human psychology, and investors’ belief about the possible future profit. In recent history that lead to an increase of individual and institutional investors’ interest in allocating their resources in commodity markets. With a large inflow of capital commodities’ prices started to rise making them attractive components to effective investment portfolios. The presented paper addresses the issue of so called commodities ‘financialization’ process. It looks at the main factors standing behind commodities’ price movements and to what extent financial market participants contributed to commodities price volatility in recent years. Based on the data examined it distinguishes the involvement of both commercial and non-commercial traders in short and long term periods of time. As well as explaining the impact of growing investors’ interest in commodity markets it defines other market forces - like currency appreciations and emerging markets - as being part of increased volatility in raw and soft commodity markets. Along with market examination the paper focuses on possible future outcomes in attempts to regulate commodities derivatives markets and potential effects of those efforts.

  11. Horizontal Price Transmission in Agricultural Markets: Fundamental Concepts and Open Empirical Issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulia Listorti

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Following the dramatic changes experienced by the prices of agricultural commodities in 2007-2008, the analysis of horizontal price transmission mechanisms in agricultural markets has attracted renewed interest. In particular, this has led to the emergence of new challenges for the empirical analysis. How to model the increasing volatility and non linear behaviour of prices, to assess the impact of the policy responses to market turbulence, and how to account for the increasing interconnections between agricultural and non-agricultural commodity markets are amongst the most investigated issues. Building on a common analytical framework, this paper discusses and reviews the most recent methodological developments and empirical contributions in the field.

  12. Commodities and Switzerland: Development Policy Challenges and Policy Options

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werner Thut

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available EDITOR’S NOTEThis paper, written in December 2012, is a contribution to the ‘Policy Debate’ section of the International Development Policy. In this section, academics, policy makers and practitioners engage in a dialogue on global development challenges. Papers are copy-edited but not peer-reviewed. Instead, an initial thematic contribution is followed by critical comments and reactions from different stakeholders. This paper by Werner Thut is followed by reactions and analysis from a non-profit policy institute (Alexandra Gillies, Revenue Watch Institute, New York, ‘Crafting a Strategic Response to the Commodity-Development Conundrum’, a Southern scholar (Prof. Humberto Campodonico, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima ‘Going Beyond Transparency and Good Governance’ | ‘Más allá de la transparencia y una buena gobernanza’ and a representative of the trading sector (Stéphane Graber, Secretary General of Geneva Trading & Shipping Association – ‘Reassessing the Merchants’ Role in a Globalized Economy’.PAPER’S ABSTRACTSwitzerland is one of the world’s largest commodity trading hub. The author, senior policy adviser at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC, reviews experiences and policy options related to commodity trading from a development policy perspective. While this sector has become of strategic importance to Switzerland’s economy, it also entails a number of risks. On the other hand, Swiss development cooperation efforts focus on several resource-rich countries, whose mineral and agricultural commodities are traded via Switzerland. How can Switzerland assist these countries to reap the benefits of their natural resource wealth? This paper looks at development policy aspects of commodity trading in relation to Swiss foreign and domestic policy. It examines ongoing policy debates in Switzerland and discusses development policy options.

  13. Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Capacity in Earth Observations for Agricultural Monitoring: The GEOGLAM Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitcraft, A. K.; Di Bella, C. M.; Becker Reshef, I.; Deshayes, M.; Justice, C. O.

    2015-12-01

    Since 2011, the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) Initiative has been working to strengthen the international community's capacity to use Earth observation (EO) data to derive timely, accurate, and transparent information on agriculture, with the goals of reducing market volatility and promoting food security. GEOGLAM aims to develop capacity for EO-based agricultural monitoring at multiple scales, from national to regional to global. This is accomplished through training workshops, developing and transferring of best-practices, establishing networks of broad and sustainable institutional support, and designing or adapting tools and methodologies to fit localized contexts. Over the past four years, capacity development activities in the context of GEOGLAM have spanned all agriculture-containing continents, with much more work to be done, particularly in the domains of promoting access to large, computationally-costly datasets. This talk will detail GEOGLAM's experiences, challenges, and opportunities surrounding building international collaboration, ensuring institutional buy-in, and developing sustainable programs.

  14. 29 CFR 780.104 - How modern specialization affects the scope of agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How modern specialization affects the scope of agriculture... EXEMPTIONS APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT General Scope of Agriculture Introductory § 780.104 How modern specialization...

  15. 29 CFR 780.210 - The typical hatchery operations constitute “agriculture.”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EXEMPTIONS APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Agriculture as It Relates to Specific Situations Hatchery Operations § 780.210 The typical hatchery operations constitute “agriculture.” As stated in § 780.127, the typical hatchery...

  16. Energy in agriculture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Roux, E J

    1980-02-01

    Agriculture is an important component of Canadian energy policy. There are many opportunities for both the production of energy from agricultural processes and the conservation of energy in agricultural production. These opportunities, as well as current practices and research in progress, are outlined in this report. Energy sources in agriculture include biomass (straw and other residues), methane production from manure, and oil and alcohol from crops. Alternate energy sources such as solar and wind power conserve conventional resources, and additional conservation opportunities exist in the use of greenhouses, waste heat and energy-efficient farming processes. Research programs and possible trends are outlined. 10 figs., 3 tabs.

  17. Agricultural biogas plants – A systematic analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brudermann, Thomas; Mitterhuber, Corinna; Posch, Alfred

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss the prospects of agricultural biogas plants. We conducted an integrated SWOT–AHP analysis for such plants in Austria in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT factors), and to weight the factors identified based on expert judgments, calculated according to the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The results show that financial aspects are dominant in three of the four SWOT categories. Technological aspects and issues regarding utilization seem to play a relatively minor role. Factors that are not directly under the control of plant operators are currently perceived as crucial for the success of agricultural biogas plants. We conclude that such plants will only succeed in contributing to sustainable energy supply goals when economic and political conditions are favorable over the long term. - Highlights: • Integrated SWOT–AHP analysis for agricultural biogas plants in Austria. • Quantification of weighting factors based on expert judgments. • Financial aspects dominate over technological and environmental aspects. • Sophisticated and flexible subsidy schemes are crucial for the further diffusion of the technology

  18. 75 FR 59666 - Agricultural Swaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-28

    ..., sugar, cocoa, and other agricultural products that do not appear in the enumerated commodity list) would...) imposing clearing and trade execution requirements on standardized derivative products; (3) creating robust...), cottonseed meal, cottonseed, peanuts, soybeans, soybean meal, livestock, livestock products, and frozen...

  19. Agricultural SWOT analysis and wisdom agriculture design of chengdu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Chen, Xiangyu; Du, Shaoming; Yin, Guowei; Yu, Feng; Liu, Guicai; Gong, Jin; Han, Fujun

    2017-08-01

    According to the status of agricultural information, this paper analyzed the advantages, opportunities and challenges of developing wisdom agriculture in Chengdu. By analyzed the local characteristics of Chengdu agriculture, the construction program of Chengdu wisdom agriculture was designed, which was based on the existing agricultural informatization. The positioning and development theme of Chengdu agriculture is leisure agriculture, urban agriculture and quality agriculture.

  20. Linkages among commodity futures prices in the recent financial crisis: An application of cointegration tests with a structural break

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoichi Tsuchiya

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we investigate the existence of long-term co-movements among the prices of commodity futures contracts. We use a cointegration test, which accounts for the presence of a structural break. We show that while there is a long-term relationship among agricultural and among non-agricultural commodity futures prices when a structural break is taken into account, there is no such relationship without allowing for a structural break. We also show that these break points, in fact, occur a few months before the recent global financial crisis. Although the previous literature broadly casts doubt on such price co-movements, our results confirm that market performance improved during the sample period.

  1. Agricultural opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Jane M.-F.; Franzluebbers, Alan J.; Weyers, Sharon Lachnicht; Reicosky, Donald C.

    2007-01-01

    Agriculture is a source for three primary greenhouse gases (GHGs): CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O. It can also be a sink for CO 2 through C sequestration into biomass products and soil organic matter. We summarized the literature on GHG emissions and C sequestration, providing a perspective on how agriculture can reduce its GHG burden and how it can help to mitigate GHG emissions through conservation measures. Impacts of agricultural practices and systems on GHG emission are reviewed and potential trade-offs among potential mitigation options are discussed. Conservation practices that help prevent soil erosion, may also sequester soil C and enhance CH 4 consumption. Managing N to match crop needs can reduce N 2 O emission and avoid adverse impacts on water quality. Manipulating animal diet and manure management can reduce CH 4 and N 2 O emission from animal agriculture. All segments of agriculture have management options that can reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. - Management options can be used to reduce agriculture's environmental impacts

  2. COMMODITY MARKET MATH MODELS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris V. Mednikov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article describes enterprise mathmodels, its interactions with environment in commodity market and quantitativeconditions for its success and the crisis in such kind of interaction. Showed: the number of commodity market successfulparticipants should be certain, regardless of market size; any size commodity market, including monopolistic, is assuccessful as producers’ average activity dynamics is balanced with consumers’average activity dynamics.

  3. The Land Use Change From Agricultural to Non-Agricultural in Bungo Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolly, Fajar Ifan; Kismartini, Kismartini; Purnaweni, Hartuti

    2018-02-01

    This study aimed at observing the development of agricultural land use in Bungo Regency, Jambi Province, for other purposes, such as plantation, mining, and other commercial buildings. According to the sustainable agriculture supposed by the government, a change in land use has become an important issue to be taken into account as such that the change does not tend to damage the environment. The research findings from Bungo Regency demonstrated the change in agricultural land into copra and rubber plantation areas. Local people had changed their mindset towards reluctance to become farmers, which caused the loss of farmer regeneration and weakened the farmer exchange rate towards the agricultural commodities.

  4. Natural Resources Management: The Effect of the Commodity Boom on Indonesia’s Industrial Development and Welfare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Monica Wihardja

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The end of the commodity boom in 2012 once again exposed Indonesia to the vulnerability of the commodity price shocks. This article reviews how Indonesia managed its natural resources in 2001–12 and when the commodity boom ends. What are the lessons learned? Indonesia’s experience is similar to that of other countries rich in natural resources, including the crowding-out of non-commodity sectors, protectionist trade regimes, fiscal inefficiency, slow skill accumulation, rising inequality and environmental damages. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008–09, the early trade -policy response at the end of the commodity boom is inward-looking and protective of domestic markets and industries and aims to increase the added value of commodities by downstreaming. This trend is clearly reflected in the 2014 Trade Law, the 2014 Industry Law and the mineral export ban, which was introduced in 2009 through the 2009 Law on Mining of Coal and Minerals and took effect in 2014. Indonesia should learn from other countries in managing its resource revenues, such as through a commodity fund designed to fit its domestic specificity. Reindustrializing, increasing agricultural productivity beyond palm oil and tapping the country’s potential in the services sector including tourism and creative industries are also necessary to promote diversification in production and trade. Resource management policy should also include stronger environmental regulations.

  5. Commodities, energy and environmental finance

    CERN Document Server

    Ludkovski, Michael; Sircar, Ronnie

    2015-01-01

    This volume is a collection of chapters covering the latest developments in applications of financial mathematics and statistics to topics in energy, commodity financial markets and environmental economics. The research presented is based on the presentations and discussions that took place during the Fields Institute Focus Program on Commodities, Energy and Environmental Finance in August 2013. The authors include applied mathematicians, economists and industry practitioners, providing for a multi-disciplinary spectrum of perspectives on the subject. The volume consists of four sections: Electricity Markets; Real Options; Trading in Commodity Markets; and Oligopolistic Models for Energy Production. Taken together, the chapters give a comprehensive summary of the current state of the art in quantitative analysis of commodities and energy finance. The topics covered include structural models of electricity markets, financialization of commodities, valuation of commodity real options, game-theory analysis of ...

  6. Agricultural Fragility Estimates Subjected to Volcanic Ash Fall Hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ham, H. J.; Lee, S.; Choi, S. H.; Yun, W. S.

    2015-12-01

    Agricultural Fragility Estimates Subjected to Volcanic Ash Fall Hazards Hee Jung Ham1, Seung-Hun Choi1, Woo-Seok Yun1, Sungsu Lee2 1Department of Architectural Engineering, Kangwon National University, Korea 2Division of Civil Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Korea ABSTRACT In this study, fragility functions are developed to estimate expected volcanic ash damages of the agricultural sector in Korea. The fragility functions are derived from two approaches: 1) empirical approach based on field observations of impacts to agriculture from the 2006 eruption of Merapi volcano in Indonesia and 2) the FOSM (first-order second-moment) analytical approach based on distribution and thickness of volcanic ash observed from the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helens and agricultural facility specifications in Korea. Fragility function to each agricultural commodity class is presented by a cumulative distribution function of the generalized extreme value distribution. Different functions are developed to estimate production losses from outdoor and greenhouse farming. Seasonal climate influences vulnerability of each agricultural crop and is found to be a crucial component in determining fragility of agricultural commodities to an ash fall. In the study, the seasonality coefficient is established as a multiplier of fragility function to consider the seasonal vulnerability. Yields of the different agricultural commodities are obtained from Korean Statistical Information Service to create a baseline for future agricultural volcanic loss estimation. Numerically simulated examples of scenario ash fall events at Mt. Baekdu volcano are utilized to illustrate the application of the developed fragility functions. Acknowledgements This research was supported by a grant 'Development of Advanced Volcanic Disaster Response System considering Potential Volcanic Risk around Korea' [MPSS-NH-2015-81] from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Research Group, Ministry of Public Safety and Security of

  7. Strategic contracting practices to improve procurement of health commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arney, Leslie; Yadav, Prashant; Miller, Roger; Wilkerson, Taylor

    2014-08-01

    Public-sector entities responsible for procurement of essential medicines and health commodities in developing countries often lack the technical capacity to efficiently ensure supply security. Under strict public scrutiny and pressures to be transparent, many agencies continue to use archaic procurement methods and to depend on inflexible forecasts and cumbersome tendering processes. On the basis of semi-structured literature reviews and interviews, we identified framework agreements as a strategic procurement practice used by the U.S. federal government that may also be suitable for global health supply chains. Framework agreements are long-term contracts that provide the terms and conditions under which smaller repeat purchasing orders may be issued for a defined period of time. Such agreements are common in U.S. and United Nations procurement systems and in other developed countries and multilateral organizations. In contrast, framework agreements appear to be seldom used in procurement of health commodities in countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The current practice of floating tenders multiple times a year contributes to long lead times and stock-outs, and it hampers the manufacturer's or supplier's ability to plan and respond to the government's needs. To date, government's use of strategic contracting practices in public procurement of health commodities has not received much attention in most developing countries. It may present an opportunity for substantial improvements in procurement efficiency and commodity availability. Enabling legislation and strengthened technical capacity to develop and manage long-term contracts could facilitate the use of framework contracts in sub-Saharan Africa, with improved supply security and cost savings likely to result.

  8. Export diversification in Uganda : developments in non-traditional agricultural exports

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, T.

    2001-01-01

    Over the last two decades agricultural export diversification has been pushed as an economic development strategy for sub-Saharan Africa. This paper looks at Uganda, where nontraditional agricultural export commodities have been (re)-introduced since Museveni came to power in 1986. The most

  9. 29 CFR 780.405 - Exemption is direct and does not mean activities are agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... agriculture. 780.405 Section 780.405 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION... EXEMPTIONS APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Employment in Agriculture or Irrigation That Is Exempted From the Overtime Pay...

  10. Segmentation of the industrial market for food commodities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech-Larsen, Tino

    2001-01-01

    by the appearance of changing demands and technological opportunities, which potentially can lead to differentiation possibilities. The article describes a framework for the study of industrial buying of food commodities and the results of a conjoint study based on interviews with oil purchasers in the margarine...... and mayonnaise industries in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The main result of the study is that the price is an omnipotent decision criterion, when vegetable fats and mayonnaise producers buy vegetable oil, but also that product and supplier criteria can be used to segment...

  11. The Food and Agricultural Policy Simulator

    OpenAIRE

    Salathe, Larry E.; Price, J. Michael; Gadson, Kenneth E.

    1982-01-01

    This article describes the structure and dynamic properties of the Food and Agricultural Policy Simulator (FAPSIM), an annual econometric model of the US agricultural sector F APSIM estimates a simultaneous price-quantity equilibrium solution for a set of individual commodity models developed for beef, pork, dairy, chickens, eggs, turkeys, corn, oats, barley, gram sorghum, wheat, soybeans, and cotton F APSIM also endogenously determines farm production expenses, cash receipts, net farm Income...

  12. Agronomic Challenges and Opportunities for Smallholder Terrace Agriculture in Developing Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapagain, Tejendra; Raizada, Manish N

    2017-01-01

    Improving land productivity is essential to meet increasing food and forage demands in hillside and mountain communities. Tens of millions of smallholder terrace farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America who earn $1-2 per day do not have access to peer-reviewed knowledge of best agronomic practices, though they have considerable traditional ecological knowledge. Terrace farmers also lack access to affordable farm tools and inputs required to increase crop yields. The objectives of this review are to highlight the agronomic challenges of terrace farming, and offer innovative, low-cost solutions to intensify terrace agriculture while improving local livelihoods. The article focuses on smallholder farmers in developing nations, with particular reference to Nepal. The challenges of terrace agriculture in these regions include lack of quality land area for agriculture, erosion and loss of soil fertility, low yield, poor access to agricultural inputs and services, lack of mechanization, labor shortages, poverty, and illiteracy. Agronomic strategies that could help address these concerns include intensification of terraces using agro-ecological approaches along with introduction of light-weight, low-cost, and purchasable tools and affordable inputs that enhance productivity and reduce female drudgery. To package, deliver, and share these technologies with remote hillside communities, effective scaling up models are required. One opportunity to enable distribution of these products could be to "piggy-back" onto pre-existing snackfood/cigarette/alcohol distribution networks that are prevalent even in the most remote mountainous regions of the world. Such strategies, practices, and tools could be supported by formalized government policies dedicated to the well-being of terrace farmers and ecosystems, to maintain resiliency at a time of alarming climate change. We hope this review will inform governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to draw

  13. Bringing Commodity Chain Analysis Back to Its World-Systems Roots: Rediscovering Women’s Work and Households

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilma Dunaway

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Globally between 1980 and 2000, women's economic activity rate expanded, narrowing the gender gap in labor force participation. Thus, females now account for one-third or more of the "officially-counted" personnel of export industries (UNICEF 2007, and export agriculture is now feminized (Deere 2005. Today women account for one-third of the manufacturing labor force in developing countries, and females hold more than one-half of the industrial jobs in Asia (Barrientos, Kabeer and Hossain 2004. In much of the global South, females account for a majority of the waged labor force in export agriculture, and they are more heavily concentrated than men in service jobs that provision the supply chains of global production. As a reflection of fewer opportunities for males, women are now less likely to withdraw from the labor force during their childbearing years. In addition, females account for a majority of the income earners in the informal sectors of a majority of global South countries, generate a significant proportion of global commodities through subcontracted work they complete in their households, and provide most of the unpaid family labor needed to support household-based farms and businesses that are dominated by males (United Nations 2003.

  14. A Comparative Cost Analysis of Commodity Foods from the U. S. Department of Agriculture in the National School Lunch Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Cora

    2009-01-01

    Schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program receive a portion of their federal funding as commodity foods rather than cash payments. This research compared the product costs and estimated total procurement costs of commodity and commercial foods from the school district perspective using data from 579 Minnesota ordering sites in…

  15. Dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets, and relevant multi-spread strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min Jae; Kim, Sehyun; Jo, Yong Hwan; Kim, Soo Yong

    2011-10-01

    Understanding the dependence structure between the commodity and stock markets is a crucial issue in constructing a portfolio. It can also help us to discover new opportunities to implement spread trading using multiple assets classified in the two different markets. This study analyzed the dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets using the random matrix theory technique and network analysis. Our results show that the stock and commodity markets must be handled as completely separated asset classes except for the oil and gold markets, so the performance enhancement of the mean-variance portfolio is significant as expected. In light of the fact that WTI 1 month futures and four oil-related stocks are strongly correlated, they were selected as basic ingredients to complement the multi-spread convergence trading strategy using a machine learning technique called the AdaBoost algorithm. The performance of this strategy for non-myopic investors, who can endure short-term loss, can be enhanced significantly on a risk measurement basis.

  16. Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jurenas, Remy

    2005-01-01

    .... economic sanctions against certain countries. In completing action on the FY2001 agriculture appropriations bill, Congress codified the lifting of unilateral sanctions on commercial sales of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical...

  17. Cross-commodity hedges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simard, T.

    1999-01-01

    Energy risk management is the principal topic of this paper. Four major subjects are examined: cross-commodity trading objectives (reduce the risk of an underlying exposure in another commodity); portfolio risk reduction (an Alberta power distributor exposed to high pool prices could protect against high pool prices through a fixed price purchase of Alberta natural gas); tailoring pricing to customer needs (sell power to the gas producer indexed to the price of gas); and (4) reducing insurance costs (rather than purchasing downside protection (puts) individually against oil and gas prices, a producer could purchase a basket option). Since the key issue in cross-commodity transactions is the estimation of correlation, it is important to be prepared to alter correlation assumptions. 1 tab., 2 figs

  18. Return of the Gentleman Farmer?: Conceptualising Gentrification in UK Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherland, Lee-Ann

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, processes of gentrification are assessed in relation to non-commercial farming: the production of agricultural commodities without the intent of earning a living. The author argues that due to the connection between residence and productive assets (particularly land) inherent in farming, agricultural gentrification represents a…

  19. Radiation technology in agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Souza, S.F.

    2013-01-01

    The Department of Atomic Energy through its research, development and deployment activities in nuclear science and technology, has been contributing towards enhancing the production of agricultural commodities and their preservation. Radiations and radioisotopes are used in agricultural research to induce genetic variability in crop plants to develop improved varieties, to manage insect pests, monitor fate and persistence of pesticides, to study fertilizer use efficiency and plant micronutrient uptake and also to preserve agricultural produce. Use of radiation and radioisotopes in agriculture which is often referred to as nuclear agriculture is one of the important fields of peaceful applications of atomic energy for societal benefit and BARC has contributed significantly in this area. 41 new crop varieties developed at BARC have been released and Gazette notified by the MoA, GOI for commercial cultivation and are popular among the farming community and grown through out the country

  20. Can the environmental benefits of biomass support agriculture? - The case of cereals for electricity and bioethanol production in Northern Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanco, Maria Isabel; Azqueta, Diego

    2008-01-01

    Recent policy documents, such as the EC Communication on an Energy Policy for Europe (January 2007) make emphasis on the opportunities that energy applications can offer certain agricultural commodities, especially in the framework of a progressive dismantling of the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper analyses whether this can be true for wheat and barley farmers, using the real example of a straw-based power plant in Northern Spain and a theoretical factory for bioethanol production fed with cereal grain. The outcomes of such an exercise, in which their relative environmental benefits vis-a-vis fossil fuel alternatives are worked out with the aid of a simplified life-cycle approach, show that the characteristics of the electricity and biomass markets, the baseline scenario and the fuel prices are crucial for the future of the sector. (author)

  1. Can the environmental benefits of biomass support agriculture? - The case of cereals for electricity and bioethanol production in Northern Spain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blanco, Maria Isabel; Azqueta, Diego [Department of Economics, University of Alcala, Plaza de la Victoria, 3, 28002 Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain)

    2008-01-15

    Recent policy documents, such as the EC Communication on an Energy Policy for Europe (January 2007) make emphasis on the opportunities that energy applications can offer certain agricultural commodities, especially in the framework of a progressive dismantling of the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper analyses whether this can be true for wheat and barley farmers, using the real example of a straw-based power plant in Northern Spain and a theoretical factory for bioethanol production fed with cereal grain. The outcomes of such an exercise, in which their relative environmental benefits vis-a-vis fossil fuel alternatives are worked out with the aid of a simplified life-cycle approach, show that the characteristics of the electricity and biomass markets, the baseline scenario and the fuel prices are crucial for the future of the sector. (author)

  2. Can the environmental benefits of biomass support agriculture?-The case of cereals for electricity and bioethanol production in Northern Spain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blanco, Maria Isabel [Department of Economics, University of Alcala, Plaza de la Victoria, 3, 28002 Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: isabel.blanco@uah.es; Azqueta, Diego [Department of Economics, University of Alcala, Plaza de la Victoria, 3, 28002 Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain)

    2008-01-15

    Recent policy documents, such as the EC Communication on an Energy Policy for Europe (January 2007) make emphasis on the opportunities that energy applications can offer certain agricultural commodities, especially in the framework of a progressive dismantling of the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper analyses whether this can be true for wheat and barley farmers, using the real example of a straw-based power plant in Northern Spain and a theoretical factory for bioethanol production fed with cereal grain. The outcomes of such an exercise, in which their relative environmental benefits vis-a-vis fossil fuel alternatives are worked out with the aid of a simplified life-cycle approach, show that the characteristics of the electricity and biomass markets, the baseline scenario and the fuel prices are crucial for the future of the sector.

  3. Space and commodity-based society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gvozden Vladimir

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The space is privileged in the commodity-based society. It is well known that the economic space in the 19th and 20th centuries rapidly managed to subordinate all other areas 'conveying and instilling in them their own meanings and goals' (G. Milatović. A new form of space that qualifies commodity society was created, marked by dualities: openness-closeness, private-public, sameness-difference. This paper is an attempt to criticize the usual analysis of the categories of commodity-space, linked to the ambivalent role of the state as a guarantor of the functioning of the commodity-based society, as well as its controlling instance. The increasing delocalisation of the political changes the nature of the space in the commodity-based society. Privileged areas are produced that create an illusion of protection of consumers (shopping malls, gated communities, theme parks, video surveillance, while at the same time social differentiation and identification are produced through the symbolic order of commodities and a sense of inclusion or exclusion from that order. At the same time, the examples of tourism and selling places demonstrate that such a commodity-space unusually easy reconciles sameness and difference. It entails uniformity to help achieve the fluctuation of goods, while insisting on the local as different, especially in terms of the role of particularity in the global trade.

  4. EXPORT AND IMPORT PERFORMANCE OF INDONESIA’S AGRICULTURE SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Ervani

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to examine the export and import performance in comparative advantage of Indonesia’s agriculture sector. It focuses on measuring the comparative advantage using the Trade Balance Index (TBI by Lafay method.The data is based on exports and imports of Indonesian agriculture sector. By applying Lafay Trade Balance Index (TBI methods, it can be concluded that Indonesian agriculture commodity shows the positive value of TBI for export-import volume and export-import value. It means that Indonesia becomes net-exporter and has specialization in exporting agriculture commodity.Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menguji kinerja ekspor dan impor dalam keunggulan komparatif sektor pertanian di Indonesia. Fokus penelitian ini adalah pengukuran keunggulan komparatif menggunakan Trade Balance Index (TBI dengan metode Lafay. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini berdasarkan pada ekspor dan impor sektor pertanian Indonesia. Dengan menerapkan metode Lafay Perdagangan Indeks Balance (TBI, bisa disimpulkan bahwa komoditas pertanian Indonesia menunjukkan nilai positif untuk TBI volume ekspor-impor dan nilai ekspor-impor. Ini berarti bahwa Indonesia disebut sebagai net-eksportir dan memiliki spesialisasi dalam ekspor komoditas pertanian.

  5. Agricultural programs for energy: High margin coproducts strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villet, R.H.

    1993-01-01

    The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the in-house research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The research program bias is toward crop production, the historical focus of agricultural research. There is, however, an existing realization that, in order to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of the United States in global agriculture, new uses must be found, developed, and commercialized for raw bulk agricultural commodities such as maize (corn), soybeans, and wheat. Biofuels such as ethanol from cornstarch, and biodiesel from soybean oil are being promoted strongly as a way of utilizing agricultural commodities more profitably to the farmer. Over the years, ARS has maintained a bioenergy program which has had fluctuating support, and thus a variation in dimensions. At present, there is strong political and departmental backing; in fact there is a fruitful collaboration being developed between the USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy through a Memorandum of Understanding. Ethanol from starch and other less tractable forms of biomass have been subjected to a barrage of economic evaluations, not exactly overoptimistic. In these studies, the large contribution by feedstock cost to the overall cost of production is pointed out. This has led to research programs on biomass production and also attempts at lowering costs of ethanol production by improved pretreatment, conversion, and product recovery. Progress toward lowering production costs has been undeniable, but slow

  6. an appraisal of transportation facilities effects on agricultural

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Osondu

    2013-02-27

    Feb 27, 2013 ... Findings show that mode of transportation in the study area is mostly through head- porterage and to ... agricultural production, commodities and markets. Crosssley et al. .... research. Section A: Socio-economics information of.

  7. Agricultural Productivity Forecasts for Improved Drought Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limaye, Ashutosh; McNider, Richard; Moss, Donald; Alhamdan, Mohammad

    2010-01-01

    Water stresses on agricultural crops during critical phases of crop phenology (such as grain filling) has higher impact on the eventual yield than at other times of crop growth. Therefore farmers are more concerned about water stresses in the context of crop phenology than the meteorological droughts. However the drought estimates currently produced do not account for the crop phenology. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed a drought monitoring decision support tool: The U.S. Drought Monitor, which currently uses meteorological droughts to delineate and categorize drought severity. Output from the Drought Monitor is used by the States to make disaster declarations. More importantly, USDA uses the Drought Monitor to make estimates of crop yield to help the commodities market. Accurate estimation of corn yield is especially critical given the recent trend towards diversion of corn to produce ethanol. Ethanol is fast becoming a standard 10% ethanol additive to petroleum products, the largest traded commodity. Thus the impact of large-scale drought will have dramatic impact on the petroleum prices as well as on food prices. USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) serves as a focal point for economic intelligence and the commodity outlook for U.S. WAOB depends on Drought Monitor and has emphatically stated that accurate and timely data are needed in operational agrometeorological services to generate reliable projections for agricultural decision makers. Thus, improvements in the prediction of drought will reflect in early and accurate assessment of crop yields, which in turn will improve commodity projections. We have developed a drought assessment tool, which accounts for the water stress in the context of crop phenology. The crop modeling component is done using various crop modules within Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). DSSAT is an agricultural crop

  8. Analysis of the agricultural policies in the development of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An appraisal of the two main policies through the examination of the contribution of major agricultural commodities to total export earnings, comparison of food production and demand, share of food in total import value and the overall contribution of the nation's agricultural sector to foreign exchange earnings as well as its ...

  9. Description of historical crop calendar data bases developed to support foreign commodity production forecasting project experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, W. L., III (Principal Investigator)

    1981-01-01

    The content, format, and storage of data bases developed for the Foreign Commodity Production Forecasting project and used to produce normal crop calendars are described. In addition, the data bases may be used for agricultural meteorology, modeling of stage sequences and planting dates, and as indicators of possible drought and famine.

  10. Missouri Agricultural Energy Saving Team-A Revolutionary Opportunity (MAESTRO)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McIntosh, Jane [MDA; Schumacher, Leon [University of Missouri

    2014-10-23

    The Missouri Agricultural Energy Saving Team-A Revolutionary Opportunity (MAESTRO) program brought together a team of representatives from government, academia, and private industry to enhance the availability of energy efficiency services for small livestock producers in the State of Missouri. The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) managed the project via a subcontract with the University of Missouri (MU), College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, MU Extension, the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences, the MU College of Engineering, and the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA). MU teamed with EnSave, Inc, a nationally-recognized expert in agricultural energy efficiency to assist with marketing, outreach, provision of farm energy audits and customer service. MU also teamed with independent home contractors to facilitate energy audits of the farm buildings and homes of these livestock producers. The goals of the project were to: (1) improve the environment by reducing fossil fuel emissions and reducing the total energy used on small animal farms; (2) stimulate the economy of local and regional communities by creating or retaining jobs; and (3) improve the profitability of Missouri livestock producers by reducing their energy expenditures. Historically, Missouri scientists/engineers conducted programs on energy use in agriculture, such as in equipment, grain handling and tillage practices. The MAESTRO program was the first to focus strictly on energy efficiency associated with livestock production systems in Missouri and to investigate the applicability and potential of addressing energy efficiency in animal production from a building efficiency perspective. A. Project Objectives The goal of the MAESTRO program was to strengthen the financial viability and environmental soundness of Missouri's small animal farms by helping them implement energy efficient technologies for the production facility, farm

  11. Processing of food and agricultural commodities with electron beam from microtron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Arun; Behere, Arun; Jadhav, S.S.; Bongirwar, D.R.; Kaul, Ahinsa; Soni, H.C.; Ganesh, S.

    2001-01-01

    A microtron machine source installed by the Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), Indore, at Mangalore University, was used to study effects of irradiation on onion, potato, rava, and spices. The microbial load in spice samples was determined immediately after the experiment, as well as after six months of storage at the ambient temperature (26±2 deg C). Onion and potato samples were stored for a six months period both at ambient temperature and 15 deg C for observing the effect of electron beam irradiation on sprouting in these commodities. Rawa samples were stored at ambient temperature for observing the effect of electron beam irradiation on insect disinfestation. The results are discussed in detail in this paper. These lab-scale studies showed that electron beam could in principle be used for processing of various food products after standardizing the machine parameters and ensuring uniform dose distribution in the product. (author)

  12. Founding Digital Currency on Imprecise Commodity

    OpenAIRE

    Yuan, Zimu; Xu, Zhiwei

    2015-01-01

    Current digital currency schemes provide instantaneous exchange on precise commodity, in which "precise" means a buyer can possibly verify the function of the commodity without error. However, imprecise commodities, e.g. statistical data, with error existing are abundant in digital world. Existing digital currency schemes do not offer a mechanism to help the buyer for payment decision on precision of commodity, which may lead the buyer to a dilemma between having to buy and being unconfident....

  13. Genetically Modified Crops: Towards Agricultural Growth, Agricultural Development, or Agricultural Sustainability?

    OpenAIRE

    Azadi, Hossein; Ghanian, Mansour; Ghuchani, Omid M.; Rafiaani, Parisa; Taning, Clauvis N. T.; Hajivand, Roghaye Y.; Dogot, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The present debate on how to increase global food production in a sustainable way has focused on arguments over the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) crops. Scientists in both public and private sectors clearly regard GM technology as a major new set of tools, whereas industry sees it as an opportunity for increased profits. However, it remains questionable whether GM crops can contribute to agricultural growth, agricultural development, and agricultural sustainability. This review p...

  14. Emergence of Commodity Derivatives as Defensive Instrument in Portfolio Risk Hedging: A Case of Indian Commodity Markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singhal Shelly

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper empirically examines whether commodity derivatives can be used as an alternative investment asset in India where commodity markets are at emerging state and provides the same diversification benefit as they provide in developed commodity markets. In India only commodity futures are prevalent so various commodity indices representing various sectors has been used in the study. Diversification aspect of commodity derivatives has been tested initially by using correlation analysis. Compounded Daily Growth rate and Relative Standard deviation has been used as a measure of calculating risk and return of daily data of SENSEX, BOND and four Commodity Indices (MCX Comdex, MCX AGRI, MCX Metal, MCX Energy. Markowitz Efficient Frontier theory has been used to calculate portfolio risk return and Sharpe risk adjusted ratio has been used to evaluate the various portfolios. Optimal portfolio has been obtained for the combination of equity, bond and commodity and overall results of the study indicate that an investor who is risk averse will prefer to invest in combination of SENSEX, BOND & MCX Energy whereas an investor who gets utility by taking more risk for more returns will prefer to invest in combination of SENSEX, BOND & MCX Metal. Investor having inclination towards moderate risk return would tend to invest in MCX AGRI along with SENSEX and BOND.

  15. 77 FR 71773 - Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Covered Commodities: Notice of Request for Revision of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-04

    ...: March 31, 2013. Type of Request: Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection Abstract: The 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers... covered commodities, whether directly to retailers or indirectly through other participants in the...

  16. 17 CFR 33.3 - Unlawful commodity option transactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unlawful commodity option... REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.3 Unlawful commodity option... of, or maintain a position in, any commodity option transaction subject to the provisions of this...

  17. Techniques for Analyzing the Attractiveness of International Commodity Markets Under Conditions of Economic Globalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olha Pryhara

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available This article examines existing techniques and proposes its own for analyzing the attractiveness of international commodity markets in light of the globalization of world economic processes. Taking into account the supranational nature of the world economic environment when examining categories in the attractiveness of international commodity markets, the author introduces a multilevel system of indicators: market attractiveness at the mega-level – global level; market attractiveness at the macro-level national level; market attractiveness at the mezo-level – level of an individual sector. The attractiveness of international commodity markets is considered to be the degree of conformity between market environment factors and the mega-, macro- and mezo-levels of the economic interests of enterprises concerning the entry into and strategies for their activity on the international commodity markets in the short-, medium- and long-term. The author designs a stage-by-stage technique for strategically analyzing the attractiveness of international commodity markets in order to frame efficient market strategies of enterprises. Relying on the proposed techniques, she rates the integrated indicators of market accessibility and the possibility of realizing the economic interests of enterprises in target markets, bringing the index data into a matrix of «market accessibility – opportunity for realizing the economic interests of enterprises.» The analysis of a country’s position in the matrix makes it possible to frame efficient market strategies for enterprises.

  18. New approaches to market information to enhancing agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    FEWS), (Ferris, 2001). The service collects both primary and secondary data on: Off lorry, wholesale and retail prices of 28 agricultural commodities from 16 districts (Table 1). Prices are collected on a weekly basis from 16 districts, see Map below ...

  19. Returns to food and agricultural R&D investments in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1975-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardey, Philip G; Andrade, Robert S; Hurley, Terrance M; Rao, Xudong; Liebenberg, Frikkie G

    2016-12-01

    Research-enabled growth in agricultural productivity is pivotal to sub-Saharan Africa's overall economic growth prospects. Yet, investments in research and development (R&D) targeted to many national food and agricultural economies throughout Africa are fragile and faltering. To gain insight into what could be driving this trend, this article updates, summarizes and reassesses the published evidence on the returns to African agricultural R&D. Based on a compilation of 113 studies published between 1975 and 2014 spanning 25 countries, the reported internal rates of return ( IRRs ) to food and agricultural research conducted in or of direct consequence for sub-Saharan Africa averaged 42.3%py. In addition to the 376 IRR estimates, the corresponding 129 benefit-cost ratios ( BCRs ) averaged 30.1. Most (96.5%) of the returns-to-research evaluations are of publicly performed R&D, and the majority (87.6%) of the studies were published in the period 1990-2009. The large dispersion in the reported IRRs and BCRs makes it difficult to discern meaningful patterns in the evidence. Moreover, the distribution of IRRs is heavily (positively) skewed, such that the median value (35.0%py) is well below the mean, like it is for research done elsewhere in the world (mean 62.4%py; median 38.0%py). Around 78.5% of the evaluations relate to the commodity-specific consequences of agricultural research, while 5.5% report on the returns to an "all agriculture" aggregate. The weight of commodity-specific evaluation evidence is not especially congruent with the composition of agricultural production throughout Africa, nor, to the best that can be determined, the commodity orientation of public African agricultural R&D.

  20. African Farmer-led Irrigation Development: re-framing agricultural policy and investment?

    OpenAIRE

    Woodhouse, Philip; Veldwisch, Gert Jan; Venot , Jean-Philippe; Brockington, Daniel; Komakech, Hans; Manjichi , Ângela

    2017-01-01

    The past decade has witnessed an intensifying focus on the development of irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa. It follows a 20-year hiatus in the wake of disappointing irrigation performance during the 1970s and 1980s. Persistent low productivity in African agriculture and vulnerability of African food supplies to increasing instability in international commodity markets are driving pan-African agricultural investment initiatives, such as the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program...

  1. Agriculture Beyond Food: Experiences from Indonesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loffler, H.J.M.; Afiff, S.; Burgers, P.P.M.; Govers, C.; Heeres, H.J.; Karyanto, O.; Manurung, R.; Vel, J.A.C.; Visscher, S.; Zwaagstra, T.; Widyarani, R.

    2014-01-01

    The ABF programme addresses one of today’s major societal challenges, how to achieve a sustainable and inclusive biobased economy, with high-level scientific research on the thin lines between food and non-food, commodities and waste products, livelihood opportunities and risks, and local and global

  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2009-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2009 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2008 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses. For mineral commodities for which there is a Government stockpile, detailed information concerning the stockpile status is included in the two-page synopsis. Because specific information concerning committed inventory was no longer available from the Defense Logistics Agency, National Defense Stockpile Center, that information, which was included in earlier Mineral Commodity Summaries publications, has been deleted from Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009. National reserves and reserve base information for most mineral commodities found in this report, including those for the United States, are derived from a variety of sources. The ideal source of such information would be comprehensive evaluations that apply the same criteria to deposits in different geographic areas and report the results by country. In the absence of such evaluations, national reserves and reserve base estimates compiled by countries for selected mineral commodities are a primary source of national reserves and reserve base information. Lacking national assessment information by governments, sources such as academic articles, company reports, common business practice, presentations by company representatives, and trade journal articles, or a combination of these, serve as the basis for national reserves and reserve base information reported in the mineral commodity sections of this publication. A national estimate may be assembled from the following: historically reported

  3. The complex dynamics of agriculture as a financial asset: introduction to a symposium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Clapp (Jennifer); S. R. Isakson (S. Ryan); O. Visser (Oane)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractThe contemporary process of financialization has been a major driver of the remarkable changes witnessed in global food and agricultural markets over the past decade, contributing to the rise and subsequent volatility of food and agricultural commodity prices since 2006. In the wake

  4. Dietary shifts and implications for US agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, P

    1995-06-01

    Changes to healthier dietary patterns similar to those of traditional Mediterranean diets or those of the US government's dietary guidelines and food guide pyramid would require significant changes in American agricultural practices. The volume, mix, production, and marketing of agricultural commodities would need to be modified. Because differences between actual and recommended intakes for major food groups are quite large and affect a broad range of products, adjustments in supply and demand could overshadow past experience in dealing with such changes. New food and agriculture policies may well be needed to ease and accelerate agricultural adjustments, to improve nutritional characteristics of popular foods, and to promote desirable changes in consumers' food choices.

  5. EU enlargement and the Common Agricultural Policy: The case of Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. KAVCIC

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims at assessing the economic effects of Slovenia ’s accession to the EU.For this purpose, a sector model of Slovenian agriculture APAS-PAM has been constructed.The methodological framework allows for assessment of market, income and competitiveness effects for ten key agricultural products with consideration of two accession scenarios (optimistic EUe and pessimistic EUpthat describe the whole range of possible accession effects.Slovenia ’s accession to the EU will not increase agricultural production significantly.Accession under the scenario of complete acceptance of the CAP mechanisms and quasi equal treatment by the EU (EUewill not bring significant changes to aggregate production and income levels with moderate changes on commodity basis. Discrimination of the candidate countries in the field of direct payments and non-competitive down-stream sector assumed by the EUp– subscenario will significantly deteriorate the income situation of domestic producers. This holds especially for cereal and beef production. For many commodities,the competitiveness of the food processing industry assuming different price levels for raw materials could have much greater impact on the economic situation of agricultural production than agricultural policy environment itself.;

  6. Factor Structure in Commodity Futures Return and Volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Peter; Lunde, Asger; Olesen, Kasper Vinther

    Using data on more than 750 million futures trades during 2004-2013, we analyze eight stylized facts of commodity price and volatility dynamics in the post financialization period. We pay particular attention to the factor structure in returns and volatility and to commodity market integration...... with the equity market. We find evidence of a factor structure in daily commodity futures returns. However, the factor structure in daily commodity futures volatility is even stronger than in returns. When computing model-free realized commodity betas with the stock market we find that they were high during 2008......-2010 but have since returned to the pre-crisis level close to zero. The common factor in commodity volatility is nevertheless clearly related to stock market volatility. We conclude that, while commodity markets appear to again be segmented from the equity market when only returns are considered, commodity...

  7. TECHNICAL ADVANCE AS A BASES DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMY AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.I. Ogorodnikov

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available In the article coordinate together technical advance and economic indicators of agricultural enterprise. Justified, that lowering equipment branch crop production and cattle breeding result in considerable loss productiveness and rise expense. Necessity cost cutout determine application more high-performance machine and state-of-the-art technology on output of products agricultural industry. Underline practicability of active state support grower of agricultural produce agricultural commodities inclusive of securing social setting conditions of life man agricultural enterprise.

  8. 75 FR 11472 - Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act: Increase in License Fees

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-11

    ... marketing chain from farmer to consumer. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers and... from the trade when needed, and provides expert advice on trust protection. The PACA Amendments of 1995...

  9. Diversity of inland valleys and opportunities for agricultural development in Sierra Leone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elliott Ronald Dossou-Yovo

    Full Text Available Inland valleys are becoming increasingly important agricultural production areas for rural households in sub-Saharan Africa due to their relative high and secure water availability and soil fertility. In addition, inland valleys are important as water buffer and biodiversity hot spots and they provide local communities with forest, forage, and fishing resources. As different inland-valley ecosystem functions may conflict with agricultural objectives, indiscriminate development should be avoided. This study aims to analyze the diversity of inland valleys in Sierra Leone and to develop guidelines for more precise interventions. Land use, biophysical and socio-economic data were analyzed on 257 inland valleys using spatial and multivariate techniques. Five cluster groups of inland valleys were identified: (i semi-permanently flooded with high soil organic carbon (4.2% and moderate available phosphorus (10.2 ppm, mostly under natural vegetation; (ii semi-permanently flooded with low soil organic carbon (1.5% and very low available phosphorus (3.1 ppm, abandoned by farmers; (iii seasonally flooded with moderate soil organic carbon (3.1% and low available phosphorus (8.3 ppm, used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables produced without fertilizer application for household consumption and market; (iv well drained with moderate soil organic carbon (3.8% and moderate available phosphorus (10.0 ppm, used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables produced with fertilizer application for household consumption and market; and (v well drained with moderate soil organic carbon (3.6% and moderate available phosphorus (11 ppm, used for household consumption without fertilizer application. Soil organic carbon, available phosphorus, hydrological regime, physical accessibility and market opportunity were the major factors affecting agricultural intensification of inland valleys. Opening up the areas in which inland valleys occur through improved roads and

  10. Mitigation potential and global health impacts from emissions pricing of food commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springmann, Marco; Mason-D'Croz, Daniel; Robinson, Sherman; Wiebe, Keith; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Rayner, Mike; Scarborough, Peter

    2017-01-01

    The projected rise in food-related greenhouse gas emissions could seriously impede efforts to limit global warming to acceptable levels. Despite that, food production and consumption have long been excluded from climate policies, in part due to concerns about the potential impact on food security. Using a coupled agriculture and health modelling framework, we show that the global climate change mitigation potential of emissions pricing of food commodities could be substantial, and that levying greenhouse gas taxes on food commodities could, if appropriately designed, be a health-promoting climate policy in high-income countries, as well as in most low- and middle-income countries. Sparing food groups known to be beneficial for health from taxation, selectively compensating for income losses associated with tax-related price increases, and using a portion of tax revenues for health promotion are potential policy options that could help avert most of the negative health impacts experienced by vulnerable groups, whilst still promoting changes towards diets which are more environmentally sustainable.

  11. Multiple commodities in statistical microeconomics: Model and market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baaquie, Belal E.; Yu, Miao; Du, Xin

    2016-11-01

    A statistical generalization of microeconomics has been made in Baaquie (2013). In Baaquie et al. (2015), the market behavior of single commodities was analyzed and it was shown that market data provides strong support for the statistical microeconomic description of commodity prices. The case of multiple commodities is studied and a parsimonious generalization of the single commodity model is made for the multiple commodities case. Market data shows that the generalization can accurately model the simultaneous correlation functions of up to four commodities. To accurately model five or more commodities, further terms have to be included in the model. This study shows that the statistical microeconomics approach is a comprehensive and complete formulation of microeconomics, and which is independent to the mainstream formulation of microeconomics.

  12. 17 CFR 37.3 - Requirements for underlying commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... that are a security futures product, and the registered derivatives transaction execution facility is a... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Requirements for underlying commodities. 37.3 Section 37.3 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION...

  13. MAPPING OF POTENTIAL AGRICULTURE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIORITY AGROINDUSTRY IN KEPULAUAN MERANTY REGENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Septina Elida

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The agricultural sector has an important role for rural communities in moving its economy. Therefore, that agricultural potential should be utilized as much as possible for socialwelfare. This study aimed to analyze the potential of agricultural commodities and priority of the factors that determine superioragroindustrybased potensial of agricultural commodities. This study usedsurvey, which was conduct in the Meranti IslandsDistrict from January to May 2016.Respondents involving stakeholders from experts, government agencies and community leaders. The analysis was the Hirarchi Analytical Process (AHP. The results showedthat the potential of agricultural commodities which was develope in Meranti Islands District were sago, coconut and rubber. Determinants: 1 Natural resources (climate, rainfall and land suitability, the priority factor were the land suitability and climate. 2 Human resources (formal education and skills, the priority factor was skill, 3 capital (land, seeds, tools, technology, and ease of cultivation, the priority factor were land, seeds, ease of cultivation. 4 Socio-economic and cultural (ethnic, contribution to GDP, the priority factor was the contribution to the GDP.Superior agroindustriesthat has be developed in the District of Meranti Islands based agricultural potential was agroindustrial sago and coconut. Determinants: 1. The technical aspects (raw materials, capital, technology and infrastructure, the priority factor were the raw material and capital. 2 Economical aspects (price, market, downstream prospects, and the contribution to the GDP, the priority factor are market and downstream prospects. 3 Socio-economic and cultural aspects (education and labor absorption, the priority factor in Agroindustry sago was education, whereas in the palm agro-industry was labor absorption. 

  14. Rambutan Commodity Development Strategy as Regional Potential Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Pujiati

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The potential product of a region needs to be developed in order to improve the social welfare. Commonly, at harvest time, there is abundant horticulture commodity. Unluckily, the price of the commodity drops significantly. In other words, it costs extremely cheap. The purpose of research is analyzing the internal and external factors and determining an appropriate strategy for developing rambutan in Central Java, especially at Gunungpati District, Semarang, Central Java Province. The primary data of this research is obtained from 58 rambutan farmers that have been interviewed and have filled out the questionnaire forms. The secondary data is taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the monograph of the village and the internet by implementing the literature study method. Then, SWOT analysis is implemented for analizing the data. The internal factors that become the strengths are fertilized land for rambutan to grow and the farmers’ hereditary experiences in cultivating rambutan. Further, the lack of absorbing power of knowledge and technologies and the low existence of rambutan business are the weaknesses. Next, the external factor that becomes opportunity is the continuous increasing market demand, while the threat is the young generations having no interest in rambutan business. Finally, the stability (hold and maintain strategy should be implemented for developing rambutan business

  15. Rambutan Commodity Development Strategy as Regional Potential Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Pujiati

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The potential product of a region needs to be developed in order to improve the social welfare. Commonly, at harvest time, there is abundant horticulture commodity. Unluckily, the price of the commodity drops significantly. In other words, it costs  extremely cheap. The purpose of research is analyzing the internal and external factors and determining an appropriate strategy for developing rambutan in Central Java, especially at Gunungpati District, Semarang, Central Java Province. The primary data of this research is obtained from 58 rambutan farmers that have been interviewed and have filled out the questionnaire forms. The secondary data is taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the monograph of the village and the internet by implementing the literature study method. Then, SWOT analysis is implemented for analizing the data. The internal factors that become the strengths are fertilized land for rambutan to grow and the farmers’ hereditary experiences in cultivating rambutan. Further, the lack of absorbing power of knowledge and technologies and the low existence of rambutan business are the weaknesses. Next, the external factor that becomes opportunity is the continuous increasing market demand, while the threat is the young generations having no interest in rambutan business. Finally, the stability (hold and maintain strategy should be implemented for developing rambutan business

  16. Agricultural Trade Liberalization and the Least Developed Countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koning, N.B.J.; Pinstrup-Andersen, P.

    2007-01-01

    Although the current round of international trade negotiations was called a `Development Round¿, very little was accomplished before the negotiations stalled in mid-2006. Developing countries as a group stand to gain very substantially from trade reform in agricultural commodities. It is less clear

  17. 7 CFR 1421.110 - Commodity certificate exchanges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodity certificate for the marketing assistance loan collateral. (b) The exchange rate is the lesser of... assistance loan collateral. (3) Immediately exchanging the purchased commodity certificate for the outstanding loan collateral. (e) The authority to make commodity certificates available to the producer will...

  18. 17 CFR 32.3 - Unlawful commodity option transactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Unlawful commodity option... REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.3 Unlawful commodity option transactions. (a) On and after... extend credit in lieu thereof) from an option customer as payment of the purchase price in connection...

  19. 17 CFR 31.6 - Registration of leverage commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... taking delivery to buy or sell the leverage commodity; (2) Explain the effect of such changes upon the... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Registration of leverage... LEVERAGE TRANSACTIONS § 31.6 Registration of leverage commodities. (a) Registration of leverage commodities...

  20. Fighting for rents: agricultural windfall gains and social change in land-abundant developing countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvid, Anna

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, a global increase in demand for agricultural commodities and land has contributed to increasing agricultural prices. This trend can be expected to continue in the future, and may result in significantly higher land rents. This paper investigates the potential distributional effec...

  1. Speculation on commodities futures markets and destabilization of global food prices: exploring the connections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Jayati; Heintz, James; Pollin, Robert

    2012-01-01

    In December 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Food Price Index surpassed its previous peak of June 2008, and prices remained at this level through September 2011. This pattern is creating justified fears of a renewal or intensification of the global food crisis. This paper reviews arguments and evidence to inform debates on how to regulate commodity futures markets in the face of such price volatility and sustained high prices. We focus on the relationship between market liquidity and price patterns in asset markets in general and in commodities futures markets in particular, as well as the relationship between spot and futures market prices for food. We find strong evidence supporting the need to limit huge increases in trading volume on futures markets through regulations. We find that arguments opposing regulation are not supported. We find no support for the claim that liquidity in futures markets stabilizes prices at "fundamental" values or that spot market prices are free of any significant influence from futures markets. Given these results, the most appropriate position for regulators is precautionary: they should enact and enforce policies capable of effectively dampening excessive speculative trading on the commodities markets for food.

  2. More Can Be Done to Improve the Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Donation Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-07-09

    percent of its commodity entitlements of frozen cut- up chicken , vegetarian beans, roasted peanuts, catsup, and canned tomatoes after March 31, 1979...canned peas; 60 percent of the canned apple juice; 89 percent of the canned tomato paste; and 100 per- cent of the frozen, cut-up chicken that was...of canned boned poultry and 1,735 cases of applesauce. Five recip - ient agencies we reviewed had inventories of canned boned poultry that ranged from a

  3. Investigation the Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on the Export of Agricultural Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Jamalipour

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Agricultural commodity export is a main attribute of developing countries and it is the basic force of development, however, developing countries have faced domestic and international instability in their markets and monetary and fiscal policies and these instabilities create a difficult condition for most of producers and exporters. Volatility in exchange market is one of the most important factor and vital concentrate for international trade especially agricultural commodity export. Because of this concern many studies have been conducted in this filed; (Aristotelous, 2001; Chen, 2009 and Sabuhoi and Piri, 2009 .Many of these studies has stated that exchange rate fluctuation has a negative impact on aggregated agricultural export; however, none of them has been focused on the effects of exchange rate fluctuation on exported value of important commodities in long run and short run. In recent years, exchange rate fluctuation has been raised about 6 percent since 2007 to 2010 and it seemed that this phenomenon has a negative impact on agricultural commodity export in Iran. To test this hypothesis exported value of three important commodity (date, orange and grape and exchange rate volatility since 1970 to 2013 have been used. Material and Methods: In order to examine the relation between real exchange rate volatility and export values of date, orange and grapes, first GARCH method has been used to draw out exchange rate volatility; then, Panel unite root test has been used to check the level of integration. Since real exchange rate is not heterogeneous for different cross sections Levi-Lin and Chow unit root test has been used for this variable and IPS test has been applied to export value. Pederoni co-integration test has been used to check the integration between these variables. Finally, FMOLS (Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square and DOLS (Dynamic Ordinary Least Square methods have been used to estimate long run and short run

  4. 17 CFR 32.11 - Suspension of commodity option transactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension of commodity option... REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.11 Suspension of commodity option transactions. (a... accept money, securities or property in connection with, the purchase or sale of any commodity option, or...

  5. Opportunities and barriers for international bioenergy trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Junginger, Martin; Dam, Jinke van; Zarrilli, Simonetta; Ali Mohamed, Fatin; Marchal, Didier; Faaij, Andre

    2011-01-01

    Recently, the international trade of various bioenergy commodities has grown rapidly, yet this growth is also hampered by some barriers. The aim of this paper is to obtain an overview of what market actors currently perceive as major opportunities and barriers for the development of international bioenergy trade. The work focuses on three bioenergy commodities: bioethanol, biodiesel and wood pellets. Data were collected through an internet-based questionnaire. The majority of the 141 respondents had an industrial background. Geographically, two-thirds were from (mainly Western) Europe, with other minor contributions from all other continents. Results show that import tariffs and the implementation of sustainability certification systems are perceived as (potentially) major barriers for the trade of bioethanol and biodiesel, while logistics are seen mainly as an obstacle for wood pellets. Development of technical standards was deemed more as an opportunity than a barrier for all commodities. Most important drivers were high fossil fuel prices and climate change mitigation policies. Concluding, to overcome some of the barriers, specific actions will be required by market parties and policy makers. Import tariffs for biofuels could be reduced or abolished, linked to multinational trade agreements and harmonization (including provisions on technical standards and sustainability requirements). - Research highlights: → We analyze main barriers for global trade of wood pellets, ethanol and biodiesel. → Import tariffs can be a major barrier for liquid biofuels trade. → Implementation of sustainability certification systems may hamper biofuels trade. → Logistics are seen mainly as an obstacle for the trade of wood pellets. → Development of technical standards are deemed an opportunity for bioenergy trade.

  6. Mineral commodity summaries 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2015-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2015 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2014 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses.

  7. 20 CFR 404.1056 - Explanation of agricultural labor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... agricultural labor. An example of this is the extraction of juices from fruits or vegetables. However, work in the cutting and drying of fruits or vegetables does not change the commodity from its raw or natural... employee in the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or...

  8. Agricultural growth, the status of women, and fertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittington, L A; Stapleton, D C

    1995-08-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that fertility is affected differently by economic growth depending upon the specific sector (agriculture, manufacturing, heavy industry, and services) where growth occurred. The hypothesis is that fertility responses are not identical across sectors. The sample includes 51 World Bank member countries in varying stages of development. The econometric model pertains to 1965-88 and the percentage change in the total fertility rate (TFR). During the study period the average TFR declined by over 22%, but the extent of change varied by country and included, for instance, countries such as Ethiopia that experienced fertility increases from 5.8 to 6.5. Hong Kong's TFR declined by 66% from 4.7 to 1.6. Analysis included measures of changes in gross domestic product (GDP) for each of the four sectors and change in real per capita exports in agricultural commodities, resources, and manufactured products. Changes in educational status and changes in infant mortality were also included in some models. There were mixed results for the impact of total GDP. Sectoral analysis shows a positive, small significant impact on TFR from changes in the GDP per capita in agriculture (domestic and export products), and a negative, small significant impact from manufacturing growth. Heavy industry and services produced insignificant impact. In the model with only domestic consumption, results show a stronger coefficient and continued significance for agricultural productivity, agricultural exports, and manufacturing changes per capita. Manufacturing exports produced a negative, insignificant impact. The null hypothesis is rejected only in models comparing aggregate GDP in agriculture and manufacturing industries plus control variables (excluding heavy industry and services). Only secondary education was a negative, significant determinant of fertility. Infant mortality was insignificant when sectoral growth and education were included in the model. The evidence

  9. Theme: Urban Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellibee, Margaret; And Others

    1990-01-01

    On the theme of secondary agricultural education in urban areas, this issue includes articles on opportunities, future directions, and implications for the profession; creative supervised experiences for horticulture students; floral marketing, multicultural education; and cultural diversity in urban agricultural education. (JOW)

  10. 49 CFR 1248.1 - Freight commodity statistics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Freight commodity statistics. 1248.1 Section 1248... STATISTICS § 1248.1 Freight commodity statistics. All class I railroads, as described in § 1240.1 of this... statistics on the basis of the commodity codes named in § 1248.101. Carriers shall report quarterly on the...

  11. Marketing patterns of agricultural commodities in an upland area of Central Java

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline M. van Ommeren

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In the uplands of Central Java a wide variety of dry cultivated crops are produced for subsistence as well as for cash. The marketing channels for these crops are also diverse. The producers can choose between selling at the market place or at their farms; either to consumers or traders; or they can sell their products to wholesalers in the towns. However, this freedom of choice is not absolute and is determined by the quantity of the merchandise. Farmers/who can sell large amounts of produce are able to bypass some steps in the hierarchical order of market places or traders. Thus, producers with relatively large farmlands can sell their commodities in more profitable ways compared to those with /smaller farms. Moreover, the latter are often forced to sell their produce below market value to traders who provided them with advance or who bought the crop before harvest (tebasan, because of their need for cash

  12. Agricultural Finance Statistics, 1960-83

    OpenAIRE

    Amols, George; Kaiser, Wilson

    1984-01-01

    This bulletin presents farm financial statistics, including outstanding farm 4ebt by State and lender and average interest rates for agricultural loans charged by selected lenders for 1960-83. Farm debt includes both real estate and nonrea1 estate debt. Lenders include Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), Federal land banks, production credit associations, Federal intermediate credit banks, commercial banks, life insurance companies, Farmers Home Administration, and individuals and others.

  13. Opportunities within the Revised EU Common Agricultural Policy to Address the Decline of Farmland Birds: An Irish Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daire Ó hUallacháin

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The loss of global biological diversity continues despite on-going conservation efforts. Agriculture is the major terrestrial land use in Europe and any conservation efforts to protect biological diversity must address sustainable use of these food production systems. Using Ireland, within the European Union policy framework, as an example, the declines in farmland birds are discussed. The opportunities afforded to farmland bird conservation as a result of the recent reform to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP are outlined. The potential for revised and refined CAP, specifically agri-environment schemes, to deliver benefits for biodiversity and for farmland bird species within Irish agricultural ecosystems is explored. Despite all the efforts to date and the significant resources invested in implementing agri-environment measures and schemes, few attempts have been made to collect monitoring and surveillance data with which to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of schemes, and measures that are designed to assist in the recovery of farmland biodiversity, including bird species, in Ireland.

  14. 75 FR 34434 - Request To Amend an Existing Order Under Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act Permitting...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ...) pursuant to Section 4(c) of the Act, (a) to permit the clearing of coffee, sugar, and cocoa OTC swap..., ``a * * * commodity swap,'' which latter term includes swaps on agricultural products. While the...(c) of the Act, ICE Clear could not engage in the clearing of OTC swap contracts in cocoa, sugar and...

  15. 1993 commodity flow survey : state summaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-06-01

    This report summarizes the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) state reports released between February 1996 and July 1996 by the Bureau of the Census and the 1993 Commodity Flow Survey: Preliminary Observations by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Inf...

  16. Multinetwork of international trade: A commodity-specific analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barigozzi, Matteo; Fagiolo, Giorgio; Garlaschelli, Diego

    2010-04-01

    We study the topological properties of the multinetwork of commodity-specific trade relations among world countries over the 1992-2003 period, comparing them with those of the aggregate-trade network, known in the literature as the international-trade network (ITN). We show that link-weight distributions of commodity-specific networks are extremely heterogeneous and (quasi) log normality of aggregate link-weight distribution is generated as a sheer outcome of aggregation. Commodity-specific networks also display average connectivity, clustering, and centrality levels very different from their aggregate counterpart. We also find that ITN complete connectivity is mainly achieved through the presence of many weak links that keep commodity-specific networks together and that the correlation structure existing between topological statistics within each single network is fairly robust and mimics that of the aggregate network. Finally, we employ cross-commodity correlations between link weights to build hierarchies of commodities. Our results suggest that on the top of a relatively time-invariant “intrinsic” taxonomy (based on inherent between-commodity similarities), the roles played by different commodities in the ITN have become more and more dissimilar, possibly as the result of an increased trade specialization. Our approach is general and can be used to characterize any multinetwork emerging as a nontrivial aggregation of several interdependent layers.

  17. Inventory transparency for agricultural produce through IOT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, S. P.; Sorna Shanthi, D.; Anand, Aashish V.

    2017-06-01

    Re-structuring the practices of traditional inventory management is becoming more essential to optimize the supply chain transparency and accuracy of agricultural produce. A flexible and transparent inventory management system is becoming the need of any agricultural commodity. It was noticed that the major setback for the farmers who are the suppliers of the farm produce is due to poor supply chain integration. The recent advent technologies and IT explosion can bring up a greater impact in the process of storing, tracking, distributing and monitoring perishable agriculture produce of day to day life. The primary focus of this paper is to integrate IoT into inventory management and other inbound logistics management of agriculture produce. The unique features of agricultural produce like a prediction of supply, demand, the location of warehouses, distribution and tracking of inventory can be integrated through IoT. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for inventory management transparency involved in the supply chain of agriculture produce.

  18. The Price of Commodity Risk in Stock and Futures Markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Boons (Martijn); F.A. de Roon (Frans); M.K. Szymanowska (Marta)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractWe find that commodity risk is priced in the cross-section of US stock returns. Following the financialization of commodities, investors hedge commodity price risk directly in the futures market, primarily via commodity index investments, whereas before they gained commodity exposure

  19. 17 CFR 14.4 - Violation of Commodity Exchange Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Violation of Commodity Exchange Act. 14.4 Section 14.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION... Exchange Act. The Commission may deny, temporarily or permanently, the privilege of appearing or practicing...

  20. Choosing a commode for the ward environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballinger, C; Pain, H; Pascoe, J; Gore, S

    The choice of appropriate equipment to promote patient independence and enhance nursing care is of major concern to the nurse in the ward environment. This article reports on a recent evaluation of specialist commodes, (Ballinger et al, 1994), with reference to the programme funded by the Medical Devices Agency, Department of Health, under whose auspices the project was carried out. The results of user evaluations and technical tests of six mobile commodes are presented, the preferred model being the Mayfair commode supplied by Carters (J&A) Ltd. The article concludes by identifying a number of important considerations to bear in mind when selecting a commode.

  1. Statistical field theory of futures commodity prices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baaquie, Belal E.; Yu, Miao

    2018-02-01

    The statistical theory of commodity prices has been formulated by Baaquie (2013). Further empirical studies of single (Baaquie et al., 2015) and multiple commodity prices (Baaquie et al., 2016) have provided strong evidence in support the primary assumptions of the statistical formulation. In this paper, the model for spot prices (Baaquie, 2013) is extended to model futures commodity prices using a statistical field theory of futures commodity prices. The futures prices are modeled as a two dimensional statistical field and a nonlinear Lagrangian is postulated. Empirical studies provide clear evidence in support of the model, with many nontrivial features of the model finding unexpected support from market data.

  2. 78 FR 34313 - Funding Opportunity Title: Risk Management Education Partnerships Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-07

    ... accordance with USDA procedures or recognized good farming practices applicable specific crop and regions... College Students who are preparing careers in agriculture; Record Keeping practices; Farm Benchmarking for production and financial management; Commodity Contracting and Hedging methods; Marketing Strategies to...

  3. Support of the landscape amenity function of agriculture and trade liberalisation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Kubíčková

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent agricultural policy and trade discussions have given increasing attention to “multifunctionality”, the notion, that agriculture provides multiple outputs that include public goods (such as landscape amenities as well as privately traded commodities. A frequent point of contention is also whether payment for the provision of non-commodity outputs distorts trade by giving domestic farmers a competitive advantage over foreign competitors. The paper reviews some requirements for environmental policy design and the role of property rights for the justification of the development of compensation programs targeted to landscape protection. The second part of the paper illustrates the possibilities, how to use results of Contingent Valuation (CV study of landscape amenity benefits of agriculture to prove eligibility for agri-environmental payments in the case of the Protected Landscape Area White Carpathians (Bílé Karpaty. It is documented in the paper, that Contingent Valuation can provide useful information about genuine concern and overall efficiency of compensation programs as well as people’s views about alternative ethical ends, besides human well-being, that policy makers should take in consideration.

  4. Irradiation of Northwest agricultural products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eakin, D.E.; Tingey, G.L.; Anderson, D.B.; Hungate, F.P.

    1985-01-01

    Irradiation of food for disinfestation and preservation is increasing in importance because of increasing resrictions on various chemical treatments. Irradiation treatment is of particular interest in the Northwest because of a growing supply of agricultural products and the need to develop new export markets. Several products have, or could potentially have, significant export markets if stringent insect control procedures are developed and followed. Due to the recognized potential benefits of irradiation, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting this program to evaluate the benefits of using irradiation on Northwest agricultural products under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Defense Byproducts Production and Utilization Program. Commodities currently included in the program are cherries, apples, asparagus, spices, hay, and hides

  5. Irradiation of Northwest agricultural products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eakin, D.E.; Tingey, G.L.

    1985-02-01

    Irradiation of food for disinfestation and preservation is increasing in importance because of increasing restrictions on various chemical treatments. Irradiation treatment is of particular interest in the Northwest because of a growing supply of agricultural products and the need to develop new export markets. Several products have, or could potentially have, significant export markets if stringent insect control procedures are developed and followed. Due to the recognized potential benefits of irradiation, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting this program to evaluate the benefits of using irradiation on Northwest agricultural products under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Defense Byproducts Production and Utilization Program. Commodities currently included in the program are cherries, apples, asparagus, spices, hay, and hides

  6. Vehicle efficiency and agriculture transport in Ghana

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delaquis, M.R.

    1993-01-01

    The vehicle operating cost (VOC) associated with the transportation of agricultural commodities in Ghana is studied, using the Kumasi and Ashanti region as a case study. The present state of the agriculture sector is described in terms of three interactive systems: the transport system, the agriculture system, and the flow pattern of vehicles and commodities. A survey is used as an information base to construct a total operating cost (TOC) model based on average actual operating conditions. The TOC model is expanded to include costs under three theoretical operating conditions: enforced loading, maximum vehicle utilization, and increased fuel efficiency. Three options identified as potentially beneficial to the transport industry and the Ghanian economy are presented and evaluated: using larger vehicles, maximizing vehicle utilization, and increasing fuel economy. The effects of implementation on the parties involved (producers, transport owners and operators, transport organizations and government) are taken into account. It is recommended that the Ghanian government institute the following programs and policies: enforce registered loading allowance; encourage higher vehicle utilization by controlling the number of vehicles registered and ensuring adequate service; and encourage use of larger vehicles. The benefits of using foreign aid to effect fleet and operational changes rather than focusing on capital-intensive infrastructure improvements to improve transport efficiency are recommended. 30 refs., 28 figs., 23 tabs

  7. Expected commodity returns and pricing models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cortazar, Gonzalo; Kovacevic, Ivo; Schwartz, Eduardo S.

    2015-01-01

    Stochastic models of commodity prices have evolved considerably in terms of their structure and the number and interpretation of the state variables that model the underlying risk. Using multiple factors, different specifications and modern estimation techniques, these models have gained wide acceptance because of their success in accurately fitting the observed commodity futures' term structures and their dynamics. It is not well emphasized however that these models, in addition to providing the risk neutral distribution of future spot prices, also provide their true distribution. While the parameters of the risk neutral distribution are estimated more precisely and are usually statistically significant, some of the parameters of the true distribution are typically measured with large errors and are statistically insignificant. In this paper we argue that to increase the reliability of commodity pricing models, and therefore their use by practitioners, some of their parameters — in particular the risk premium parameters — should be obtained from other sources and we show that this can be done without losing any precision in the pricing of futures contracts. We show how the risk premium parameters can be obtained from estimations of expected futures returns and provide alternative procedures for estimating these expected futures returns. - Highlights: • Simple methodology to improve the performance of commodity pricing models • New information about commodity futures expected return is added to the estimation. • No significant effect in pricing futures contracts is observed. • More reliable commodity pricing model's expected returns are obtained. • Methodology is open to any expected futures return model preferred by practitioner

  8. COMMODITY MARKET REGULATION: EXPORTING COUNTRIES VERSUS IMPORTING COUNTRIES

    OpenAIRE

    Souza, Leonardo Silveira

    2012-01-01

    The high in commodity prices in the international market in the last decade, tensions escalated between exporting and importing commodities countries, the extent of having their demands and pressures discussed in the main international organizations, especially in the G20. As altas nas cotações das commodities no mercado internacional na última década acirraram as tensões entre países exportadores e importadores de commodities, a ponto de terem suas reivindicações e pressões debatidas no...

  9. Price generating process and volatility in the Nigerian agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined the price generating process and volatility of Nigerian agricultural commodities market using secondary data for price series on meat, cereals, sugar, dairy and food for the period of January 1990 to February 2014. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive ...

  10. A two-commodity perishable inventory system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Sivakumar

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a two-commodity perishable stochastic inventory system under continuous review at a service facility with a finite waiting room. The maximum storage capacity for the i–th item is fixed as Si (i = 1, 2. We assume that a demand for the i–th commodity is of unit size. The arrival instants of customers to the service station constitutes a Poisson process with parameter lambda. The customer demands for these commodities are assumed to be in the ratio p1:p2. An individual customer is issued a demanded item after a random time of service with a negative exponential distribution. The items are perishable in nature and the life time of items of each commodity is assumed to be exponentially distributed. Both commodities are supposed to be substitutable in the sense that at the instant of any zero-stock, the other item may be used to meet the demand. A joint reordering policy is adopted with a random lead time for orders with exponential distribution. The joint probability distribution of the number of customers in the system and the inventory levels are obtained in both the transient and steady states. We also derive some stationary performance measures. The results are illustrated by means of a numerical example.

  11. Trends and prospects of international major commodity prices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cartas

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Trends and prospects of international major commodity prices. In 2012, the international commodity markets have seen declining prices, especially during the first half of the year, with some improvement mainly in the last quarter. On the whole, most of major commodity prices declined, following generally weaker demand and the uncertain global economic situation. The short term outlook shows broad declines of prices for all major commodity groups, including oil and excepting metal prices, which are expected to be sustained by the global economic recovery and increasing demand, mainly in China. This country represents a major player, with a great contribution to the movement of prices on most of international commodity markets, as she has a great role in the world consumption and trade of commodities, as well as in the world production of some of these goods, on the one hand, and enjoys huge financial resources, on the other.

  12. Trading forests: land-use change and carbon emissions embodied in production and exports of forest-risk commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henders, Sabine; Persson, U. Martin; Kastner, Thomas

    2015-12-01

    Production of commercial agricultural commodities for domestic and foreign markets is increasingly driving land clearing in tropical regions, creating links and feedback effects between geographically separated consumption and production locations. Such teleconnections are commonly studied through calculating consumption footprints and quantifying environmental impacts embodied in trade flows, e.g., virtual water and land, biomass, or greenhouse gas emissions. The extent to which land-use change (LUC) and associated carbon emissions are embodied in the production and export of agricultural commodities has been less studied. Here we quantify tropical deforestation area and carbon emissions from LUC induced by the production and the export of four commodities (beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products) in seven countries with high deforestation rates (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea). We show that in the period 2000-2011, the production of the four analyzed commodities in our seven case countries was responsible for 40% of total tropical deforestation and resulting carbon losses. Over a third of these impacts was embodied in exports in 2011, up from a fifth in 2000. This trend highlights the growing influence of global markets in deforestation dynamics. Main flows of embodied LUC are Latin American beef and soybean exports to markets in Europe, China, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas embodied emission flows are dominated by Southeast Asian exports of palm oil and wood products to consumers in China, India and the rest of Asia, as well as to the European Union. Our findings illustrate the growing role that global consumers play in tropical LUC trajectories and highlight the need for demand-side policies covering whole supply chains. We also discuss the limitations of such demand-side measures and call for a combination of supply- and demand-side policies to effectively limit tropical

  13. Trading forests: land-use change and carbon emissions embodied in production and exports of forest-risk commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henders, Sabine; Persson, U Martin; Kastner, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Production of commercial agricultural commodities for domestic and foreign markets is increasingly driving land clearing in tropical regions, creating links and feedback effects between geographically separated consumption and production locations. Such teleconnections are commonly studied through calculating consumption footprints and quantifying environmental impacts embodied in trade flows, e.g., virtual water and land, biomass, or greenhouse gas emissions. The extent to which land-use change (LUC) and associated carbon emissions are embodied in the production and export of agricultural commodities has been less studied. Here we quantify tropical deforestation area and carbon emissions from LUC induced by the production and the export of four commodities (beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products) in seven countries with high deforestation rates (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea). We show that in the period 2000–2011, the production of the four analyzed commodities in our seven case countries was responsible for 40% of total tropical deforestation and resulting carbon losses. Over a third of these impacts was embodied in exports in 2011, up from a fifth in 2000. This trend highlights the growing influence of global markets in deforestation dynamics. Main flows of embodied LUC are Latin American beef and soybean exports to markets in Europe, China, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas embodied emission flows are dominated by Southeast Asian exports of palm oil and wood products to consumers in China, India and the rest of Asia, as well as to the European Union. Our findings illustrate the growing role that global consumers play in tropical LUC trajectories and highlight the need for demand-side policies covering whole supply chains. We also discuss the limitations of such demand-side measures and call for a combination of supply- and demand-side policies to effectively limit

  14. Factor Structure in Commodity Futures Return and Volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Peter; Lunde, Asger; Olesen, Kasper Vinther

    -2010 but have since returned to the pre-crisis level close to zero. The common factor in commodity volatility is nevertheless clearly related to stock market volatility. We conclude that, while commodity markets appear to again be segmented from the equity market when only returns are considered, commodity...

  15. The stochastic seasonal behavior of energy commodity convenience yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirantes, Andrés García; Población, Javier; Serna, Gregorio

    2013-01-01

    This paper contributes to the commodity pricing literature by consistently modeling the convenience yield with its empirically observed properties. Specifically, in this paper, we show how a four-factor model for the stochastic behavior of commodity prices, with two long- and short-term factors and two additional seasonal factors, may accommodate some of the most important empirically observed characteristics of commodity convenience yields, such as the mean reversion and stochastic seasonality. Based on this evidence, a theoretical model is presented and estimated to characterize the commodity convenience yield dynamics that are consistent with previous findings. We also show that commodity price seasonality is better estimated through convenience yields than through futures prices. - Highlights: • Energy commodity convenience yields exhibit mean reversion and stochastic seasonality. • We present a model for convenience yields accounting for their observed characteristics. • Commodity price seasonality is better estimated through convenience yields

  16. 17 CFR 32.9 - Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions. 32.9 Section 32.9 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 32.9 Fraud in connection with commodity...

  17. How Macroecomic Factors Influence the Commodity Market in the Financialization Period: The Case of S & P GSCI Commodity Index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamil Smolík

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In connection to the process of financialization of commodity markets which is caused by the sharp increase of money flowing into the commodity markets, the question of which factors affect commodity and commodity indices prices is discussed. In this article, the importance of chosen macroeconomic determinants to the price variability of one of the most important commodity indexes S & P GSCI by using the Boosted Trees method is quantified. The results obtained in the research show that changes in the monthly values of macroeconomic determinants reflect and can, according to the model used, explain the volatility of the monthly average index S & P GSCI Total Return to more than 75%. The most important macroeconomic determinants proved to be Nominal Effective Exchange Rate of USD or US – Short-term interest rates.

  18. Innovations in urban agriculture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schans, van der J.W.; Renting, Henk; Veenhuizen, Van René

    2014-01-01

    This issuehighlights innovations in urban agriculture. Innovation and the various forms of innovations are of particular importance because urban agriculture is adapted to specific urban challenges and opportunities. Innovation is taking place continuously, exploring the multiple fundions of urban

  19. 22 CFR 201.63 - Maximum prices for commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... actually incurred in moving the commodities supplied from the point of purchase to a position alongside or... between those points. (g) Commodity price subject to escalation. If a purchase contract contains a price.... prevailing market price—U.S. source. The purchase price for a commodity, the source of which is the United...

  20. Biofuel and Food-Commodity Prices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Zilberman

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper summarizes key findings of alternative lines of research on the relationship between food and fuel markets, and identifies gaps between two bodies of literature: one that investigates the relationship between food and fuel prices, and another that investigates the impact of the introduction of biofuels on commodity-food prices. The former body of literature suggests that biofuel prices do not affect food-commodity prices, but the latter suggests it does. We try to explain this gap, and then show that although biofuel was an important contributor to the recent food-price inflation of 2001–2008, its effect on food-commodity prices declined after the recession of 2008/09. We also show that the introduction of cross-price elasticity is important when explaining soybean price, but less so when explaining corn prices.

  1. Maximizing Amazonia's Ecosystem Services: Juggling the potential for carbon storage, agricultural yield and biodiversity in the Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, C. S.; Foley, J. A.; Gerber, J. S.; Polasky, S.

    2011-12-01

    The Amazon is not only an exceptionally biodiverse and carbon-rich tract of tropical forest, it is also a case study in land use change. Over the next forty years it will continue to experience pressure from an urbanizing and increasingly affluent populace: under a business-as-usual scenario, global cropland, pasture and biofuels systems will carry on expanding, while the Amazon's carbon storage potential will likely become another viable revenue source under REDD+. Balancing those competing land use pressures ought also take into account Amazonia's high - but heterogeneous - biodiversity. Knowing where Amazonia has opportunities to make efficient or optimal trade offs between carbon storage, agricultural production and biodiversity can allow policymakers to direct or influence LUC drivers. This analysis uses a spatially-explicit model that takes climate and management into account to quantify the potential agricultural yield of both the Amazon's most important agricultural commodities - sugar, soy and maize - as well as several that are going to come into increasing prominence, including palm oil. In addition, it maps the potential for carbon to be stored in forest biomass and relative species richness across Amazonia. We then compare carbon storage, agricultural yield and species richness and identify areas where efficient trade offs occur between food, carbon, and biodiversity - three critical ecosystem goods and services provided by the world's largest tropical forest.

  2. Multifractal spectrum analysis of nonlinear dynamical mechanisms in China’s agricultural futures markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shu-Peng; He, Ling-Yun

    2010-04-01

    Based on Partition Function and Multifractal Spectrum Analysis, we investigated the nonlinear dynamical mechanisms in China’s agricultural futures markets, namely, Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE for short) and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE for short), where nearly all agricultural futures contracts are traded in the two markets. Firstly, we found nontrivial multifractal spectra, which are the empirical evidence of the existence of multifractal features, in 4 representative futures markets in China, that is, Hard Winter wheat (HW for short) and Strong Gluten wheat (SG for short) futures markets from ZCE and Soy Meal (SM for short) futures and Soy Bean No.1 (SB for short) futures markets from DCE. Secondly, by shuffling the original time series, we destroyed the underlying nonlinear temporal correlation; thus, we identified that long-range correlation mechanism constitutes major contributions in the formation in the multifractals of the markets. Thirdly, by tracking the evolution of left- and right-half spectra, we found that there exist critical points, between which there are different behaviors, in the left-half spectra for large price fluctuations; but for the right-hand spectra for small price fluctuations, the width of those increases slowly as the delay t increases in the long run. Finally, the dynamics of large fluctuations is significantly different from that of the small ones, which implies that there exist different underlying mechanisms in the formation of multifractality in the markets. Our main contributions focus on that we not only provided empirical evidence of the existence of multifractal features in China agricultural commodity futures markets; but also we pioneered in investigating the sources of the multifractality in China’s agricultural futures markets in current literature; furthermore, we investigated the nonlinear dynamical mechanisms based on spectrum analysis, which offers us insights into the underlying dynamical mechanisms in

  3. 17 CFR 1.54 - Contract market rules submitted to and approved or not disapproved by the Secretary of Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... submitted to and approved or not disapproved by the Secretary of Agriculture. 1.54 Section 1.54 Commodity... Secretary of Agriculture. Notwithstanding any provision of these rules, any bylaw, rule, regulation, or resolution of a contract market that was submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant or § 1.38(a) or...

  4. Managing commodity markets: the case of OPEC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salman, R.; Ferroukhi, R.

    1993-01-01

    Since primary commodity producers first took control of their natural resources, they have attempted to utilize production/price management with varying degrees of success. As a tool aimed at regulating, rather than controlling, commodity markets, this type of resource management is an essential means of achieving realistic economic returns, which, in the long run, serves the interests of the producer of the commodity in question, as well as its consumer. By regulating commodity markets in times of stable prices producing countries would benefit from a steady and constant level of export earnings, thus allowing them to achieve a sustainable level of economic development. As far as the oil market is concerned, stable prices, set in a range favourable to both producers and consumers, would give investors the confidence needed for long-term exploration. This is particularly important for a commodity such as oil, at a time when the lead time between exploration starting and actual production getting under way is increasing. Not only would producers benefit from stable export earnings, which are an essential requirement for the planning of their development process, but consuming countries would at the same time benefit in two ways: first, they would gain security of supply; and second, as fluctuations in their expenditure for this commodity are reduced, they would be a position to manage their economies more efficiently. (author)

  5. Portfolio Diversification with Commodities in Times of Financialization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Zaremba

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The study concentrates on the benefits of passive commodity investments in the context of the phenomenon of financialization. The research investigates the implications of increase in the correlation coefficients between equity and commodity investments for investors in financial markets. The paper is composed of several parts. First, the attributes of commodity investments and their benefits in the portfolio optimization are explored. Second, the phenomenon of the financialization is described and the research hypothesis is developed. Next, an empirical analysis is performed. I simulate the mean-variance spanning tests to examine the benefits of commodity investments before and after accounting for the impact of financialization. I proceed separate analysis for pre- and post-financialization period. The empirical research is based on asset classes’ returns and other related variables from years 1991-2012. The performed investigations indicate that the market financialization may have significant implications for commodity investors. Due to increase in correlation coefficients, the inclusion of the commodity futures in the traditional stock-bond portfolio appears to be no longer reasonable.

  6. Creating opportunities for women in agriculture | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2016-06-22

    Jun 22, 2016 ... Learning financial skills through involvement in an urban farming cooperative ... Farmers' Organizational and Marketing Skills (Middle East and North Africa). ... the Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security.

  7. 7 CFR 18.3 - Development and adoption of equal employment opportunity programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Development and adoption of equal employment opportunity programs. 18.3 Section 18.3 Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY IN THE STATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES § 18.3 Development and adoption of equal employment opportunity programs. (a) Submission....

  8. Multiscale analysis of deforestation risk due to commodity crop expansion in sub-Saharan Africa and the role of non-industrial producers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordway, E.; Asner, G. P.; Naylor, R. L.; Nkongho, R.; Lambin, E.

    2017-12-01

    Rapid integration of global agricultural markets and subsequent cropland displacement in recent decades increased large-scale tropical deforestation in South America and Southeast Asia. Growing land scarcity and more stringent land use regulations in these regions could incentivize the offshoring of export-oriented commodity crop production to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We assess the effects of domestic- and export-oriented agricultural expansion on deforestation in SSA in recent decades at the global, regional and local scales. Using Cameroon as a case-study, we explore the influence of emerging oil palm expansion on deforestation in greater depth. We found that commodity crops are expanding in SSA, increasing pressure on tropical forests. Four Congo Basin countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire were most at risk in terms of exposure, vulnerability and pressures from agricultural expansion. These countries averaged the highest percent forest cover (58% ±17.9) and lowest proportions of potentially available cropland outside forest areas (1% ±0.9). Foreign investment in these countries was concentrated in oil palm production (81%), with a median investment area of 41,582 thousand ha. Based on remote sensing and field survey results, however, medium- and large-scale non-industrial producers are driving a substantial fraction of the oil palm expansion leading to deforestation in Cameroon. Additionally, unlike Southeast Asia, oil palm expansion in sub-Saharan Africa is associated primarily with domestic market demands. In contrast, cocoa, the fastest expanding export-oriented crop across SSA, accounted for 57% of global expansion in 2000-2013 at a rate of 132 thousand ha yr-1, yet only amounted to 0.9% of foreign land investment. Commodity crop expansion in SSA appears largely driven by small- and medium-scale farmers rather than industrial plantations. Findings highlight that, although most agricultural expansion was associated with domestic demand, there

  9. The Challenges of Agricultural Finance in Nigeria: Constraints to Sustainable Agricultural and Economic Revival

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FAMOGBIELE Akinola

    2013-07-01

    Using mainly, the secondary data sourced from the reports of these institutions, the CBN, journals, interviews and presentations of various stakeholders, the study concluded that though important as a factor of production, finance per se, cannot work in isolation of other factors to successfully achieve the much expected result in agricultural sector. These identified factors include among others, policy inconsistency and somersaults, absence of commodities marketing and pricing institutions, lack of effective and adequate storage, inadequate insurance coverage and more importantly, corruption.

  10. Organized Retailing of Horticultural Commodities

    OpenAIRE

    Sinha, Piyush Kumar; Thomas, Sujo

    2012-01-01

    Owing to rapid urbanization and changing consumption patterns, more and more retailers are trying to put their best efforts to discover new avenues of success when it comes to the sales of horticultural commodities. There are several Indian companies as well as foreign companies who have been focusing all their energies to succeed in the organized retail sector of Indian horticulture commodities. The Indian retail industry is worth $470 million and organized retail stands at $26 million which...

  11. Influence of rising commodity prices on energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keppo, I.J.

    2009-04-01

    During the past few years we have first witnessed a rapid increase in the prices of commodities and then later, as a consequence of the economic downturn, an even more drastic drop. Simultaneously with the commodity price increase, an increase in the investment costs of power plants was experienced. The rise in material costs was often stated as one of the reasons for this increase. In this study the relationship between commodity costs and energy prices is studied. A bottom-up approach is used for estimating what kind of an impact increased commodity prices alone could be expected to have on the investment costs on the one hand, and how increased energy prices may affect commodity production costs on the other. The results indicate that although the commodity production costs usually have a fairly large energy component, even high increases in commodity prices, and therefore raw material costs of power plant investments, can not explain the recently experienced hikes in power plant investment costs; a doubling of the costs of the main raw material flows could explain an investment cost increase of some 5-10%, depending on the power plant type. This would seem to indicate that other contributing factors, such as bottlenecks in the production of power plant components, may play an important role in the recent investment cost increase

  12. Mineral commodity summaries 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2013-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2013 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2012 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses. For mineral commodities for which there is a Government stockpile, detailed information concerning the stockpile status is included in the two-page synopsis. Abbreviations and units of measure, and definitions of selected terms used in the report, are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. “Appendix C—Reserves and Resources” includes “Part A—Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals” and “Part B—Sources of Reserves Data.” A directory of USGS minerals information country specialists and their responsibilities is Appendix D. The USGS continually strives to improve the value of its publications to users. Constructive comments and suggestions by readers of the MCS 2013 are welcomed.

  13. Mineral commodity summaries 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    2014-01-01

    Each chapter of the 2014 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest comprehensive source of 2013 mineral production data for the world. More than 90 individual minerals and materials are covered by two-page synopses. For mineral commodities for which there is a Government stockpile, detailed information concerning the stockpile status is included in the two-page synopsis. Abbreviations and units of measure, and definitions of selected terms used in the report, are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. “Appendix C—Reserves and Resources” includes “Part A—Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals” and “Part B—Sources of Reserves Data.” A directory of USGS minerals information country specialists and their responsibilities is Appendix D. The USGS continually strives to improve the value of its publications to users. Constructive comments and suggestions by readers of the MCS 2014 are welcomed.

  14. HOW JOBS IN AGRICULTURE AND HANDICRAFT HAVE OPPORTUNITIES IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ni Made Ary Widiastini

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to describe a tourism industry which needs a variety of tourism products with an implication on the emergence of various forms of business opportunities with large, medium and small scales. The presence of a variety of tourists’ needs have caused a variety of tourism products too. Agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicraft which are needed by tourists are sectors which need a lot of workers as producers, distributors and sellers. In the study reported in the present paper is shown that the agricultural products of Bali cannot only be used as agro-tourism, but whose products can also be processed to become a variety of handicrafts. Similarly, animal husbandry which Balinese community people have focused on produces products that can be offered in a culinary tourism in which they are processed by using Balinese ingredients and offered in an appropriate wrapping which suits the market needs, while the specificity of Balinese culture has been able to produce a variety of forms of handicrafts the local and foreign tourists love. Through developments in the three sectors above, if the people can focus their attention on them and if the government can accommodate it that will be able to be used as an alternative solution to the national economy.  Although in their actions they can only serve as sellers, as what has been the focus of street vendors, they actually act as safety valve of the government in overcoming unemployment problems and economic problems for themselves and their families. For this reason, it is expected that the government gives them a more conducive condition for the improvement of economy to be made starting from the family level, as part of the state of Indonesia.

  15. Exploring Agricultural and Biotechnical Engineering through Hands-On Integrated STEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preble, Brian C.

    2015-01-01

    The manipulation of the natural world in the form of plant materials to design, control, and grow desirable agricultural commodities was central to the establishment and advancement of civilization. Modern developments in genetically modified organisms (GMOs or biologically engineered foods) can trace their origins to macro practices developed and…

  16. Portfolio Diversification with Commodity Futures: Properties of Levered Futures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woodard, J.D.; Egelkraut, T.M.; Garcia, P.; Pennings, J.M.E.

    2005-01-01

    Portfolio Diversification with Commodity Futures: Properties of Levered Futures This study extends previous work on the impact of commodity futures on portfolio performance by explicitly incorporating levered futures into the portfolio optimization problem. Using data on nine individual commodity

  17. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service overview for operational monitoring of current crop conditions and production forecasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crutchfield, J.

    2016-12-01

    The presentation will discuss the current status of the International Production Assessment Division of the USDA ForeignAgricultural Service for operational monitoring and forecasting of current crop conditions, and anticipated productionchanges to produce monthly, multi-source consensus reports on global crop conditions including the use of Earthobservations (EO) from satellite and in situ sources.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) International Production AssessmentDivision (IPAD) deals exclusively with global crop production forecasting and agricultural analysis in support of the USDAWorld Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) lockup process and contributions to the World Agricultural Supply DemandEstimates (WASE) report. Analysts are responsible for discrete regions or countries and conduct in-depth long-termresearch into national agricultural statistics, farming systems, climatic, environmental, and economic factors affectingcrop production. IPAD analysts become highly valued cross-commodity specialists over time, and are routinely soughtout for specialized analyses to support governmental studies. IPAD is responsible for grain, oilseed, and cotton analysison a global basis. IPAD is unique in the tools it uses to analyze crop conditions around the world, including customweather analysis software and databases, satellite imagery and value-added image interpretation products. It alsoincorporates all traditional agricultural intelligence resources into its forecasting program, to make the fullest use ofavailable information in its operational commodity forecasts and analysis. International travel and training play animportant role in learning about foreign agricultural production systems and in developing analyst knowledge andcapabilities.

  18. 17 CFR 33.10 - Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fraud in connection with commodity option transactions. 33.10 Section 33.10 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REGULATION OF DOMESTIC EXCHANGE-TRADED COMMODITY OPTION TRANSACTIONS § 33.10 Fraud in...

  19. Modeling agricultural commodity prices and volatility in response to anticipated climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobell, D. B.; Tran, N.; Welch, J.; Roberts, M.; Schlenker, W.

    2012-12-01

    Food prices have shown a positive trend in the past decade, with episodes of rapid increases in 2008 and 2011. These increases pose a threat to food security in many regions of the world, where the poor are generally net consumers of food, and are also thought to increase risks of social and political unrest. The role of global warming in these price reversals have been debated, but little quantitative work has been done. A particular challenge in modeling these effects is that they require understanding links between climate and food supply, as well as between food supply and prices. Here we combine the anticipated effects of climate change on yield levels and volatility with an empirical competitive storage model to examine how expected climate change might affect prices and social welfare in the international food commodity market. We show that price level and volatility do increase over time in response to decreasing yield, and increasing yield variability. Land supply and storage demand both increase, but production and consumption continue to fall leading to a decrease in consumer surplus, and a corresponding though smaller increase in producer surplus.

  20. 17 CFR 4.14 - Exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... a commodity trading advisor. 4.14 Section 4.14 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions § 4.14 Exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor. This section is...

  1. Perceived damage and areas of needed research for wildlife pests of California agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Roger A; Salmon, Terrell P; Schmidt, Robert H; Timm, Robert M

    2014-06-01

    Many wildlife species cause extensive damage to a variety of agricultural commodities in California, with estimates of damage in the hundreds of millions annually. Given the limited availability of resources to solve all human-wildlife conflicts, we should focus management efforts on issues that provide the greatest benefit to agricultural commodities in California. This survey provides quantitative data on research needs to better guide future efforts in developing more effective, practical and appropriate methods for managing these species. We found that ground squirrels, pocket gophers, birds, wild pigs, coyotes and voles were the most common agricultural wildlife pest species in California. The damage caused by these species could be quite high, but varied by agricultural commodity. For most species, common forms of damage included loss of crop production and direct death of the plant, although livestock depredation was the greatest concern for coyotes. Control methods used most frequently and those deemed most effective varied by pest species, although greater advancements in control methods were listed as a top research priority for all species. Collectively, the use of toxicants, biocontrol and trapping were the most preferred methods for control, but this varied by species. In general, integrated pest management practices were used to control wildlife pests, with a special preference for those approaches that were efficacious and quick and inexpensive to apply. This information and survey design should be useful in establishing research and management priorities for wildlife pest species in California and other similar regions. © 2013 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  2. The use of importance and performance analysis (IPA) to evaluate effectiveness of the forward auction market agro commodities: A case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wulansari, Dwi Ratna; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Hisjam, Muh.

    2018-02-01

    The empowering auction market for commodities in East Java Province is one of five auction market revitalization programs conducted by the Republic of Indonesia c.q. Ministry of Trading started in 2014. One of the districts in East Java Province, namely Magetan District utilizes the commodity auction market to improve the competitiveness of their agricultural industry by shortening the supply chain. The Magetan District needs to evaluate their support for farmers or farmer groups to participate in the forward auction market (FAM). Implementation of the FAM commodities is divided into three main processes, namely pre-auction, auction, and post-auction. The auction market is organized to shorten the trading chain. Implementation of the FAM requires good planning, among Seller (namely Farmer or Farmer Group), organizer of Auction (namely Commodity Auction Company), Buyer, and Local Government (namely the farmer facilitator). This article is aimed to develop the instrument of a Performance Measurement Model Using Important and Performance Analysis (IPA) for Improving the FAM Effectiveness of Agro Commodity from Magetan District with Supply Chain Management approach. IPA is implemented at pre-auction, auction, and post-auction. The IPA model results in the diagram to decide the strategies in improving the FAM effectiveness, and then it can encourage farmers to improve welfare and realize the competitiveness of the auctioneer.

  3. China's Biotech Policies and Their Impacts on U.S. Agricultural Exports to China

    OpenAIRE

    Song, Baohui; Marchant, Mary A.

    2006-01-01

    China is a key player in global agricultural markets, and the number one importer of U.S. soybeans and cotton, whereby soybeans and cotton are two of the main biotech commodities commercialized in the United States. As of 2005, 87% of soybeans and 79% of cotton planted in the U.S. were biotech. Thus, changes in China's biotech policies may have a significant impact on U.S. biotech commodity exports to China. An understanding of the evolution of China's biotech regulations and factors that may...

  4. Equity in Whom Gets Studied: A Systematic Review Examining Geographical Region, Gender, Commodity, and Employment Context in Research of Low Back Disorders in Farmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trask, Catherine; Khan, Muhammad Idress; Adebayo, Olugbenga; Boden, Catherine; Bath, Brenna

    2015-01-01

    Farmers are at high risk of having low back disorders (LBDs). Agriculture employs half the global workforce, but it is unclear whether all farming populations are represented equitably in the LBD literature. This systematic review quantifies the number and quality of research studies by geographical region, agricultural commodity, and farmer characteristics. MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, and Embase databases were searched using conceptual groups of search terms: "farming" and "LBD." Screening and extraction were performed by two researchers in parallel, then reconciled through discussion. Extracted study characteristics included location of study; commodity produced; worker sex, ethnicity, and migration status; type of employment; and study quality. These were compared with agricultural employment statistics from the International Labour Organization and World Bank. From 125 articles, roughly half (67) did not specify the employment context of the participants in terms of migration status or subsistence versus commercial farming. Although in many regions worldwide women make up the bulk of the workforce, only a minority of low back disorder studies focus on women. Despite the predominance of the agricultural workforce in developing nations, 91% of included studies were conducted in developed nations. There was no significant difference in study quality by geographic region. The nature of the world's agricultural workforce is poorly represented by the literature when it comes to LBD research. If developing nations, female sex, and migrant work are related to increased vulnerability, then these groups need more representation to achieve equitable occupational health study.

  5. Modeling Multi-commodity Trade Information Exchange Methods

    CERN Document Server

    Traczyk, Tomasz

    2012-01-01

    Market mechanisms are entering into new fields of economy, in which some constraints of physical world, e.g. Kirchoffs Law in power grid, must be taken into account during trading. On such markets, some of commodities, like telecommunication bandwidth or electrical energy, appear to be non-storable, and must be exchanged in real-time. On the other hand, the markets tend to react at shortest possible time, so an idea to delegate some competency to autonomous software agents is very attractive. Multi-commodity mechanism addresses the aforementioned requirements. Modeling the relationships between the commodities allows to formulate new, more sophisticated models and mechanisms, which reflect decision situations in a better manner. Application of multi-commodity approach requires solving several issues related to data modeling, communication, semantics aspects of communication, reliability, etc. This book answers some of the questions and points out promising paths for implementation and development. Presented s...

  6. Telecommunications: international opportunities for power utilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, A. [Teleglobe Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

    1996-08-01

    International telecommunications services markets and trends were reviewed in an effort to identify business opportunities for Canadian power utilities. With increasing deregulation in the U.S. and Canada, and other countries around the globe, market opportunities are beginning to open up. In monopoly markets opportunities exist in providing dual infrastructures to upgrade both the power delivery services (frequently poor), and telecommunications. Billing, collection and customer service expertise might be other marketable commodities, perhaps packaged as part of a network provision project as a service to existing power and telecommunications service providers. In countries with directed competition markets local partnerships may be the only vehicle for entering the market. In managed competition markets opportunities were said to exist in cellular radio technology, as well as in switched telephone service, local, long distance, or international. In general, opportunities outside telecommunications-rich North America were considered to have better potential, due to rapid deregulation and higher current growth rates in telecommunications. Careful examination and research of the political and business environment prior to entering any of the potentially fertile areas was advised.

  7. Do Exchange Rates Really Help Forecasting Commodity Prices?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bork, Lasse; Kaltwasser, Pablo Rovira; Sercu, Piet

    Chen et al. (2010) report that for ‘commodity currencies’, the exchange rate predicts the country’s commodity index but not vice versa. The commodity currency hypothesis is consistent with the Engle and West (2005) exchange rate model if the fundamental is chosen to be the country’s key export...... expectations, one should mostly observe contemporaneous correlations, not one-directional cross-predictability from one variable toward the other. Using three different data sets and various econometric techniques, we do find the contemporaneous correlations as predicted by the financial asset view......-averaged prices in the commodity index data that they use (price averaging induces spurious autocorrelation and predictability) and to features in their test procedures....

  8. The Gender and Equity Implications of Land-Related Investments on Labour and Income-Generating Opportunities. A Case Study of Agricultural Investments in Lao PDR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E. Daley (Elizabeth); M Osorio (Martha); C.M.Y. Park (Clara)

    2013-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Concerns about the potential gender and equity implications of land-related investments on labour and income-generating opportunities and access, use and control of land come in the context of the current global policy interest in supporting agricultural investment

  9. 75 FR 8909 - Funding Opportunity Title: Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-26

    ... agreement program is to deliver training and information in management of production, marketing, and... ``* * * producers will be better able to use financial management, crop insurance, marketing contracts, and other... to use financial management, crop insurance, marketing contracts, and other existing and emerging...

  10. 7 CFR 1427.22 - Commodity certificate exchanges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodity certificate for the marketing assistance loan collateral. This provision terminates effective... exchange the marketing assistance loan collateral, and (3) Immediately exchanging the purchased commodity certificate for the outstanding loan collateral. [67 FR 64459, Oct. 18, 2002, as amended at 73 FR 65722, Nov...

  11. Bitcoin: not a currency-like informational commodity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergstra, J.A.

    2014-01-01

    Six assertions concerning the status of Bitcoin are formulated and defended: (i) Bitcoin is not and will not become a currency-like informational commodity, (ii) currency-like informational commodities that aren’t currencies must be frauds, (ii) specific BTC amounts may become monetized and thus may

  12. Eco-efficient Agriculture: Concepts, Challenges, and Opportunities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keating, B.A.; Carberry, P.S.; Bindraban, P.S.; Asseng, S.; Meinke, H.B.; Dixon, J.

    2010-01-01

    Eco-efficiency in the simplest of terms is about achieving more with less—more agricultural outputs, in terms of quantity and quality, for less input of land, water, nutrients, energy, labor, or capital. The concept of eco-efficiency encompasses both the ecological and economic dimensions of

  13. The energy saving possibilities of CDS (Commodity Services System) for large-scale consumers. Calculating and combining for an ideal mix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Gelder, J.W.

    1999-01-01

    Gasunie's new price scheme, the Commodity Services Sector (CDS), will soon apply to all large-scale consumers. Although the scheme is complicated, it does offer various opportunities to reduce the gas bill. The natural gas price was determined solely by volume, whereas the costs largely depend on the services rendered to the customer such as transmission and capacity. The logical solution is thus to charge the customer separately for the gas and the services. In the future, the gas bill will therefore comprise three elements: commodity (gas), capacity and transmission. As far as capacity is concerned, the user can choose between base capacity, additional capacity, incidental capacity and hourly capacity, depending on the natural gas consumption pattern

  14. Trade liberalization and state support of agriculture: effects for developing countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erokhin, V.; Ivolga, A.; Heijman, W.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    The paper aims at the overview of the main approaches of state support implemented by developed and developing countries and the assessment of their distorting influences on the trade with agricultural commodities. The current state of state support is analyzed on the examples of EU-27, the USA and

  15. Water : a commodity or resource?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pomeroy, G.

    2003-01-01

    Over the past several years, natural gas demand has increased significantly, as it is seen as an environmentally friendly, convenient and cost effective fuel. As a result, Alberta should experience the development of a sustainable resource in the form of natural gas from coal, provided adequate management of associated water is in place. The environmental impact and volume of water produced with natural gas from coal can be significant. Water is scarce and demand is growing. Gas producers are faced with the challenge of high water production and disposal costs, and often choose the deep disposal option as the most economical solution. However, environmentalists and agriculture groups who view water as a valuable resource, warrant the costs associated with the treatment of produced water. The author proposed a conceptual solution to this dilemma concerning produced water. It was suggested that producers of water should be connected with consumers, while allowing free market supply and demand dynamics to price out the inefficient use of the resource. The author also discussed the related regulatory, environmental, technological, economic, and commercial issues. It was concluded that water is both a resource and a commodity. Alberta should implement measures to promote water conservation, pollute less, and manage supply and demand. figs

  16. Mapping the decision points and climate information use of agricultural producers across the U.S. Corn Belt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tonya Haigh

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The usefulness of climate information for agricultural risk management hinges on its availability and relevance to the producer when climate-sensitive decisions are being made. Climate information providers are challenged with the task of balancing forecast availability and lead time with acceptable forecast skill, which requires an improved understanding of the timing of agricultural decision making. Achieving a useful balance may also require an expansion of inquiry to include use of non-forecast climate information (i.e. historical climate information in agricultural decision making. Decision calendars have proven valuable for identifying opportunities for using different types of climate information. The extent to which decision-making time periods are localized versus generalized across major commodity-producing regions is yet unknown, though, which has limited their use in climate product development. Based on a 2012 survey of more than 4770 agricultural producers across the U.S. Corn Belt region, we found variation in the timing of decision-making points in the crop year based on geographic variation as well as crop management differences. Many key decisions in the cropping year take place during the preceding fall and winter, months before planting, raising questions about types of climate information that might be best inserted into risk management decisions at that time. We found that historical climate information and long term climate outlooks are less influential in agricultural risk management than current weather, short term forecasts, or monthly climate projections, even though they may, in fact, be more useful to certain types of decision making.

  17. Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campiche, Jody L; Bryant, Henry L; Richardson, James W

    2010-01-01

    Renewable energy production has been expanding at a rapid pace. New advances in cellulosic ethanol technologies have the potential to displace the use of petroleum as a transportation fuel, and could have significant effects on both the agricultural economy and the environment. In this letter, the effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the mix of ethanol feedstocks employed and on the US agricultural economy are examined. Results indicate that, as expected, cellulosic ethanol production increases by a substantial amount as conversion technology improves. Corn production increases initially following the introduction of cellulosic technology, because producers enjoy new revenue from sales of corn stover. After cellulosic ethanol production becomes substantially cheaper, however, acres are shifted from corn production to all other agricultural commodities. Essentially, this new technology could facilitate the exploitation of a previously under-employed resource (corn stover), resulting in an improvement in overall welfare. In the most optimistic scenario considered, 68% of US ethanol is derived from cellulosic sources, coarse grain production is reduced by about 2%, and the prices of all food commodities are reduced modestly.

  18. 17 CFR 37.4 - Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Election to trade excluded and exempt commodities. 37.4 Section 37.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES TRANSACTION EXECUTION FACILITIES § 37.4 Election to trade excluded and exempt...

  19. Global oil prices, macroeconomic fundamentals and China's commodity sector comovements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Peng

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the common movements of commodity sectors in China as well as the economic underpinnings of the comovements. We employ a Bayesian dynamic latent factor model to disentangle the common and idiosyncratic sector-specific factors of the prices of a group of China's commodity sectors: petrochemicals, grains, energy, non-ferrous metals, oils & fats, and softs. The results indicate that the common factor accounts for a significant portion of the fluctuations of China's commodity sectors, providing evidence of the strong commodity sector comovements in China. We further use a VAR model to link the common movements across China's commodity sectors to the underlying determinants, including global oil price shocks and domestic macroeconomic fluctuations. We find that the global oil price shocks have strong effects on the common movements across commodity sectors in China in addition to its domestic macroeconomic fluctuations at long horizons. However, at short horizons, the common movements across commodity sectors in China respond more strongly to the global oil shocks than to its domestic macroeconomic fluctuations. - Highlights: • We examine the comovements of commodity prices at the industry level in China. • The common factor accounts for a significant portion of commodity sector fluctuations. • We investigate the joint impacts of global oil price shocks and domestic macro fluctuations on the comovements. • The global oil price shocks have persistent and strong effects on the comovements. • The impacts of domestic macro fluctuations on the comovements differ at short and long horizons.

  20. Nanotechnology in agriculture: Opportunities, toxicological implications, and occupational risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iavicoli, Ivo; Leso, Veruscka; Beezhold, Donald H; Shvedova, Anna A

    2017-08-15

    Nanotechnology has the potential to make a beneficial impact on several agricultural, forestry, and environmental challenges, such as urbanization, energy constraints, and sustainable use of resources. However, new environmental and human health hazards may emerge from nano-enhanced applications. This raises concerns for agricultural workers who may become primarily exposed to such xenobiotics during their job tasks. The aim of this review is to discuss promising solutions that nanotechnology may provide in agricultural activities, with a specific focus on critical aspects, challenging issues, and research needs for occupational risk assessment and management in this emerging field. Eco-toxicological aspects were not the focus of the review. Nano-fertilizers, (nano-sized nutrients, nano-coated fertilizers, or engineered metal-oxide or carbon-based nanomaterials per se), and nano-pesticides, (nano-formulations of traditional active ingredients or inorganic nanomaterials), may provide a targeted/controlled release of agrochemicals, aimed to obtain their fullest biological efficacy without over-dosage. Nano-sensors and nano-remediation methods may detect and remove environmental contaminants. However, limited knowledge concerning nanomaterial biosafety, adverse effects, fate, and acquired biological reactivity once dispersed into the environment, requires further scientific efforts to assess possible nano-agricultural risks. In this perspective, toxicological research should be aimed to define nanomaterial hazards and levels of exposure along the life-cycle of nano-enabled products, and to assess those physico-chemical features affecting nanomaterial toxicity, possible interactions with agro-system co-formulants, and stressors. Overall, this review highlights the importance to define adequate risk management strategies for workers, occupational safety practices and policies, as well as to develop a responsible regulatory consensus on nanotechnology in agriculture

  1. A dataset on tail risk of commodities markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Robert J; Vo, Duc H; Pham, Thach N; Singh, Abhay K

    2017-12-01

    This article contains the datasets related to the research article "The long and short of commodity tails and their relationship to Asian equity markets"(Powell et al., 2017) [1]. The datasets contain the daily prices (and price movements) of 24 different commodities decomposed from the S&P GSCI index and the daily prices (and price movements) of three share market indices including World, Asia, and South East Asia for the period 2004-2015. Then, the dataset is divided into annual periods, showing the worst 5% of price movements for each year. The datasets are convenient to examine the tail risk of different commodities as measured by Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) as well as their changes over periods. The datasets can also be used to investigate the association between commodity markets and share markets.

  2. Agriculture as the opportunity for sustainable development of Slovene rural areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Lampič

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available The role of agriculture in rural areas has changed significantly, it has even increased, since having been attributed numerous new functions, from social to ecologic. Also Slovene agriculture, its direction, intensity level, size and proprietal structure was subject to considerable changes as a result of inclusion of Slovenia in the EU and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. However it should be considered whether the direction of development of Slovene agriculture corresponds to protection and conservation of our major natural resources?

  3. Forest Conversion, Agricultural Transitions and the Influence of Multi-scale Market Factors in Southwest Cameroon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordway, E.; Lambin, E.; Asner, G. P.

    2015-12-01

    The changing structure of demand for commodities associated with food security and energy has had a startling impact on land use change in tropical forests in recent decades. Yet, the composition of conversion in the Congo basin remains a major uncertainty, particularly with regards to the scale of drivers of change. Owing to rapid expansion of production globally and longstanding historical production locally in the Congo basin, oil palm offers a lens through which to evaluate local land use decisions across a spectrum of small- to large-scales of production as well as interactions with regional and global supply chains. We examined the effect of global commodity crop expansion on land use change in Southwest Cameroon using a mixed-methods approach to integrate remote sensing, field surveys and socioeconomic data. Southwest Cameroon (2.5 Mha) has a long history of large- and small-scale agriculture, ranging from mixed crop subsistence agriculture to large monocrop plantations of oil palm, cocoa, and rubber. Trends and spatial patterns of forest conversion and agricultural transitions were analyzed from 2000-2015 using satellite imagery. We used economic, demographic and field survey datasets to assess how regional and global market factors and local commodity crop decisions affect land use patterns. Our results show that oil palm is a major commodity crop expanding in this region, and that conversion is occurring primarily through expansion by medium-scale producers and local elites. Results also indicate that global and regional supply chain dynamics influence local land use decision making. This research contributes new information on land use patterns and dynamics in the Congo basin, an understudied region. More specifically, results from this research contribute information on recent trends of oil palm expansion in Cameroon that will be used in national land use planning strategies.

  4. Primary Commodity Dependency: A Limiting Factor for Achieving Democracy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-24

    two ~gricultural crops, minerals, petroleum, or fisheries can be considered primary commodity dependent. Tea, coffee, and cocoa ; peanuts and cotton...Rostow’s Development Model Pre-conditions for take-off mass consumption democracy. In 1960s, economists, associated democratization to a developmental...Commodities can be renewable or non-renewable. Petroleum, diamonds, cocoa , bananas, coffee, and timber are just a few of the commodities that have

  5. Optimum commodity taxation with a non-renewable resource

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daubanes, Julien Xavier; Lasserre, Pierre

    2017-01-01

    We examine optimum commodity taxation (OCT), including the taxation of non-renewable resources (NRRs), by a government that needs to rely on commodity taxes to raise revenues. NRRs should be taxed at higher rates than otherwise-identical conventional commodities, according to an augmented, dynamic...... formulas can directly be used to indicate how Pigovian taxation of carbon NRRs should be increased in the presence of public-revenue needs, as illustrated in a numerical example. We show that NRR substitutes and complements should receive a particular tax treatment. Finally, in a NRR-importing economy...

  6. Limits to Arbitrage and Hedging: Evidence from Commodity Markets

    OpenAIRE

    Acharya, Viral V; Lochstoer, Lars; Ramadorai, Tarun

    2009-01-01

    Motivated by the literature on limits-to-arbitrage, we build an equilibrium model of commodity markets in which speculators are capital constrained, and commodity producers have hedging demands for commodity futures. Increases (decreases) in producers' hedging demand (speculators' risk-capacity) increase hedging costs via price-pressure on futures, reduce producers' inventory holdings, and thus spot prices. Consistent with our model, producers' default risk forecasts futures returns, spot pri...

  7. 76 FR 22667 - Solicitation of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-22

    ... has represented a specific category related to farming or ranching, food production and processing... D. Plant Commodity Producer Category E. National Aquaculture Association Category H. National Food... with a historic commitment to research in the food and agricultural sciences, food retailing and...

  8. Commodity risk management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilary Till

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the practical issues involved in applying a disciplined risk management methodology to commodity futures trading. Accordingly, the paper shows how to apply methodologies derived from both conventional asset management and hedge fund management to futures trading. The article also discusses some of the risk management issues that are unique to leveraged futures trading.

  9. A Preference-Free Formula to Value Commodity Derivatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodriguez, J.C.

    2007-01-01

    This paper studies a new model of commodity prices in which the stochastic convenience yield is an affine function of past commodity returns. While preserving market completeness, the model exhibits price nonstationarity and mean reversion under the martingale measure, and, as a consequence, it is

  10. COMMODITY CURRENCIES: UM FENÔMENO REAL NO BRASIL?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Branco

    Full Text Available RESUMO Este trabalho tem por objetivo investigar o possível enquadramento que a moeda brasileira, o real, possa ter no modelo de commodity currencies. As evidências encontradas mostram uma correlação significativa da trajetória percorrida pelo real na última década com o esquema de commodity currencies, em que a taxa de câmbio do país tende a acompanhar a evolução dos preços internacionais das commodities, grupo de produtos básicos advindos principalmente dos setores agrícola e mineral.

  11. Development assessment of leisure agriculture in Henan province of China based on SWOT-AHP method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yichuan Zhang

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The development of leisure agriculture is an important means of agricultural industry structure adjustment of Henan province, China, to realize the transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. Design/methodology/approach: The SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat analysis of Henan leisure agriculture will contribute to the sustainable development of Henan leisure agriculture. The strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of developing leisure agriculture in Henan province were systematically analyzed using SWOT method in our study. The aspects including location, resources, traffic, population, economy, urbanization, industrialization, market, policy, capital, product, technology, management, marketing and environment were involved. The strength, weakness, opportunity and threat were quantified in this study using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process method. Findings and Originality/value: The result showed that the total strength and total opportunity of Henan leisure agriculture are much greater than that of total weakness and total threat, which suggests that the opportunities outweigh threats, and advantage outweigh disadvantage. The growth-oriented strategy combining the external opportunities and its own advantages shall be employed in development of Henan leisure agriculture as indicated by the strategy strength coefficient in strategy quadrangle we have constructed. The barriers to the development need to be overcome while strengthening competitive advantages. Originality/value: New ideas for working out the developmental strategy for Henan leisure agriculture is provided by SWOT-AHP method.

  12. Sustainability of biofuels in Latin America: Risks and opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janssen, Rainer, E-mail: rainer.janssen@wip-munich.de [WIP Renewable Energies, Sylvensteinstrasse 2, 81369 Munich (Germany); Rutz, Dominik Damian [WIP Renewable Energies, Sylvensteinstrasse 2, 81369 Munich (Germany)

    2011-10-15

    Several Latin American countries are setting up biofuel programmes to establish alternative markets for agricultural commodities. This is mainly triggered by the current success of Brazilian bioethanol production for the domestic market and for export. Furthermore, the global biofuel market is expected to increase due to ambitious biofuel programmes in the EU and in the USA. Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Guatemala are focusing on bioethanol production from sugarcane whereas biofuel production in Argentina is based on soy biodiesel. Recent developments of the biofuel sector take place extremely rapid especially in Argentina, which became one of the five largest biodiesel producers in the world in 2008. Till date no specific biofuel sustainability certification systems have been implemented in Latin American, as well as on global level. This fact and the predominant use of food crops for biofuel production raise concerns about the sustainability of biofuel production related to environmental and social aspects. This paper provides an overview of the hotspots of conflicts in biofuel production in Latin America. It investigates presently available sustainability tools and initiatives to ensure sustainable biofuel production in Latin America. Finally, it provides an outlook on how to integrate sustainability in the Latin American biofuel sector. - Research Highlights: > This study investigates risks and opportunities of biofuels in Latin America. > Latin American countries are setting up programmes to promote biofuel development. > Strong biofuel sectors provide opportunities for economic development. > Potential negative impact includes deforestation and effects on food security. > Sustainability initiatives exist to minimise negative impact.

  13. Sustainability of biofuels in Latin America: Risks and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janssen, Rainer; Rutz, Dominik Damian

    2011-01-01

    Several Latin American countries are setting up biofuel programmes to establish alternative markets for agricultural commodities. This is mainly triggered by the current success of Brazilian bioethanol production for the domestic market and for export. Furthermore, the global biofuel market is expected to increase due to ambitious biofuel programmes in the EU and in the USA. Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Guatemala are focusing on bioethanol production from sugarcane whereas biofuel production in Argentina is based on soy biodiesel. Recent developments of the biofuel sector take place extremely rapid especially in Argentina, which became one of the five largest biodiesel producers in the world in 2008. Till date no specific biofuel sustainability certification systems have been implemented in Latin American, as well as on global level. This fact and the predominant use of food crops for biofuel production raise concerns about the sustainability of biofuel production related to environmental and social aspects. This paper provides an overview of the hotspots of conflicts in biofuel production in Latin America. It investigates presently available sustainability tools and initiatives to ensure sustainable biofuel production in Latin America. Finally, it provides an outlook on how to integrate sustainability in the Latin American biofuel sector. - Research Highlights: → This study investigates risks and opportunities of biofuels in Latin America. → Latin American countries are setting up programmes to promote biofuel development. → Strong biofuel sectors provide opportunities for economic development. → Potential negative impact includes deforestation and effects on food security. → Sustainability initiatives exist to minimise negative impact.

  14. Commodity Market Inefficiencies and Inflationary Pressures - India’s Economic Policy Dilemma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pankaj Kumar GUPTA

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available With the current pace of growth, India would emerge as a major player in the international market in terms of commodity consumption, production and trade. Going by trade volume and also the possibly as an identifiable influence on the price making process on the essential commodities, the futures and spot markets have shown major variations. Increased volatility in asset prices has been a major reason behind the integration of domestic financial markets with the international financial sector accentuating the demand for the trading in the derivative market. Though organized commodity trading has been in from the nineteenth century in India, the commodity derivative markets in the new form with nationwide electronic trading and access have opened the gates for speculators, hedgers and other market participants to capitalize on the development. The robust growth of the commodity markets can be observed in terms of number of commodities trade volumes and growing number of both the market participants and the commodity exchanges. Liquidity booms reflected by loose monetary policy are responsible for major surge in commodity prices globally in addition to direct tangible impacts of oil prices especially in developing countries with heavy oil imports like India. Futures markets are created to fulfill genuine desires economic functions of hedging and price discovery. But, enormous futures trading observed on the commodity exchanges have raised a host of issues like inflation guided by the fuelling principle implying the direct relationship between volatility and inflation. Huge price volatility in futures segment on the commodity exchanges has therefore raised concerns relating to the market efficiencies, infrastructure and knowledge and also their consequential impact on cash markets. The demand and supply side of the commodity price mechanism is traditionally governed by numerous factors including the climatic conditions, availability of critical

  15. Vulnerabilities to agricultural production shocks: An extreme, plausible scenario for assessment of risk for the insurance sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Lunt

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Climate risks pose a threat to the function of the global food system and therefore also a hazard to the global financial sector, the stability of governments, and the food security and health of the world’s population. This paper presents a method to assess plausible impacts of an agricultural production shock and potential materiality for global insurers. A hypothetical, near-term, plausible, extreme scenario was developed based upon modules of historical agricultural production shocks, linked under a warm phase El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO meteorological framework. The scenario included teleconnected floods and droughts in disparate agricultural production regions around the world, as well as plausible, extreme biotic shocks. In this scenario, global crop yield declines of 10% for maize, 11% for soy, 7% for wheat and 7% for rice result in quadrupled commodity prices and commodity stock fluctuations, civil unrest, significant negative humanitarian consequences and major financial losses worldwide. This work illustrates a need for the scientific community to partner across sectors and industries towards better-integrated global data, modeling and analytical capacities, to better respond to and prepare for concurrent agricultural failure. Governments, humanitarian organizations and the private sector collectively may recognize significant benefits from more systematic assessment of exposure to agricultural climate risk.

  16. Opportunities for renewable biomass in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Background information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Buck, A.; Croezen, H.

    2009-04-01

    The Dutch province of Zeeland is organizing three bio-debates to map economically attractive and renewable biomass opportunities. Participants included industrial businesses, ZLTO, ZMF, Zeeland Seaports, Impuls Zeeland, Hogeschool Zeeland and the University of Ghent. CE Delft is organizing the debates and provides the expertise in this field. In the first debate (Goes, 22 January 2009) the main lines for deployment of biomass in Zeeland were established. One of the conclusions was that there are opportunities for existing industry to implement new technology for large-scale use of (imported) biomass. As for agriculture, there may be opportunities for high-quality chemicals from agricultural crops. Agriculture and industry have opportunities in the short term for better and more high-quality utilization of existing residual flows of biomass. The second and third debate should address concrete opportunities for the industry and agriculture in Zeeland. This report is background information to support the debates. [nl

  17. Volatility Spillovers between Energy and Agricultural Markets: A Critical Appraisal of Theory and Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Lin Chang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Energy and agricultural commodities and markets have been examined extensively, albeit separately, for a number of years. In the energy literature, the returns, volatility and volatility spillovers (namely, the delayed effect of a returns shock in one asset on the subsequent volatility or covolatility in another asset, among alternative energy commodities, such as oil, gasoline and ethanol across different markets, have been analysed using a variety of univariate and multivariate models, estimation techniques, data sets, and time frequencies. A similar comment applies to the separate theoretical and empirical analysis of a wide range of agricultural commodities and markets. Given the recent interest and emphasis in bio-fuels and green energy, especially bio-ethanol, which is derived from a range of agricultural products, it is not surprising that there is a topical and developing literature on the spillovers between energy and agricultural markets. Modelling and testing spillovers between the energy and agricultural markets has typically been based on estimating multivariate conditional volatility models, specifically the Baba, Engle, Kraft, and Kroner (BEKK and dynamic conditional correlation (DCC models. A serious technical deficiency is that the Quasi-Maximum Likelihood Estimates (QMLE of a Full BEKK matrix, which is typically estimated in examining volatility spillover effects, has no asymptotic properties, except by assumption, so that no valid statistical test of volatility spillovers is possible. Some papers in the literature have used the DCC model to test for volatility spillovers. However, it is well known in the financial econometrics literature that the DCC model has no regularity conditions, and that the QMLE of the parameters of DCC has no asymptotic properties, so that there is no valid statistical testing of volatility spillovers. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the theory and practice in testing for volatility spillovers

  18. Alcohol as international commodity; Alcool como 'commodity' internacional

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negrao, Luiz Celso Parisi [Ministerio do Desenvolvimento, Industria e Comercio Exterior, Brasilia, DF (Brazil). Secretaria de Tecnologia Industrial]. E-mail: luiz.negrao@desenvolvimento.gov.br; Urban, Maria Lucia de Paula

    2004-12-15

    The ethanol is able to reduce the gas emissions, mainly in CO2 balance which gives a strong contribution for this fact. Using the alcohol rather than fossil fuels is a natural choice as a important renewable energy source. Also, to have the alcohol as international environmental commodity is the goal of all interested in this matter, since the entry into force the Kyoto protocol, with the Russian approval.

  19. Land use efficiency: anticipating future demand for land-sector greenhouse gas emissions abatement and managing trade-offs with agriculture, water, and biodiversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryan, Brett A; Crossman, Neville D; Nolan, Martin; Li, Jing; Navarro, Javier; Connor, Jeffery D

    2015-11-01

    Competition for land is increasing, and policy needs to ensure the efficient supply of multiple ecosystem services from land systems. We modelled the spatially explicit potential future supply of ecosystem services in Australia's intensive agricultural land in response to carbon markets under four global outlooks from 2013 to 2050. We assessed the productive efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions abatement, agricultural production, water resources, and biodiversity services and compared these to production possibility frontiers (PPFs). While interacting commodity markets and carbon markets produced efficient outcomes for agricultural production and emissions abatement, more efficient outcomes were possible for water resources and biodiversity services due to weak price signals. However, when only two objectives were considered as per typical efficiency assessments, efficiency improvements involved significant unintended trade-offs for the other objectives and incurred substantial opportunity costs. Considering multiple objectives simultaneously enabled the identification of land use arrangements that were efficient over multiple ecosystem services. Efficient land use arrangements could be selected that meet society's preferences for ecosystem service provision from land by adjusting the metric used to combine multiple services. To effectively manage competition for land via land use efficiency, market incentives are needed that effectively price multiple ecosystem services. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. A study on the systematization of commodity classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tae, Jae Woong; Shin, Dong Hoon

    2012-01-01

    International community is trying to prevent the spread of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), especially nuclear weapons. These efforts result in the declaration of UNSC Resolution 1540 in 2004, which made export controls the international norms for all nations in the world. Korea enacted Foreign Trade Act in 1989 to adhere to the export control standards worldwide. Export control system in Korea consists of commodity classification system and export license system. The commodity classification system is used to identify strategic commodity. The Export License system is used to verify that exports have met the conditions required by the international export control system. NSG guidelines, the NSG handbook and Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items are used to classify items and technology However, some items or technology in NSG guidelines should be especially designed or prepared (EDP). It is difficult to determine which items or technology is strategic commodity because EDP criteria are qualitative. NSG or participant states don't provide clear criteria to classify items and technology but recommend establishing standards autonomously. Hence the result of deliberation on the same items and technology may be different by reviewer's experience, knowledge and governmental policy. It causes confusion of reviewers and export companies In this research, commodity classification systematization by EDP criteria's clarification was performed to increase consistency and efficiency

  1. Entry-Level Technical Skills that Agricultural Industry Experts Expected Students to Learn through Their Supervised Agricultural Experiences: A Modified Delphi Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsey, Jon W.; Edwards, M. Craig

    2011-01-01

    The National Research Council's (NRC) Report (1988), Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education, called on secondary agricultural education to shift its scope and purpose, including students' supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs). The NRC asserted that this shift should create opportunities for students to acquire supervised…

  2. Modelling the rand and commodity prices: A Granger causality and cointegration analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xolani Ndlovu

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the ‘commodity currency’ hypothesis of the Rand, that is, the postulate that the currency moves in line with commodity prices, and analyses the associated causality using nominal data between 1996 and 2010. We address both the short run and long run relationship between commodity prices and exchange rates. We find that while the levels of the series of both assets are difference stationary, they are not cointegrated. Further, we find the two variables are negatively related, with strong and significant causality running from commodity prices to the exchange rate and not vice versa, implying exogeneity in the determination of commodity prices with respect to the nominal exchange rate. The strength of the relationship is significantly weaker than other OECD commodity currencies. We surmise that the relationship is dynamic over time owing to the portfolio-rebalance argument and the Commodity Terms of Trade (CTT effect and, in the absence of an error correction mechanism, this disconnect may be prolonged. For commodity and currency market participants, this implies that while futures and forward commodity prices may be useful leading indicators of future currency movements, the price risk management strategies may need to be recalibrated over time.

  3. High-Resolution Biogeochemical Simulation Identifies Practical Opportunities for Bioenergy Landscape Intensification Across Diverse US Agricultural Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, J.; Adler, P. R.; Evans, S.; Paustian, K.; Marx, E.; Easter, M.

    2015-12-01

    The sustainability of biofuel expansion is strongly dependent on the environmental footprint of feedstock production, including both direct impacts within feedstock-producing areas and potential leakage effects due to disruption of existing food, feed, or fiber production. Assessing and minimizing these impacts requires novel methods compared to traditional supply chain lifecycle assessment. When properly validated and applied at appropriate spatial resolutions, biogeochemical process models are useful for simulating how the productivity and soil greenhouse gas fluxes of cultivating both conventional crops and advanced feedstock crops respond across gradients of land quality and management intensity. In this work we use the DayCent model to assess the biogeochemical impacts of agricultural residue collection, establishment of perennial grasses on marginal cropland or conservation easements, and intensification of existing cropping at high spatial resolution across several real-world case study landscapes in diverse US agricultural regions. We integrate the resulting estimates of productivity, soil carbon changes, and nitrous oxide emissions with crop production budgets and lifecycle inventories, and perform a basic optimization to generate landscape cost/GHG frontiers and determine the most practical opportunities for low-impact feedstock provisioning. The optimization is constrained to assess the minimum combined impacts of residue collection, land use change, and intensification of existing agriculture necessary for the landscape to supply a commercial-scale biorefinery while maintaining exiting food, feed, and fiber production levels. These techniques can be used to assess how different feedstock provisioning strategies perform on both economic and environmental criteria, and sensitivity of performance to environmental and land use factors. The included figure shows an example feedstock cost-GHG mitigation tradeoff frontier for a commercial-scale cellulosic

  4. Statistical microeconomics and commodity prices: theory and empirical results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baaquie, Belal E

    2016-01-13

    A review is made of the statistical generalization of microeconomics by Baaquie (Baaquie 2013 Phys. A 392, 4400-4416. (doi:10.1016/j.physa.2013.05.008)), where the market price of every traded commodity, at each instant of time, is considered to be an independent random variable. The dynamics of commodity market prices is given by the unequal time correlation function and is modelled by the Feynman path integral based on an action functional. The correlation functions of the model are defined using the path integral. The existence of the action functional for commodity prices that was postulated to exist in Baaquie (Baaquie 2013 Phys. A 392, 4400-4416. (doi:10.1016/j.physa.2013.05.008)) has been empirically ascertained in Baaquie et al. (Baaquie et al. 2015 Phys. A 428, 19-37. (doi:10.1016/j.physa.2015.02.030)). The model's action functionals for different commodities has been empirically determined and calibrated using the unequal time correlation functions of the market commodity prices using a perturbation expansion (Baaquie et al. 2015 Phys. A 428, 19-37. (doi:10.1016/j.physa.2015.02.030)). Nine commodities drawn from the energy, metal and grain sectors are empirically studied and their auto-correlation for up to 300 days is described by the model to an accuracy of R(2)>0.90-using only six parameters. © 2015 The Author(s).

  5. Quarterly Web Interfaced Commodity Reporting

    Data.gov (United States)

    US Agency for International Development — QWICR is a secure, online Title II commodity reporting system accessible to USAID Missions, PVO Cooperating Sponsors and Food for Peace Officers. QWICR provides PVO...

  6. Outlook '98 - Commodity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simard, T.

    1998-01-01

    Canadian oil and natural gas producers'' participation in commodity and foreign exchange markets to alter the pricing characteristics of their commodity portfolios was reviewed. It was concluded that through the various risk management structures available from financial and physical market participants, Canadian oil and gas producers retain the ongoing ability to design, pro-actively, their desired exposure to oil and gas prices. Various industry-wide re-examination of risk management programs have taken place during the past two years. Based on these studies, the industry anticipates material volatility in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil and Alberta natural gas prices throughout 1998. Furthermore, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the price differentials between WTI crude and Canadian oil streams, and between Alberta gas prices and other North American regional gas markets. Against this background of uncertainty, it is reasonable to predict that companies will use risk management strategies in an effort to outperform industry average prices, thereby ensuring that pro-active risk management activity will continue throughout 1998

  7. 5 CFR 1315.13 - Commodity Credit Corporation payments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Commodity Credit Corporation payments... PAYMENT § 1315.13 Commodity Credit Corporation payments. As provided in § 1315.1(d), the provisions of... Credit Corporation (CCC) pursuant to Section 4(h) of the Act of June 29, 1948 (15 U.S.C. 714b(h)) (“CCC...

  8. The Consequences of a Strong Depreciation of the U.S. Dollar on Agricultural Markets

    OpenAIRE

    Charlebois, Pierre; Hamann, Nathalie

    2010-01-01

    World prices for basic food commodities increased significantly in 2007-2008, triggering a worldwide food crisis. Among all the factors that contributed to the rise in agricultural prices in 2008, the depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to other major currencies cannot be overlooked. The currencies of the major players in agricultural markets have shown strong appreciation from 2002 to 2008. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of a strong depreciation of the U.S. dollar ...

  9. Using commodity-indexed financing to fund OPEC/Alaska's development projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Essayyad, Musa

    1992-01-01

    An impediment to the process of economic diversification in OPEC and Alaska is the lack of favourable access to local and international capital markets to finance development projects, particularly mineral resource development. This paper highlights the importance of commodity-indexed bonds, including oil- and gold- indexed bonds, as a financing alternative to supplement the supply shortage of loanable funds from conventional, local and international commercial banks. The indexation concept is discussed, features of different bonds issued to date are contrasted and the benefits and risks for borrowers and investors are highlighted. An analysis is made of the experience of OPEC and Alaska in using commodity-indexed bonds and the feasibility of Alaska and some OPEC countries entering into commodity-linked-financed joint ventures is examined. Future prospects for commodity-linked bonds are explored. Not withstanding the fact that the immediate market timing is unfavourable, the long-term benefits of commodity-indexed securities are recognized. (U.K.)

  10. Legal status and organizational structure of commodities excange in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nada Petričević

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Commodities exchange is an important element of market economy of a country. Being an organized commodities and capital market, it goes beyond the trade in a trade fair and particular trade in real commodities. It includes trading in exchangeable goods by standard label. As foundation of commodities exchange is expected in Croatia, the paper will explicate its status and operation in Slovakia, an EU member state that is similar to our country. The paper will focus on the legal status and organizational structure of consumer goods market in Bratislava. Although it has existed for just over 15 years, it is important to note that it actually goes back to the pre-Second World War Czechoslovakia. Also, to provide better understanding of its functioning, regulations defining the foundation and functioning of the commodities market will also be presented as well as the profile, method and types of operations, together with its positive effects.

  11. 77 FR 25319 - Commodity Options

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-27

    ..., merchants, SDs, commodity funds, futures industry organizations, academics and think tanks, a U.S... particular (i.e., optionality in a contract settling by physical delivery that is used to meet varying demand...

  12. Learning achievements of farmers during the transition to market-oriented organic agriculture in rural Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amos Owamani

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Organic agriculture requires farmers with the ability to develop profitable agro-enterprises on their own. By drawing on four years of experiences with the Enabling Rural Innovation approach in Uganda, we outline how smallholder farmers transition to organic agriculture and, at the same time, increase their entrepreneurial skills and competences through learning. In order to document this learning we operationalised the Kirkpatrick learning evaluation model, which subsequently informed the collection of qualitative data in two study sites. Our analysis suggests that the Enabling Rural Innovation approach helps farmers to develop essential capabilities for identifying organic markets and new organic commodities, for testing these organic commodities under varying organic farm management scenarios, and for negotiating contracts with organic traders. We also observed several obstacles that confront farmers’ transition to organic agriculture when using the Enabling Rural Innovation approach. These include the long duration of agronomic experimentation and seed multiplication, expensive organic certification procedures and the absence of adequate mechanism for farmers to access crop finance services. Despite prevailing obstacles we conclude that the Enabling Rural Innovation approach provides a starting point for farmers to develop entrepreneurial competences and profitable agro-enterprises on their own.

  13. Perception of Agricultural Extension as a Career among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Department (χ2=15.184), self-esteem of career in course of study (r=0.217) and constraints to agricultural extension (r=-0.174) were significantly related to respondents' perception of agricultural extension as a career. Respondents are knowledgeable that agricultural extension has many career opportunities and someone ...

  14. Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Food and Feed Vocabulary was developed to consolidate all the major OPP Commodity Vocabularies into one standardized vocabulary. The EPA-preferred term is the only term that can be used in setting tolerances.

  15. Climate change impacts on US agriculture and forestry: benefits of global climate stabilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Robert H.; Cai, Yongxia; Thomson, Allison; Zhang, Xuesong; Jones, Russell; McCarl, Bruce A.; Crimmins, Allison; Martinich, Jeremy; Cole, Jefferson; Ohrel, Sara; DeAngelo, Benjamin; McFarland, James; Strzepek, Kenneth; Boehlert, Brent

    2015-09-01

    Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, higher temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and other climate change impacts have already begun to affect US agriculture and forestry, with impacts expected to become more substantial in the future. There have been numerous studies of climate change impacts on agriculture or forestry, but relatively little research examining the long-term net impacts of a stabilization scenario relative to a case with unabated climate change. We provide an analysis of the potential benefits of global climate change mitigation for US agriculture and forestry through 2100, accounting for landowner decisions regarding land use, crop mix, and management practices. The analytic approach involves a combination of climate models, a crop process model (EPIC), a dynamic vegetation model used for forests (MC1), and an economic model of the US forestry and agricultural sector (FASOM-GHG). We find substantial impacts on productivity, commodity markets, and consumer and producer welfare for the stabilization scenario relative to unabated climate change, though the magnitude and direction of impacts vary across regions and commodities. Although there is variability in welfare impacts across climate simulations, we find positive net benefits from stabilization in all cases, with cumulative impacts ranging from 32.7 billion to 54.5 billion over the period 2015-2100. Our estimates contribute to the literature on potential benefits of GHG mitigation and can help inform policy decisions weighing alternative mitigation and adaptation actions.

  16. Climate change impacts on US agriculture and forestry: benefits of global climate stabilization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beach, Robert H.; Cai, Yongxia; Thomson, Allison; Zhang, Xuesong; Jones, Russell; McCarl, Bruce A.; Crimmins, Allison; Martinich, Jeremy; Cole, Jefferson; Ohrel, Sara; DeAngelo, Benjamin; McFarland, James; Strzepek, Kenneth; Boehlert, Brent

    2015-09-01

    Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, higher temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and other climate change impacts have already begun to affect US agriculture and forestry, with impacts expected to become more substantial in the future. There have been numerous studies of climate change impacts on agriculture or forestry, but relatively little research examining the long-term net impacts of a stabilization scenario relative to a case with unabated climate change. We provide an analysis of the potential benefits of global climate change mitigation for US agriculture and forestry through 2100, accounting for landowner decisions regarding land use, crop mix, and management practices. The analytic approach involves a combination of climate models, a crop process model (EPIC), a dynamic vegetation model used for forests (MC1), and an economic model of the US forestry and agricultural sector (FASOM-GHG). We find substantial impacts on productivity, commodity markets, and consumer and producer welfare for the stabilization scenario relative to unabated climate change, though the magnitude and direction of impacts vary across regions and commodities. Although there is variability in welfare impacts across climate simulations, we find positive net benefits from stabilization in all cases, with cumulative impacts ranging from $32.7 billion to $54.5 billion over the period 2015-2100. Our estimates contribute to the literature on potential benefits of GHG mitigation and can help inform policy decisions weighing alternative mitigation and adaptation actions.

  17. Microeconomics of Agricultural Grading: Impacts on the Marketing Channel

    OpenAIRE

    David A. Hennessy

    1995-01-01

    In this paper I focus on how grade prices affect the provision of product transformation skills in the food marketing system. A self-protection model is used to show how resources are allocated to protect the potential value of commodities in the marketing channel. Resource allocations may be complementary, and complementarity may be exploited to expand an industry. Further, uncertainty concerning skill levels may inhibit expansion. Because two primary objectives of agricultural extension inv...

  18. Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Progress Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None, None

    2015-12-01

    In support of the Obama Administration's Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture jointly released the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Progress Report, updating the federal government's progress to reduce methane emissions through biogas systems since the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap was completed by the three agencies in July 2014. The report highlights actions taken, outlines challenges and opportunities, and identifies next steps to the growth of a robust biogas industry.

  19. Economic feasibility studies using radiation for the preservation of some agricultural commodities in the Philippines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singson, C.C.

    1985-08-01

    Pilot-scale experiments on irradiation and storage of onions, garlic and mangoes were carried out using commercial storage facilities. The benefits of irradiation in terms of loss reduction and cost were calculated. The results showed that the percentage of marketable weight of irradiated onions was significantly higher than that of untreated samples after 5 months of storage. Cost analyses showed that irradiation exhibits incremental benefit for treating the commodity. Irradiated garlic kept under commercial cold storage had a higher marketable weight than the non-treated sample which was stored at ambient condition after 7 months. The incremental benefit of irradiation plus cold storage was Peso 4350 per ton for this duration of storage. A comparison of treatment costs of mangoes by fumigation, irradiation and hot-water dip plus irradiation was made. Irradiation cost was calculated to be Peso 9325/ton as compared to Peso 18785/ton for fumigation and Peso 9625/ton for hot water dip plus irradiation

  20. Study of Agricultural Product Options Pricing

    Science.gov (United States)

    HONG, Qiu

    2017-09-01

    China is a large agricultural country, and the healthy development of agriculture is related to the stability of the whole society. The agricultural production and management of agricultural products are confronted with many risks, especially the market risks. Option contract is the object of option market transaction, so it is very important to study the option contract of agricultural products. Option trading separates the risk and profit, so that the trader can avoid the risk while retaining the opportunity to obtain income. The option has the characteristics of low transaction cost, simple and efficient, so it is suitable for small and medium investors.

  1. Agriculture and renewable energies: contribution and opportunities for farming exploitation - Synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leveque, Benjamin; Hajjar, Ali; Noirot-Cosson, Paul-Emile; Oudin, Bertrand; Meiffren, Olivia; Khamlich, Ali; Varchavsky, Marc; Lapierre, Aline; Brinon, Alain; Nguyen, Elodie; Mhiri, Tarek; Bonnard, Philippe; Gagnepain, Bruno; Cardona Maestro, Astrid; Berthomieu, Nadine; Theobald, Olivier; Bardinal, Marc; Mousset, Jerome; Thual, Julien; Fautrad, Alice; Bastide, Guillaume; Parrouffe, Jean-Michel; Dubilly, Anne-Laure; Bellini, Robert; Gerson, Raphael; Mehl, Celine; Mainsant, Armand; Carrere, Tristan; Marchal, David; Duval, Joakim; Huet, Sebastien; Herrera, Joanna; Hascuet, Isabelle; Rousselon, Nicolas; Ollivier, Denis; Lemaignan, Benoit; Jager, Florian; Porcheyre, Edwige; Bealu, Christophe; Denninger, F.; Guggemos, Fabien; Richard, Axel; Duclos, Paul; Flajollet-Millan, Johanna; Roesner, Sven; Begue, Marie; Furois, Timothee; Oriol, Louise; Denoyer, Gerard; Pagnac-Farbiaz, Elisabeth; Guibert, Olivier de; Parisse, Sandrine; Bozonnat, Cedric; Liger, Davy; Molinie, Lea; Jarrige, Leonard; Mery, Yoann; Charrier, Virginie; Ait Amar, Samy

    2018-02-01

    This study aimed at assessing direct and indirect contributions of agriculture to renewable energy production in France from now until 2023, 2030 and 2050. It notably aims at a better knowledge of the economic contribution of renewable energies for the agriculture sector, and of the contribution of this sector to energy transition for the country. Technical, economic and environmental benefits and drawbacks of each renewable energy have been studied in order to identify levers and brakes for the development of renewable energies in this sector. A first part proposes methods of assessment and results for the contribution to renewable energy production. The second part reports an economic analysis of the impact of renewable energies on the agriculture sector. The third part evokes the diversity of business models in relationship with exploitation type. The next part reports a prospective study, while the last one reports main lessons already learned through the deployment of renewable energies in agriculture

  2. Uma análise empírica da volatilidade do retorno de commodities agrícolas utilizando modelos ARCH: os casos do café e da soja

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Washington Santos da Silva

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Examinou-se o processo da volatilidade dos retornos de duas importantes commodities agrícolas brasileiras, o café e a soja, por meio de modelos da classe ARCH. Os resultados empíricos sugerem fortes sinais de persistência e assimetria na volatilidade de ambas as séries. Além disso, os resultados sugerem que a implementação de políticas que criem, facilitem o acesso e estimulem a utilização de instrumentos de hedging baseados no mercado podem ser estratégias adequadas para tais setores diante da persistência de choques e volatilidade pronunciadas constatadas para os retornos destas commoditiesWe examined the volatility process of the returns of two important Brazilian agricultural commodities, coffee and soy, using ARCH class models. Empirical results suggest strong signs of persistence and asymmetry in the volatility of both series. Furthermore, the results suggest that the design of policies that create, facilitate the access and stimulate the use of market-based hedging devices can be proper strategies for such sectors in view of the persistence of shocks and the pronounced volatility found for the returns of these commodities.

  3. Perspectives microéconomiques de croissance (Tanzanie) | CRDI ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Smallholder agriculture constraints in Tanzania : lessons and opportunities from participation in global commodity markets; a value chain analysis in high value non-traditional crops. Téléchargez le PDF. Dossiers. Academic versus vocational training : maximizing Tanzania's educational system. Téléchargez le PDF.

  4. The impact of commodity price and conservation policy scenarios on deforestation and agricultural land use in a frontier area within the Amazon

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verburg, R.W.; Rodrigues Filho, S.; Lindoso, D.; Debortoli, N.; Litre, G.; Bursztyn, M.

    2014-01-01

    Deforestation in the Amazon is caused by the complex interplay of different drivers. Price of commodities such as beef and soya, and incoming migration are paramount factors. Construction of new highways is a key aspect, as they enable a growing flow of people and economic activities, provoking an

  5. Science and Policy Issues: A Report of Citizen Concerns and Recommendations for American Agricultural Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Agricultural Research and Extension Users Advisory Board (USDA), Washington, DC.

    Two areas which will have far reaching consequences for the future of United States agriculture are discussed: (1) biotechnology; and (2) critical economic research in world trade and commodity supply management. Topics in the first area include: controversies related to biotechnology; the relative importance of health, safety, and environmental…

  6. Boom or bust : developing countries' rough ride on the commodity price rollercoaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, O.; Gibson, J.

    2006-10-01

    Current high commodity prices are driven by strong demand from the emerging economies of China and India in addition to high consumption in the United States. Many developing countries are experiencing massive windfall revenues from high commodity prices. However, commodity prices are highly volatile in the short term, and can vary as much as 50 per cent in a single year. While developed country producers are supported by subsidies and social safety nets, developing countries and smallholder producers feel the extent of commodity price volatility more directly. Many developing countries are becoming locked into the production and export of primary commodities whose volatile prices are declining over the long term, and over which they have very little control. Price volatility makes sound fiscal planning difficult for both countries and producers. Price booms and busts also drive social inequalities, livelihood inequalities, and corruption. Price swings can cause conflict over valuable land and resources, and does not create incentives for sound environmental stewardship. This paper described the impacts of commodity price volatility in developing countries with the aim of promoting discussion about what can be done to help stabilize revenues for countries as well as producers. Price trends and their importance were reviewed, and the theoretical benefits of liberalized commodity markets were examined. Previous attempts to stabilize commodity prices were reviewed. It was concluded that the best long-term solution to the commodity price problem is economic diversification. Recommendations for promoting economic diversification were provided. 43 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs

  7. Is women's labor a commodity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Elizabeth S

    1990-01-01

    ...A commercial surrogate mother is anyone who is paid money to bear a child for other people and terminate her parental rights, so that the others may raise the child as exclusively their own. The growth of commercial surrogacy has raised with new urgency a class of concerns regarding the proper scope of the market. Some critics have objected to commercial surrogacy on the ground that it improperly treats children and women's reproductive capacities as commodities. The prospect of reducing children to consumer durables and women to baby factories surely inspires revulsion. But are there good reasons behind the revulsion? And is this an accurate description of what commercial surrogacy implies? This article offers a theory about what things are properly regarded as commodities which supports the claim that commercial surrogacy constitutes an unconscionable commodification of children and of women's reproductive capacities.

  8. Trade in water and commodities as adaptations to global change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammers, R. B.; Hertel, T. W.; Prousevitch, A.; Baldos, U. L. C.; Frolking, S. E.; Liu, J.; Grogan, D. S.

    2015-12-01

    The human capacity for altering the water cycle has been well documented and given the expected change due to population, income growth, biofuels, climate, and associated land use change, there remains great uncertainty in both the degree of increased pressure on land and water resources and in our ability to adapt to these changes. Alleviating regional shortages in water supply can be carried out in a spatial hierarchy through i) direct trade of water between all regions, ii) development of infrastructure to improve water availability within regions (e.g. impounding rivers), iii) via inter-basin hydrological transfer between neighboring regions and, iv) via virtual water trade. These adaptation strategies can be managed via market trade in water and commodities to identify those strategies most likely to be adopted. This work combines the physically-based University of New Hampshire Water Balance Model (WBM) with the macro-scale Purdue University Simplified International Model of agricultural Prices Land use and the Environment (SIMPLE) to explore the interaction of supply and demand for fresh water globally. In this work we use a newly developed grid cell-based version of SIMPLE to achieve a more direct connection between the two modeling paradigms of physically-based models with optimization-driven approaches characteristic of economic models. We explore questions related to the global and regional impact of water scarcity and water surplus on the ability of regions to adapt to future change. Allowing for a variety of adaptation strategies such as direct trade of water and expanding the built water infrastructure, as well as indirect trade in commodities, will reduce overall global water stress and, in some regions, significantly reduce their vulnerability to these future changes.

  9. Regulations in the commodity trading sector: should the commodity trading industry in Switzerland be more regulated and, if so, how ?

    OpenAIRE

    Volchkov, Nikola; Lewis, Brian

    2017-01-01

    Commodity trading is a sector which is essential to our development and prosperity as well as economic growth. It is relatively unknown and perceived differently depending on the viewpoint of the observer. Many think of the exploitation of resources in resource rich countries, others only of the transport of goods from producers to consumers and others focus on “speculation” and its association with financial markets which can create risk. Given the importance of commodity trading across the ...

  10. HESTIA Commodities Exchange Pallet and Sounding Rocket Test Stand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaparro, Javier

    2013-01-01

    During my Spring 2016 internship, my two major contributions were the design of the Commodities Exchange Pallet and the design of a test stand for a 100 pounds-thrust sounding rocket. The Commodities Exchange Pallet is a prototype developed for the Human Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA) program. Under the HESTIA initiative the Commodities Exchange Pallet was developed as a method for demonstrating multi-system integration thru the transportation of In-Situ Resource Utilization produced oxygen and water to a human habitat. Ultimately, this prototype's performance will allow for future evaluation of integration, which may lead to the development of a flight capable pallet for future deep-space exploration missions. For HESTIA, my main task was to design the Commodities Exchange Pallet system to be used for completing an integration demonstration. Under the guidance of my mentor, I designed, both, the structural frame and fluid delivery system for the commodities pallet. The fluid delivery system includes a liquid-oxygen to gaseous-oxygen system, a water delivery system, and a carbon-dioxide compressors system. The structural frame is designed to meet safety and transportation requirements, as well as the ability to interface with the ER division's Portable Utility Pallet. The commodities pallet structure also includes independent instrumentation oxygen/water panels for operation and system monitoring. My major accomplishments for the commodities exchange pallet were the completion of the fluid delivery systems and the structural frame designs. In addition, parts selection was completed in order to expedite construction of the prototype, scheduled to begin in May of 2016. Once the commodities pallet is assembled and tested it is expected to complete a fully integrated transfer demonstration with the ISRU unit and the Environmental Control and Life Support System test chamber in September of 2016. In addition to the development of

  11. The Impact of the Uruguay Round on World Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung-Sil Kim

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the impact of the Uruguay Round (UR implementation on world agriculture using a multi-regional general equilibrium model and the mapping function of the Geographic Information System (GIS. The results of this study show that the Uruguay Round has had a negative impact on world agriculture in the light of total food production and food distribution. For commodities such as grains, while grain production rises in exporting countries, the effect is not sufficient to cover the fall in production in importing countries. In particular, the impact is serious on food security in importing countries of agricultural products. The negative impact is almost concentrated in importing countries, particularly Japan, the European Union (EU and South Korea. As is clearly visible on the maps produced by the GIS function, the real state of world agriculture as well as the results evaluated by this Computable General Equilibrium (CGE model has changed negatively in major importing countries and particularly the Least Developed Countries (LDCs, Sub-Saharan Africa following the Uruguay Round.

  12. International Trade of Agricultural Products in the Context of "B&R" Initiative

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Lijing WU; Shuhua XIE

    2016-01-01

    At present,China’s agricultural product trade is facing the development dilemma. The trade deficit is expanding,market and product structure is irrational,and the Chinese agriculture products often encounter trade barriers. " B&R" initiative provides a rare opportunity for the development of agricultural products in China. It is necessary to seize this opportunity to change idea and innovate upon mechanism so as to increase the added value of exported agricultural products through various channels. There is also a need to develop electronic commerce,and make full use of interconnectivity and trade facilitation in " B&R" initiative to develop the international trade of agricultural products.

  13. SUBJECTIVITY UNDER CONSUMERISM: THE TOTALIZATION OF THE SUBJECT AS A COMMODITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlon Xavier

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This theoretical work discusses consumerism's processes of subjectivation and their psychological consequences. Its regime is studied through its social imaginary and its totalitarian character: the discourse of advertising, as a global hegemon, absorbs all forms of discourse and signification, thereby actualizing capitalism's telos - the colonization of the Lebenswelt under a great imperative: everything must become a commodity, especially the subject. A process of totalization of subjectivity occurs under a commodification logic centered on the representation: every image must be transformed into commodity-signs. Thus the consumption imaginary appears as a totalizing ideology, functioning as archaic représentations collectives (Durkheim and simulating a religious imaginary. It mass-produces subjectivity through participation mystique (Lévy-Bruhl with its commodity-signs (and their fetish and the whole imaginary. Its subject is defined as a bricolage of consumable commodity-signs, being therefore eternally fluid, performative, and ethereal. Thus it produces an anthropological mutation, the commodity-subject: a disposable, empty, thoroughly commodified self.

  14. Education: Commodity, Come-On, or Commitment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, John W.

    2000-07-01

    July 4, and the glass art shown on pages 812-816, remind us that freedom is fragile. Through their governments, citizens of democracies have traditionally made strong commitments to education on grounds that without it individuals would not be able to act responsibly and to make wise decisions in voting booths and public meetings. All citizens have a stake in everyone's education, because a better-educated citizenry benefits all of society. In this country such a commitment has produced a system of public schools and public universities that offers opportunities to many who otherwise could not afford a level of education commensurate with their talents. But there are signs that this commitment to public education is flagging. Many students, teachers, and administrators view education as merely a way to enhance personal prosperity. How often have you heard the statistic that a college education pays for itself through increased earning power, even if it costs $20,000-30,000 per year? Investing in education pays off just as investing in the stock market does, provided you wait long enough. Attending a better school gets you a better job and a better income. In other words, a certified level of education is a commodity-something that is useful and can be turned to commercial advantage. Viewing education as a commodity has several consequences. First, if education is a means to better employment rather than better citizenship, why should anyone pay for it other than the person who benefits? Why should I pay taxes to help someone else get a better job when I could be spending the money for my own benefit? Education as a commodity makes such attitudes reasonable, though not commendable, and the result is lessened support for public education. Second, those who supply education as an economic good should be rewarded, and those who are much better at educating should be rewarded much more. Hence the fear of Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College, Columbia University

  15. Impact assessment of commodity standards

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruben, Ruerd

    2017-01-01

    Voluntary commodity standards are widely used to enhance the performance of tropical agro-food chains and to support the welfare and sustainability of smallholder farmers. Different methods and approaches are used to assess the effectiveness and impact of these certification schemes at

  16. Crushing Candy: The Free-to-Play Game in Its Connective Commodity Form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David B. Nieborg

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this article is to add a complementary perspective to the study of social network sites by surveying how the political economy of social media platforms relates to the structure of free-to-play games in their commodity form. Drawing on the theory of multisided markets and critical political economy, this article surveys the political economy of game apps and investigates how it is symbiotically related to the technological and economic logic underlying connective platforms operated by Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. These social media platforms operate app stores that sustain the transformation of games as fixed, physically distributed products that follow a transaction logic, into digitally distributed, freely accessible, or “free-to-play” apps. Through a case study of the popular casual game Candy Crush Saga it is contended that the connective properties of social media platforms affect the form and format of game apps as cultural commodities. Candy Crush Saga developer King Digital Entertainment has been able to attract hundreds of millions of players and build a business model that combines the commodification of virtual items, connectivity, user attention, user data, and play. It is argued that the free-to-play commodity form comprises three commodity types: the product commodity, the “prosumer commodity,” and the player commodity. Furthermore, Candy Crush Saga ’s commodity form is structured by a platformed modality of cultural production and circulation and therefore embedded in the political economy of its host platform.

  17. Immigration Policy and Agriculture: Possible Directions for the Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Martin

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Presidential candidate Trump in 2016 promised to prevent unauthorized migration and deport unauthorized foreigners in the United States, and President Trump issued executive orders after taking office in January 2017 that could lead to a 2,000-mile wall on the Mexico-US border and the removal of many of the 11 million unauthorized foreigners, including one million who work in US agriculture. This paper emphasizes that, especially agriculture in the western United States, has long relied on newcomers to fill seasonal farm jobs. The slowdown in Mexico-US migration since 2008-09 means that there are fewer flexible newcomers to supplement the current workforce, which is aging and settled. Farm employers are responding by offering bonuses to satisfy current workers, stretching them with productivity-increasing tools, substituting machines for workers, and supplementing current workforces with legal H-2A guest workers. Immigration policy will influence the choice between mechanization, guest workers, and imports. Several factors suggest that the United States may be poised to embark on another large-scale guest worker program for agriculture.  If it does, farmers should begin to pay Social Security and Unemployment Insurance (UI taxes on the wages of H-2A workers to foster mechanization and development in the workers’ communities of origin by dividing these payroll taxes equally between workers as they depart and commodity-specific boards. Worker departure bonuses could be matched by governments in migrant-sending areas to promote development, and commodity-specific boards could spend monies to reduce dependence on hand labor over time. The economic incentives provided by payroll taxes could help to usher in a new and better era of farm labor.

  18. Soybean Opportunity as Source of New Energy in Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Muchlish Adie, M; Krisnawati, Ayda

    2014-01-01

    These last few years, the name of soybeans soared as a source of biodiesel. Soy biodiesel is an alternative fuel produced from soybean oil. Soybean potential as an alternative renewable energy source because it is expected to have the highest energy content compared to other alternative fuels. Opportunities to develop biodiesel using soybean oil in Indonesia is quite large, considering the soybean is a commodity that is already known and widely cultivated almost in all over Indonesia. In addi...

  19. Aging management and life assessment of buried commodities in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, J. H.; Jung, I. S.; Jo, H. S.; Kim, M. G.; Kim, S. T.; Lee, S. S.

    2000-01-01

    General field survey, inspection and life assessment were performed to establish effective aging management program of buried commodities in nuclear power plant. Basic informations on material characteristics, aging degradation experiences and maintenance history were gathered. Considering their degradation effects on power operation or safety, buried commodities were screened for the aging management priority. Various inspection techniques were applied in field survey and inspection, and their results were incorporated in the life assessment of buried commodities. In the aspect of aging degradation, general status of buried commodities were considered still sound while some revealed local degradation

  20. Adapting Agricultural Water Use to Climate Change in a Post-Soviet Context: Challenges and Opportunities in Southeast Kazakhstan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Tristam; Feola, Giuseppe; Khusnitdinova, Marina; Krylova, Viktoria

    2017-01-01

    The convergence of climate change and post-Soviet socio-economic and institutional transformations has been underexplored so far, as have the consequences of such convergence on crop agriculture in Central Asia. This paper provides a place-based analysis of constraints and opportunities for adaptation to climate change, with a specific focus on water use, in two districts in southeast Kazakhstan. Data were collected by 2 multi-stakeholder participatory workshops, 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews, and secondary statistical data. The present-day agricultural system is characterised by enduring Soviet-era management structures, but without state inputs that previously sustained agricultural productivity. Low margins of profitability on many privatised farms mean that attempts to implement integrated water management have produced water users associations unable to maintain and upgrade a deteriorating irrigation infrastructure. Although actors engage in tactical adaptation measures, necessary structural adaptation of the irrigation system remains difficult without significant public or private investments. Market-based water management models have been translated ambiguously to this region, which fails to encourage efficient water use and hinders adaptation to water stress. In addition, a mutual interdependence of informal networks and formal institutions characterises both state governance and everyday life in Kazakhstan. Such interdependence simultaneously facilitates operational and tactical adaptation, but hinders structural adaptation, as informal networks exist as a parallel system that achieves substantive outcomes while perpetuating the inertia and incapacity of the state bureaucracy. This article has relevance for critical understanding of integrated water management in practice and adaptation to climate change in post-Soviet institutional settings more broadly.

  1. ASSESSING THE GOVERNANCE FOR COMMODITY PRICE STABILIZATION - A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pop Larisa Nicoleta

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The volatility of commodity prices has become once again a matter of profound and controversial debates for both political and academic spheres worldwide in the framework of the global economy severely distressed by the recent economic turbulences. Although commodity markets were already notorious for their price instability, the events the world economy experienced in the years 2000s offered new connotations to this phenomenon. In the first decade of this millennium, the commodity markets have struggled with high volatility, with prices reaching historical peaks just to crash dramatically some months later and very soon to restart their rise. The significant increase in volatility generated many debates about its triggering factors, the implications in terms of risk exposure of economic actors, but also the need for reconfiguring regulatory policy frameworks. The quest for the most appropriate means to deal with commodity price turbulences has known different stages over the years. Decision makers worldwide have sought alternatives, formulated and tested various mechanisms whose central aim was to mitigate price fluctuations. Governments formulate and implement consistent regulatory policies whose international coordination is a ‘sine qua non’ condition for stabilizing these markets. However, the turbulences on commodity markets often generate policy responses that sometimes exacerbate rather than mitigate the price instability. The purpose of this paper is to assess the subject of governance regarding commodity price stabilization, offering a retrospective look at the mechanisms implemented over the years, with a central focus on the International Commodity Agreements – instruments through which in the previous decades the producer and consumer governments worldwide pursued price stabilization for some key commodities like sugar, coffee, cocoa, tin and natural rubber. After analyzing the effectiveness of the International Agreements and

  2. Industrial commodity statistics yearbook 2001. Production statistics (1992-2001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    This is the thirty-fifth in a series of annual compilations of statistics on world industry designed to meet both the general demand for information of this kind and the special requirements of the United Nations and related international bodies. Beginning with the 1992 edition, the title of the publication was changed to industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook as the result of a decision made by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its twenty-seventh session to discontinue, effective 1994, publication of the Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume I, General Industrial Statistics by the Statistics Division of the United Nations. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has become responsible for the collection and dissemination of general industrial statistics while the Statistics Division of the United Nations continues to be responsible for industrial commodity production statistics. The previous title, Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume II, Commodity Production Statistics, was introduced in the 1982 edition. The first seven editions in this series were published under the title The Growth of World industry and the next eight editions under the title Yearbook of Industrial Statistics. This edition of the Yearbook contains annual quantity data on production of industrial commodities by country, geographical region, economic grouping and for the world. A standard list of about 530 commodities (about 590 statistical series) has been adopted for the publication. The statistics refer to the ten-year period 1992-2001 for about 200 countries and areas

  3. Industrial commodity statistics yearbook 2002. Production statistics (1993-2002)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    This is the thirty-sixth in a series of annual compilations of statistics on world industry designed to meet both the general demand for information of this kind and the special requirements of the United Nations and related international bodies. Beginning with the 1992 edition, the title of the publication was changed to industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook as the result of a decision made by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its twenty-seventh session to discontinue, effective 1994, publication of the Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume I, General Industrial Statistics by the Statistics Division of the United Nations. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has become responsible for the collection and dissemination of general industrial statistics while the Statistics Division of the United Nations continues to be responsible for industrial commodity production statistics. The previous title, Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume II, Commodity Production Statistics, was introduced in the 1982 edition. The first seven editions in this series were published under the title 'The Growth of World industry' and the next eight editions under the title 'Yearbook of Industrial Statistics'. This edition of the Yearbook contains annual quantity data on production of industrial commodities by country, geographical region, economic grouping and for the world. A standard list of about 530 commodities (about 590 statistical series) has been adopted for the publication. The statistics refer to the ten-year period 1993-2002 for about 200 countries and areas

  4. Industrial commodity statistics yearbook 2000. Production statistics (1991-2000)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    This is the thirty-third in a series of annual compilations of statistics on world industry designed to meet both the general demand for information of this kind and the special requirements of the United Nations and related international bodies. Beginning with the 1992 edition, the title of the publication was changed to industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook as the result of a decision made by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its twenty-seventh session to discontinue, effective 1994, publication of the Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume I, General Industrial Statistics by the Statistics Division of the United Nations. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has become responsible for the collection and dissemination of general industrial statistics while the Statistics Division of the United Nations continues to be responsible for industrial commodity production statistics. The previous title, Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume II, Commodity Production Statistics, was introduced in the 1982 edition. The first seven editions in this series were published under the title The Growth of World industry and the next eight editions under the title Yearbook of Industrial Statistics. This edition of the Yearbook contains annual quantity data on production of industrial commodities by country, geographical region, economic grouping and for the world. A standard list of about 530 commodities (about 590 statistical series) has been adopted for the publication. Most of the statistics refer to the ten-year period 1991-2000 for about 200 countries and areas

  5. organic agriculture in Syria : policy options

    OpenAIRE

    Santucci, Fabio M.

    2010-01-01

    The author analyses present difficulties of conventional agriculture in Syria. Market opportunities, in Syria and abroad, are illustrated. Possible actions and participatory approach are thus covered.

  6. Impact of the structure of agricultural production to the financial health of farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Kopta

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The first part of the paper deals with the influence of individual commodities on the profitability and risks of farms. Production structure was given thought share of twelve basic crops in total agricultural production yield. Volume of accumulated profit for five-year income was chosen as viability criterion. The research did not show that specialization in one of the commodities had significantly influenced achieved profitability. The only exception is the production of milk, which clearly lead to lower profitability. Production structure determined the risk of farms. Farms were constantly threatened by both negative profitability, and also steep fluctuations of cash flow (in other of long-term positive profitability, leading to temporary loss of solvency. The analysis showed that different types of production structures lead to different types of threats. The probability of falling into production losses, or that the loss is so great that not even cover variable costs (a farm finds itself under the point of termination of production was calculated using the EaR method. The results again supported previous findings. Loss is highly likely to be achieved in commodities of animal production. For commodities of crop production the probability of loss was roughly a half, but the probability of exceeding a period of variable costs is higher.

  7. Exploring future agricultural development and biodiversity in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi: a spatially explicit scenario-based assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Soesbergen, Arnout; Arnell, Andrew P.; Sassen, Marieke; Stuch, Benjamin; Schaldach, Rüdiger; Göpel, Jan; Vervoort, Joost; Mason-D’Croz, Daniel; Islam, Shahnila; Palazzo, Amanda

    2017-01-01

    Competition for land is increasing as a consequence of the growing demands for food and other commodities and the need to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land conversion and the intensification of current agricultural systems continues to lead to a loss of biodiversity and trade-offs

  8. Stationarity changes in long-run energy commodity prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaklan, Aleksandar; Abrell, Jan; Neumann, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Situated at the intersection of the literatures on speculative storage and non-renewable commodity scarcity, this paper considers whether changes in persistence have occurred in long-run U.S. prices of the energy commodities crude oil, natural gas and bituminous coal. We allow for a structural break when testing for a break in persistence to avoid a change in the stochastic properties of prices being confounded by an unaccounted-for deterministic shift in the price series. We find that coal prices are trend stationary throughout their evolution and that oil prices change from stationarity to non-stationarity in the decade between the late 1960s to late 1970s. The result on gas prices is ambiguous. Our results demonstrate the importance of accounting for a possible structural shift when testing for breaks in persistence, while being robust to the exact date of the structural break. Based on our analysis we caution against viewing long-run energy commodity prices as being non-stationary and conclude in favor of modeling commodity market fundamentals as stationary, meaning that speculative storage will tend to have a dampening effect on prices. We also cannot reject that long-run prices of coal and, with some hesitation, gas follow a Hotelling-type rule. In contrast, we reject the Hotelling rule for oil prices since the late 1960s/early 1970s. - Highlights: • This paper contributes to the literatures on speculative storage and scarcity. • We test if long-run U.S. coal, oil and gas prices became non-stationary. • We pre-test for structural breaks when testing for changes in persistence. • Coal prices are found to be trend stationary, oil prices become non-stationary. • We caution against modeling commodity market fundamentals as non-stationary.

  9. A two-commodity perishable inventory system | Sivakumar | ORiON

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We present a two-commodity perishable stochastic inventory system under continuous review at a service facility with a finite waiting room. The maximum storage capacity for the i-th item is fixed as Si (i = 1,2). We assume that a demand for the i-th commodity is of unit size. The arrival instants of customers to the service ...

  10. Examining Another Source of Recruitment for Agriculture Education Teachers

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Colten

    2018-01-01

    The school-based agricultural education (SBAE) profession has been suffering with a shortage of qualified agriculture teachers for more than 40 years (Smith, Lawver, & Foster, 2016; Kantrovich, 2010). Each year, agriculture programs across the country are unable to find enough qualified agriculture teachers to meet the demand, and some agriculture programs have shut down as a result. This shortage has led to the inability for programs to grow and expand, which means less opportunities for stu...

  11. The importance of foreign direct investment for South East European countries' agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stojadinović-Jovanović Sandra

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available As agriculture is strategically important sector for economic development and growth, it is also important every mode of foreign participation in agriculture, including foreign direct investments (FDI. The aim of the paper is to consider whether there are opportunities and potentials for improvements in SEE countries' agriculture through FDI and in which segments. Therefore, the paper analyses agricultural characteristics within other macroeconomic characteristics of SEE countries' economies and also possible FDI impacts on agriculture aiming to determine if there are opportunities for improvements in SEE agriculture through FDI. Research results, presented in the paper, suggest that FDI has significant potential for support and improvement of SEE countries' agricultural performances. However, there is a need for higher level of FDI in order to use potential positive effect as well as recognition of these potential benefits from FDI inflow in agriculture by the governments and policy makers.

  12. An industry perspective on the use of seasonal forecasts and weather information for evaluating sensitivities in traded commodity supply chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domeisen, Daniela; Slavov, Georgi

    2015-04-01

    Weather information on seasonal timescales is crucial to various end users, from the level of subsistence farming to the government level. Also the financial industry is ever more aware of and interested in the benefits that early and correctly interpreted forecast information provides. Straight forward and often cited applications include the estimation of rainfall and temperature anomalies for drought - prone agricultural areas producing traded commodities, as well as some of the rather direct impacts of weather on energy production. Governments, weather services, as well as both academia and private companies are working on tailoring climate and weather information to a growing number of customers. However, also other large markets, such as coal, iron ore, and gas, are crucially dependent on seasonal weather information and forecasts, while the needs are again very dependent on the direction of the predicted signal. So far, relatively few providers in climate services address these industries. All of these commodities show a strong seasonal and weather dependence, and an unusual winter or summer can crucially impact their demand and supply. To name a few impacts, gas is crucially driven by heating demand, iron ore excavation is dependent on the available water resources, and coal mining is dependent on winter temperatures and rainfall. This contribution will illustrate and provide an inside view of the type of climate and weather information needed for the various large commodity industries.

  13. Cross-correlations between RMB exchange rate and international commodity markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xinsheng; Li, Jianfeng; Zhou, Ying; Qian, Yubo

    2017-11-01

    This paper employs multifractal detrended analysis (MF-DFA) and multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) to study cross-correlation behaviors between China's RMB exchange rate market and four international commodity markets, using a comprehensive set of data covering the period from 22 July 2005 to 15 March 2016. Our empirical results from MF-DFA indicate that the RMB exchange rate is the most inefficient among the 4 selected markets. The results from quantitative analysis have testified the existence of cross-correlations and the result from MF-DCCA have further confirmed a strong multifractal behavior between RMB exchange rate and international commodity markets. We also demonstrate that the recent financial crisis has significant impact on the cross-correlated behavior. Through the rolling window analysis, we find that the RMB exchange rates and international commodity prices are anti-persistent cross-correlated. The main sources of multifractality in the cross-correlations are long-range correlations between RMB exchange rate and the aggregate commodity, energy and metals index.

  14. Unexpected Interactions between Agricultural and Forest Sectors through International Trade: Wood Pallets and Agricultural Exports in Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaline Jadin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available International market forces have played an increasingly important role in shaping land use dynamics through complex supply chains. In Costa Rica, the shift from a net loss to a net gain in forest cover was facilitated by forest plantations and the replacement of extensive cropland and pastures by export-oriented, high-yielding crops. However, agricultural intensification generated several feedbacks affecting forests. We analyzed the interactions between Costa Rica’s agricultural and forestry sectors associated with the use of wood pallets for commodity exports over 1985–2013. Wood pallets for growing agricultural exports created a demand for domestic tree plantations. The annual land demand for tree plantations to produce these wood pallets increased by 669%, reaching 17,606 ha in 2013 and representing 28% of the increase in demand for cropland for agricultural exports over 1994–2013. Wood supplied from plantations failed to fully substitute for wood from natural forests, only allowing for a relative substitution and preventing a major sparing of these forests. The dominant use of wood from plantations for production of low-value pallets de-incentivized investments in sustainable plantations. We showed that, beyond the typical interactions between agriculture and forestry through direct competition for land, international trade generated unexpected feedback where agricultural activities and supply chains affected forestry by triggering new demand and profound changes in forestry management. Land systems behave as complex systems, calling for integrated approaches to study the outcomes of forest conservation, reforestation programs, and development of land-based businesses.

  15. Opportunities in utilization of agricultural residues in bio-composite ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper, corn stalk as an agricultural residue was mixed with oak wood fiber to produce medium density fiberboards (MDF). Urea formaldehyde resin was used as binder. Hygroscopic and mechanical properties were evaluated according to the commercial standards in MDF production. Partial substitution of wood fiber ...

  16. Optimal Nonlinear Pricing, Bundling Commodities and Contingent Services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podesta, Marion; Poudou, Jean-Christophe

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we propose to analyze optimal nonlinear pricing when a firm offers in a bundle a commodity and a contingent service. The paper studies a mechanism design where all private information can be captured in a single scalar variable in a monopoly context. We show that to propose the package for commodity and service is less costly for the consumer, the firm has lower consumers' rent than the situation where it sells their good and contingent service under an independent pricing strategy. In fact, the possibility to use price discrimination via the supply of package is dominated by the fact that it is costly for the consumer to sign two contracts. Bundling energy and a contingent service is a profitable strategy for a energetician monopoly practising optimal nonlinear tariff. We show that the rates of the energy and the contingent service depend to the optional character of the contingent service and depend to the degree of complementarity between commodities and services. (authors)

  17. Agricultural Trade Restrictiveness in the European Union and the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Jean-Christophe Bureau; Luca Salvatici

    2001-01-01

    The paper provides a summary measure of the Uruguay Round tariff reduction commitments in the European Union and the United States, using the Mercantilistic Trade Restrictiveness Index (MTRI) as the tariff aggregator. We compute the index for agricultural commodity aggregates assuming a specific (Constant Elasticity of Substitution) functional form for import demand. The levels of the MTRI under the actual commitments of the Uruguay Round are computed and compared with two hypothetical cases,...

  18. Sorting out commodity and macroeconomic risk in expected stock returns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boons, M.F.

    2014-01-01

    The dissertation consists of three essays in asset pricing. Chapter I is motivated by the recent surge in institutional investment in commodity futures markets. The chapter studies how commodity risk is priced in stock and futures markets and asks whether this risk premium is time-varying with these

  19. Are we moving towards functioning agricultural markets and trade relations?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brosig, Stephan; Glauben, Thomas; Levkovych, Inna

    2016-01-01

    We introduce a special feature on the functioning of international agricultural markets. This feature is motivated by the increased interest in the functioning of commodity markets raised by unprecedented price turbulences since 2008, major structural changes through changed roles of emerging...... economies and related concerns regarding food security. We argue that the delineation of non-functioning markets from markets that adequately adjusted to adverse framework conditions lacks theoretical foundation. We discuss the relevance of some results on institutions for agricultural markets in emerging...... and transition countries. A synthesis of the articles included in the special feature is provided by highlighting the selection of topics that span a topical range covering price formation on world and domestic markets, market power and trade policy modelling....

  20. Analysis of physical flows in primary commodity trade. A case study in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Tao; Li, Bo; Fang, Changming; Zhao, Bin; Luo, Yiqi; Chen, Jiakuan

    2006-01-01

    How globalization and international trade affect sustainable development and environment has attracted worldwide attention. Associated with the import and export of primary commodities, ecologically important materials have been exchanged among regions and countries. China, having the largest population in the world and the highest economic growth rate in last decades, may have an important influence on global sustainable development through the trade of primary commodities. Using the data from Almanac of China's Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, we analyzed material flows in the trade of primary commodity in China from 1950 to 2001. Our analysis shows that: (1) China has turned from a net exporter of primary commodities to a net importer; (2) minerals and fuels have been the major imports of primary commodities since 1992, just as well as foods and minerals did in 1980s; (3) most of the net imported primary commodities come from Oceania, Africa and Latin America. (author)

  1. Radiation technology for preservation and hygienization of food and agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajare, Sachin N.

    2017-01-01

    Growing population demands more food for consumption. Given that the agricultural land is shrinking day by day in urban as well as rural areas, we are left with no choice but to preserve the produce in whatever way we can. In this scenario, gamma irradiation or exposure of foods or food products to high energy rays is a very effective technology in long term preservation of these products. Food Irradiation is an established and effective processing methodology that involves controlled application of energy from ionizing radiations in an irradiation chamber shielded by thick concrete walls using radioisotopes (Cobalt-60 and Caesium-137), electron beam (up to 10 MeV) and X-rays (up to 5 MeV). Presently it is being practiced in more than 60 countries for various applications. Radiation processing can achieve insect disinfestation of stored products, inhibition of sprouting in tubers, bulbs and rhizomes, delay in fruit ripening, destruction of microbes responsible for food spoilage and elimination of pathogens and parasites of public health importance

  2. Developmental Research of Off-Farm Agricultural Businesses in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berks County Schools, Reading, PA.

    Student vocational interest and agricultural business surveys were conducted in Berks County, Pennsylvania to gauge career opportunities in off-farm agricultural occupations. The seven categories of businesses surveyed included agriculture supplies, agriculture mechanics, horticulture mechanics, floriculture, landscaping, turf, and garden center…

  3. The Vistula River and water management in agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janusz Szablowski

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article attempts to show how much in agriculture depends on appropriate water resources. The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship is exposed to a significant deficiency of water resources. In addition, it experiences severe droughts, repeating in the period 1951–2006 on average every two years. The Vistula River flowing across the Voivodeship creates great chances for improved management conditions. These opportunities have been discussed on the example of investments, developed concepts of surface water management, agricultural irrigation programme and the opportunity of using the water resources of a planned second reservoir on the Vistula River below Włocławek.

  4. A MCIN-based architecture of smart agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Gu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – Material conscious and information network (MCIN is a kind of cyber physics social system. This paper aims to study the MCIN modeling method and design the MCIN-based architecture of smart agriculture (MCIN-ASA which is different from current vertical architecture and involves production, management and commerce. Architecture is composed of three MCIN-ASA participants which are MCIN-ASA enterprises, individuals and commodity. Design/methodology/approach – Architecture uses enterprises and individuals personalized portals as the carriers which are linked precisely with each other through a peer-to-peer network called six-degrees-of-separation block-chain. The authors want to establish a self-organization, open and ecological operational system which includes active, personalized consumption, direct, centralized distribution, distributed and smart production. Findings – The paper models three main MCIN-ASA participants, namely, design the smart supply, demand and management functions, which show the feasibility innovation and high efficiency of implementing MCIN on agriculture. At the same time, the paper presents a prototype system based on the architecture. Originality/value – The authors think that MCIN-ASA improves current agriculture greatly and inspires a lot in production-marketing-combined electronic commerce.

  5. Opportunities and Barriers for Water Co-Governance—A Critical Analysis of Seven Cases of Diffuse Water Pollution from Agriculture in Europe, Australia and North America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morten Graversgaard

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Diffuse Water Pollution from Agriculture (DWPA and its governance has received increased attention as a policy concern across the globe. Mitigation of DWPA is a complex problem that requires a mix of policy instruments and a multi-agency, broad societal response. In this paper, opportunities and barriers for developing co-governance, defined as collaborative societal involvement in the functions of government, and its suitability for mitigation of DWPA are reviewed using seven case studies in Europe (Poland, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands and UK, Australia (Murray-Darling Basin and North America (State of Minnesota. An analytical framework for assessing opportunities and barriers of co-governance was developed and applied in this review. Results indicated that five key issues constitute both opportunities and barriers, and include: (i pressure for change; (ii connected governance structures and allocation of resources and funding; (iii leadership and establishment of partnerships through capacity building; (iv use and co-production of knowledge; and (v time commitment to develop water co-governance.

  6. Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in California Agricultural Irrigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olsen, Daniel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Aghajanzadeh, Arian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); McKane, Aimee [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-08-01

    Pumping water for agricultural irrigation represents a significant share of California’s annual electricity use and peak demand. It also represents a large source of potential flexibility, as farms possess a form of storage in their wetted soil. By carefully modifying their irrigation schedules, growers can participate in demand response without adverse effects on their crops. This report describes the potential for participation in demand response and automated demand response by agricultural irrigators in California, as well as barriers to widespread participation. The report first describes the magnitude, timing, location, purpose, and manner of energy use in California. Typical on-­farm controls are discussed, as well as common impediments to participation in demand response and automated demand response programs. Case studies of demand response programs in California and across the country are reviewed, and their results along with overall California demand estimates are used to estimate statewide demand response potential. Finally, recommendations are made for future research that can enhance the understanding of demand response potential in this industry.

  7. LDC commodity risk analysis and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    Under the current operation of the new competitive electricity market in Ontario, local distribution companies (LDCs) are required to pay the monthly invoice of the Independent Market Operator (IMO) before they collect from end-users for the consumption period covered by the invoice, with no clear guarantee that the recovery will occur. This situation creates a major cash flow problem and financial risk for LDCs and threatens the integrity and stability of the electricity market. This paper described 3 features of Ontario's competitive electricity market that create financial and commodity risk. The first problem is that there is no limit on how high prices can rise. Increases in wholesale commodity prices can result in a situation where the amount of the IMO's invoice is greater than the LDC's ability to pay at the time of receipt. Secondly, the LDC bears a 100 per cent payment obligation to the IMO administrator of the wholesale market. The third problem is that LDCs bear payment default risk from all consumers in the Ontario market, including electricity retailers. This paper presents some specific policy solutions that can protect the market from this threat. It was suggested that in order to protect the integrity of Ontario's electricity market during high prices, a policy must be drafted to address the commodity price financing risk (CPFR) issue. The policy must also define what happens if prices increase past the LDCs financing obligation limit. tabs., figs

  8. 2002 commodity flow survey : state summaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-07-01

    This report summarizes the 2002 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) : state reports released in March 2005 by the Bureau of Transportation : Statistics (BTS) of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration : of the USDOT and the Census Bureau of the...

  9. Global stocks of selected mineral-based commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilburn, David R.; Bleiwas, Donald I.; Karl, Nick A.

    2016-12-05

    IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey, National Minerals Information Center, analyzes mineral and metal supply chains by identifying and describing major components of mineral and material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. This report focuses on an important component of the world’s supply chain: the amounts and global distribution of major consumer, producer, and exchange stocks of selected mineral commodities. In this report, the term “stock” is used instead of “inventory” and refers to accumulations of mined ore, intermediate products, and refined mineral-based commodities that are in a form that meets the agreed-upon specifications of a buyer or processor of intermediate products. These may include certain ores such as bauxite, concentrates, smelter products, and refined metals. Materials sometimes referred to as inventory for accounting purposes, such as ore contained in a deposit or in a leach pile, or materials that need to be further processed before they can be shipped to a consumer, are not considered. Stocks may be held (owned) by consumers, governments, investors, producers, and traders. They may serve as (1) a means to achieve economic, social, and strategic goals through government policies; (2) a secure source of supply to meet demand and to mitigate potential shortages in the supply chain; (3) a hedge to mitigate price volatility; and (4) vehicles for speculative investment.The paucity and uneven reliability of data for stocks of ores and concentrates and for material held by producers, consumers, and merchants hinder the accurate estimating of the size and distribution of this portion of the supply chain for certain commodities. This paper reviews the more visible stocks held in commodity exchange warehouses distributed throughout the world.

  10. Construction Method of Display Proposal for Commodities in Sales Promotion by Genetic Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yumoto, Masaki

    In a sales promotion task, wholesaler prepares and presents the display proposal for commodities in order to negotiate with retailer's buyers what commodities they should sell. For automating the sales promotion tasks, the proposal has to be constructed according to the target retailer's buyer. However, it is difficult to construct the proposal suitable for the target retail store because of too much combination of commodities. This paper proposes a construction method by Genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed method represents initial display proposals for commodities with genes, improve ones with the evaluation value by GA, and rearrange one with the highest evaluation value according to the classification of commodity. Through practical experiment, we can confirm that display proposal by the proposed method is similar with the one constructed by a wholesaler.

  11. The Commodity Form of Safety Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Finkelstein

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The production of safety information is deemed a vital resource to protect human lives at the work site. The injury rate, lost days, incapacity rate, and fatality rate, are key indicators to prop up labour risk awareness and identify job hazards. However, safety information gets highly distorted because it does not only measure risk but serves as a means of exchange. It determines the amount of money to be swapped between Workers’ Compensation Boards and their client corporations. Moreover, as a depository of exchange value, safety information tends to exert pressure over social reality rather than just being a passive reflection of it. This paper discloses the commodity form of safety information. Based on a political economy of information framework, it identifies, describes, and analyses the safety information commodity in its active role of organizing safety and labour health.

  12. Water and Land Limitations to Future Agricultural Production in the Middle East

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, J. A. M.; Wimmer, F.; Schaldach, R.

    2015-12-01

    Countries in the Middle East use a large fraction of their scarce water resources to produce cash crops, such as fruit and vegetables, for international markets. At the same time, these countries import large amounts of staple crops, such as cereals, required to meet the nutritional demand of their populations. This makes food security in the Middle East heavily dependent on world market prices for staple crops. Under these preconditions, increasing food demand due to population growth, urban expansion on fertile farmlands, and detrimental effects of a changing climate on the production of agricultural commodities present major challenges to countries in the Middle East that try to improve food security by increasing their self-sufficiency rate of staple crops.We applied the spatio-temporal land-use change model LandSHIFT.JR to simulate how an expansion of urban areas may affect the production of agricultural commodities in Jordan. We furthermore evaluated how climate change and changes in socio-economic conditions may influence crop production. The focus of our analysis was on potential future irrigated and rainfed production (crop yield and area demand) of fruit, vegetables, and cereals. Our simulation results show that the expansion of urban areas and the resulting displacement of agricultural areas does result in a slight decrease in crop yields. This leads to almost no additional irrigation water requirements due to the relocation of agricultural areas, i.e. there is the same amount of "crop per drop". However, taking into account projected changes in socio-economic conditions and climate conditions, a large volume of water would be required for cereal production in order to safeguard current self-sufficiency rates for staple crops. Irrigation water requirements are expected to double until 2025 and to triple until 2050. Irrigated crop yields are projected to decrease by about 25%, whereas there is no decrease in rainfed crop yields to be expected.

  13. 75 FR 32306 - Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act: Impact of Post-Default Agreements on Trust Protection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-08

    ... marketing chain becomes a seller in its own turn and can preserve its own trust assets accordingly. Because... Post-Default Agreements on Trust Protection Eligibility AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA... industry that sellers may lose their status as trust creditors when they agree orally or in writing, after...

  14. Commodity-based Approach for Evaluating the Value of Freight Moving on Texas’ Roadway Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-10

    The researchers took a commodity-based approach to evaluate the value of a list of selected commodities moved on the Texas freight network. This approach takes advantage of commodity-specific data sources and modeling processes. It provides a unique ...

  15. Commodity hardware and software summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolbers, S.

    1997-04-01

    A review is given of the talks and papers presented in the Commodity Hardware and Software Session at the CHEP97 conference. An examination of the trends leading to the consideration of PC's for HEP is given, and a status of the work that is being done at various HEP labs and Universities is given

  16. Estimating the Competitive Storage Model with Trending Commodity Prices

    OpenAIRE

    Gouel , Christophe; LEGRAND , Nicolas

    2017-01-01

    We present a method to estimate jointly the parameters of a standard commodity storage model and the parameters characterizing the trend in commodity prices. This procedure allows the influence of a possible trend to be removed without restricting the model specification, and allows model and trend selection based on statistical criteria. The trend is modeled deterministically using linear or cubic spline functions of time. The results show that storage models with trend are always preferred ...

  17. Mapping and audting agricultural indigenous knowledge in Kenya: a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... for improving the capturing, preserving and disseminating AIK for farmers. This is expected to contribute to agricultural productivity, sustainable food security, generation of foreign exchange, creation of income earning opportunities for farmers, and development of local agricultural content. Innovation, No.44, June 2012 ...

  18. Analysis of commodity prices with the particle filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aiube, Fernando Antonio Lucena; Baidya, Tara Keshar Nanda; Tito, Edison Americo Huarsaya

    2008-01-01

    The behavior of commodities prices is fundamental to real-asset investment decisions, hedging, and pricing financial derivatives. Schwartz and Smith [Schwartz, E.S., Smith, J.E. (2000). Short term-variations and long-term dynamics in commodity prices. Management Science, 46, 893-911.] proposed a two-factor model for describing the stochastic processes of commodity prices, in which the two factors are short-term variations and equilibrium prices. These are both unobserved state variables that are estimated using the Kalman filter. The estimation is based on the observation of future prices for different maturities. The authors have carried out this process without incorporating jumps in the short-term variation of prices. Here we aim to demonstrate that the inclusion of jumps better explains the behavior of oil prices, and in fact creates difficulties in the estimation of state variables. This is because the variables become non-Gaussian so the Kalman filter is not recommended. Another methodology, called the particle filter, is more suitable in this case, and we describe its application in this article

  19. Developing Capacity for Agricultural Research for Development in ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    This project will train a new group of agricultural research leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa. The number of agricultural scientists in the region has fallen at a time when high-quality research is needed to improve food security and livelihoods. Training and research opportunities A total of 20 training and ...

  20. COMPETITIVENESS OF LEADING COMMODITIES TO SUPPORT DEVELOPING REGION OF AGROTOURISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murwatiningsih Murwatiningsih

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available AbstractThe aim of the research is to seek the competitiveness of the leading commodity in Semarang city which supports the development of centre commodity in agrotourism area. The method of analysis is leading sector, scoring analysis and capacity asessment through FGD. The result of the research reveals that leading commodities are Durian, Longan, Water Apple, and Rambutan. It is found that subdistrict Gunungpati and Mangunsari are ready to be the centre of horticulture commodity because its strategic location. It is located nearby Jatibarang reservoir (potential to be a tourism village, its cultivation is relatively successful, accessable transportation, and good management. Hence, it can be the pilot project area.Key words: competitiveness, centre, commodity, horticultureJEL Classification: O20, Q10AbstrakKesejahteraan petani tidak meningkat karena daya saingnya rendah dan pengelolannya tidak optimal. Tujuan penelitian, untuk melihat daya saing komoditas unggulan Kota Semarang untuk mendukung pengembangan sentra komoditas di kawasan agrowisata. Metode analisis yaitu sektor basis, analisis scoring serta capacity assessment melalui FGD. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan komoditas yang diunggulkan di Gunungpati adalah durian, klengkeng, jambu air dan rambutan. Kelurahan Gunungpati dan Mangunsari siap dijadikan sentra komoditas hortikultura di Kecamatan Gunungpati karena letaknya strategis- dekat dengan waduk Jatibarang (dapat menjadi desa wisata, budidaya relatif lebih berhasil, transportasi dan akseptibilitas lebih mudah, pengelolaannya bagus sehingga sudah menjadi daerah percontohan.Kata Kunci: daya saing, sentra, komoditas, hortikulturJEL Classification: O20, Q10

  1. Market interdependence among commodity prices based on information transmission on the Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Qiang; Guo, Jian-Feng

    2015-05-01

    Human behaviour on the Internet has become a synchro-projection of real society. In this paper, we introduce the public concern derived from query volumes on the Web to empirically analyse the influence of information on commodity markets (e.g., crude oil, heating oil, corn and gold) using multivariate GARCH models based on dynamic conditional correlations. The analysis found that the changes of public concern on the Internet can well depict the changes of market prices, as the former has significant Granger causality effects on market prices. The findings indicate that the information of external shocks to commodity markets could be transmitted quickly, and commodity markets easily absorb the public concern of the information-sensitive traders. Finally, the conditional correlation among commodity prices varies dramatically over time.

  2. 76 FR 37797 - Application to Export Electric Energy; Freepoint Commodities, LLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [OE Docket No. EA-380] Application to Export Electric Energy; Freepoint... application. SUMMARY: Freepoint Commodities, LLC has requested authority to transmit electric energy from the... Commodities requesting authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada for ten years as...

  3. The crucial relationship among energy commodity prices: Evidence from the Spanish electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moutinho, Victor; Vieira, Joel; Carrizo Moreira, Antonio

    2011-01-01

    The main purpose of this article is twofold to analyze: (a) the long-term relation among the commodities prices and between spot electricity market price and commodity prices, and (b) the short-term dynamics among commodity prices and between electricity prices and commodity prices. Data between 2002 and 2005 from the Spanish electricity market was used. Econometric methods were used in the analysis of the commodity spot price, namely the vector autoregression model, the vector error correction model and the granger causality test. The co-integration approach was used to analyze the long-term relationship between the common stochastic trends of four fossil fuel prices. One of the findings in the long-term relation is that the prices of fuel and the prices of Brent are intertwined, though the prices of Brent ten to 'move' to reestablish the price equilibrium. Another finding is that the price of electricity is explained by the evolution of the natural gas series. - Highlights: → We model energy commodity prices in the Spanish electricity market. → We examine the short and long-term relationships among commodities prices. → We examine short and long-term relationships using co-integration techniques. → We found that in the long run the prices of fuel and Brent are intertwined. → The evolution of price of electricity is explained by the evolution of price of gas.

  4. Agricultural Residues and Biomass Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2016-06-01

    There are many opportunities to leverage agricultural resources on existing lands without interfering with production of food, feed, fiber, or forest products. In the recently developed advanced biomass feedstock commercialization vision, estimates of potentially available biomass supply from agriculture are built upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Long-Term Forecast, ensuring that existing product demands are met before biomass crops are planted. Dedicated biomass energy crops and agricultural crop residues are abundant, diverse, and widely distributed across the United States. These potential biomass supplies can play an important role in a national biofuels commercialization strategy.

  5. Duopoly price competition on markets with agricultural products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Prášilová

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A situation, in which two firms compete, is in the economic theory described by duopoly models. Market equilibrium on the duopoly market is formed in a reciprocal adjustment process of market prices and materialized market opportunities. The goal of the analysis is to find out whether the agricultural products market is significantly influenced by appearance of duopolies, what form they have and if they can fundamentally influence the price level of food. That food chain stores endeavour to mutually adapt food product prices is generally known; it is set especially by the inelastic demand for the mentioned goods on the side of consumers, i.e., by the need to demand basic food. Duopoly reactions to price competition in food chain stores are particularly strong in the case of commodities of milk and tomatoes, where the reactions and approximation of prices can be clearly seen. Based on statistical research it is obvious that the reactions are most reflected on sales of the food chain stores Billa and Albert. To identify specific reactions of price duopoly at retail chains the ANOVA statistical method was used. The firm’s duopoly behaviour as such on the food market need not be a subject for applying punishment from the antimonopoly bureau, if it does not have the cartel agreement character. An example can be the identical potato prices inquiry in the supermarkets of food chain stores.

  6. 2007 commodity flow survey : state summaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-01

    This report summarizes and highlights freight shipments for each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia based on the final release of CFS data in December 2009. It provides tables for each States value and weight of shipments, major commodity ...

  7. Commodities Trading: An Essential Economic Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Mary A., Ed.

    1989-01-01

    This issue focuses on commodities trading as an essential economic tool. Activities include critical thinking about marketing decisions and discussion on how futures markets and options are used as important economic tools. Discussion questions and a special student project are included. (EH)

  8. Dutch City Network feeds the Innovation of Urban Agriculture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansma, J.E.; Veen, E.J.; Kop, van de P.J.; Eijk, van O.N.M.

    2015-01-01

    Since 2010, the Dutch City Network on Urban Agriculture (Stedennetwerk in Dutch), has linked up civil servants of fourteen cities in order to see opportunities, share knowledge and solve issues on urban agriculture in their cities. Though it started as an internally focused network for civil

  9. Dynamics of a durable commodity market involving trade at disequilibrium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panchuk, A.; Puu, T.

    2018-05-01

    The present work considers a simple model of a durable commodity market involving two agents who trade stocks of two different types. Stock commodities, in contrast to flow commodities, remain on the market from period to period and, consequently, there is neither unique demand function nor unique supply function exists. We also set up exact conditions for trade at disequilibrium, the issue being usually neglected, though a fact of reality. The induced iterative system has infinite number of fixed points and path dependent dynamics. We show that a typical orbit is either attracted to one of the fixed points or eventually sticks at a no-trade point. For the latter the stock distribution always remains the same while the price displays periodic or chaotic oscillations.

  10. 22 CFR 201.64 - Application of the price rules to commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    .... 201.64 Section 201.64 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RULES AND PROCEDURES... purchase price of a commodity exceeds the price in comparable export sales or in comparable domestic sales... the determination of any prevailing market price of any commodity or any prevailing price or maximum...

  11. Corn Production. A Unit for Teachers of Vocational Agriculture. Production Agriculture Curriculum Materials Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Clyde, Jr.

    Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit contains nine lessons based upon competencies needed to maximize profits in corn production. The lessons cover opportunities for growing corn; seed selection; seedbed preparation; planting methods and practices; fertilizer rates and application;…

  12. Climate-smart agriculture global research agenda: scientific basis for action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenwerth, K.L.; Hodson, A.K.; Bloom, A.J.; Carter, M.R.; Cattaneo, A.; Chartres, C.; Leemans, R.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) addresses the challenge of meeting the growing demand for food, fibre and fuel, despite the changing climate and fewer opportunities for agricultural expansion on additional lands. CSA focuses on contributing to economic development, poverty reduction and

  13. Pulmonary health effects of agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordgren, Tara M; Bailey, Kristina L

    2016-03-01

    Occupational exposures in the agricultural industry are associated with numerous lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, lung cancer, and interstitial lung diseases. Efforts are ongoing to ascertain contributing factors to these negative respiratory outcomes and improve monitoring of environmental factors leading to disease. In this review, recently published studies investigating the deleterious effects of occupational exposures in the agricultural industry are discussed. Occupational exposures to numerous agricultural environment aerosols, including pesticides, fungi, and bacteria are associated with impaired respiratory function and disease. Increases in certain farming practices, including mushroom and greenhouse farming, present new occupational exposure concerns. Improved detection methods may provide opportunities to better monitor safe exposure levels to known lung irritants. In the agricultural industry, occupational exposures to organic and inorganic aerosols lead to increased risk for lung disease among workers. Increased awareness of respiratory risks and improved monitoring of agricultural environments are necessary to limit pulmonary health risks to exposed populations.

  14. [Research progress on standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica and discussion on several key problems].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Guang; Zeng, Yan; Guo, Lan-Ping; Huang, Lu-Qi; Jin, Yan; Zheng, Yu-Guang; Wang, Yong-Yan

    2014-05-01

    Standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica is an important way to solve the "Lemons Problem" of traditional Chinese medicine market. Standards of commodity classes are also helpful to rebuild market mechanisms for "high price for good quality". The previous edition of commodity classes standards of Chinese materia medica was made 30 years ago. It is no longer adapted to the market demand. This article researched progress on standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. It considered that biological activity is a better choice than chemical constituents for standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. It is also considered that the key point to set standards of commodity classes is finding the influencing factors between "good quality" and "bad quality". The article also discussed the range of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica, and how to coordinate standards of pharmacopoeia and commodity classes. According to different demands, diversiform standards can be used in commodity classes of Chinese materia medica, but efficacy is considered the most important index of commodity standard. Decoction pieces can be included in standards of commodity classes of Chinese materia medica. The authors also formulated the standards of commodity classes of Notoginseng Radix as an example, and hope this study can make a positive and promotion effect on traditional Chinese medicine market related research.

  15. Training Teens to Teach Agricultural Biotechnology: A National 4-H Science Demonstration Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chad Ripberger

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses a National 4-H Science agricultural biotechnology demonstration project and the impact of the pilot programs on the teenage leaders and teachers. A total of 82 teenagers were extensively trained, who in turn, engaged 620 youth participants with agricultural biotechnology education in afterschool and summer programs in five states. This article details the national and state level trainings for these teen teachers as well as the content rich partners from agribusinesses, agricultural commodity groups, and universities who supported their involvement. The impact on the content knowledge, science process and life skills, and program development and implementation skills of the teen leaders and teachers was evaluated using multiple instruments over multiple administrations (pre-training, post-training, and post-teaching. Results indicate significant gains in most areas assessed. Project recommendations and future plans are also discussed.

  16. The analysis of export commodity competitiveness in Central Java Province at period 2011-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elysi, M. G.; Darsono; Riptanti, E. W.

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to determine the competitiveness of furniture export in Central Java Province Indonesia in terms of comparative and competitive advantages and to formulate the strategies to enhance the competitiveness of furniture export in Central Java Province. Descriptive analytic method was used for this research. Data used in this research are primary and secondary data. Data were analyzed using RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage), TSI (Trade Specialization Index) and SOAR (Strength, Opportunity, Aspiration, Result). The results showed that furniture commodity in Central Java Province had strong comparative competitiveness with the value of RCA>1 and had strong competitiveness with positive index values in the range of 0 to 1. Based on SOAR analysis, strategy measures can be formulated, namely maintaining the existing and expanding targeted markets, improving product designs (innovations) and improving raw materials efficiency.

  17. Irradiation as a disinfestation method - update on methyl bromide phase out, regulatory action and emerging opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marcotte, Michelle

    1998-01-01

    Methyl bromide (MeBr), is the most widely used agricultural fumigant in the world for the control of pests and plant diseases. It is used to control pests and diseases in food, agricultural and forestry commodities after harvest, before or during storage or transportation and/or at time of import to control quarantine or storage pests. Knowing MeBr will be phased out has spurred a search for alternative treatments and products, and has placed pressure on regulatory authorities to approve alternatives. Some of methyl bromide use could be replaced with irradiation. Methyl bromide is also used for soil and structural fumigation, and although there is some use of irradiation for packaged soil or greenhouse products, in general, these uses can not be replaced by irradiation. Some radiation processing facilities have either seen increased business to disinfest commodities, or have experienced more inquiries for service. There are many other processes and products competing for this market and irradiation will not win its share of the business without an improved regulatory picture, improved marketing to methyl bromide users and improved information to answer questions from commodity sectors. The United Nations Environment Program - Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) provides a venue for the publication or information about the use and availability of irradiation as an alternative to methyl bromide. It provides the technical base to the Montreal Protocol contributing to the setting of phase out dates; this committee is actively researching and assessing all alternatives and needs information about irradiation. The author is a member of the MBTOC committee

  18. Examining the Common Core State Standards in Agricultural Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKim, Aaron J.; Lambert, Misty D.; Sorensen, Tyson J.; Velez, Jonathan J.

    2015-01-01

    The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent a shift in the American education system. Included in the CCSS are opportunities for agriculture teachers to integrate math and English language arts content into their curriculum. Using the theory of planned behavior, we sought to identify Oregon agriculture teachers' attitudes, familiarity with,…

  19. Landscape Analysis of Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture Policy Development in Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lachat, Carl; Nago, Eunice; Ka, Abdoulaye; Vermeylen, Harm; Fanzo, Jessica; Mahy, Lina; Wüstefeld, Marzella; Kolsteren, Patrick

    2015-06-01

    Unlocking the agricultural potential of Africa offers a genuine opportunity to address malnutrition and drive development of the continent. Using Senegal as a case study, to identify gaps and opportunities to strengthen agricultural policies with nutrition-sensitive approaches. We carried out a systematic analysis of 13 policy documents that related to food production, agriculture, food security, or nutrition. Next, we collected data during a participatory analysis with 32 national stakeholders and in-depth interviews with 15 national experts of technical directorates of the different ministries that deal with agriculture and food production. The current agricultural context has various elements that are considered to enhance its nutrition sensitivity. On average, 8.3 of the 17 Food and Agriculture Organization guiding principles for agriculture programming for nutrition were included in the policies reviewed. Ensuring food security and increasing dietary diversity were considered to be the principal objectives of agricultural policies. Although there was considerable agreement that agriculture can contribute to nutrition, current agricultural programs generally do not target communities on the basis of their nutritional vulnerability. Agricultural programs were reported to have specific components to target female beneficiaries but were generally not used as delivery platforms for nutritional interventions. The findings of this study indicate the need for a coherent policy environment across the food system that aligns recommendations at the national level with local action on the ground. In addition, specific activities are needed to develop a shared understanding of nutrition and public health nutrition within the agricultural community in Senegal. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. 7 CFR 771.7 - Equal opportunity and non-discrimination requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, or other prohibited... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Equal opportunity and non-discrimination requirements... opportunity and non-discrimination requirements. No recipient of a boll weevil eradication loan shall directly...

  1. Sustainable Systems Analysis of Production and Transportation Scenarios for Conventional and Bio-based Energy Commodities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doran, E. M.; Golden, J. S.; Nowacek, D. P.

    2013-12-01

    International commerce places unique pressures on the sustainability of water resources and marine environments. System impacts include noise, emissions, and chemical and biological pollutants like introduction of invasive species into key ecosystems. At the same time, maritime trade also enables the sustainability ambition of intragenerational equity in the economy through the global circulation of commodities and manufactured goods, including agricultural, energy and mining resources (UN Trade and Development Board 2013). This paper presents a framework to guide the analysis of the multiple dimensions of the sustainable commerce-ocean nexus. As a demonstration case, we explore the social, economic and environmental aspects of the nexus framework using scenarios for the production and transportation of conventional and bio-based energy commodities. Using coupled LCA and GIS methodologies, we are able to orient the findings spatially for additional insight. Previous work on the sustainable use of marine resources has focused on distinct aspects of the maritime environment. The framework presented here, integrates the anthropogenic use, governance and impacts on the marine and coastal environments with the natural components of the system. A similar framework has been highly effective in progressing the study of land-change science (Turner et al 2007), however modification is required for the unique context of the marine environment. This framework will enable better research integration and planning for sustainability objectives including mitigation and adaptation to climate change, sea level rise, reduced dependence on fossil fuels, protection of critical marine habitat and species, and better management of the ocean as an emerging resource base for the production and transport of commodities and energy across the globe. The framework can also be adapted for vulnerability analysis, resilience studies and to evaluate the trends in production, consumption and

  2. Impacts of renewable fuel regulation and production on agriculture, energy, and welfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    McPhail, Lihong Lu

    The purpose of this dissertation is to study the impact of U.S. federal renewable fuel regulations on energy and agriculture commodity markets and welfare. We consider two federal ethanol policies: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) contained in the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007 and tax credits to ethanol blenders contained in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. My first essay estimates the distribution of short-run impacts of changing federal ethanol policies on U.S. energy prices, agricultural commodity prices, and welfare through a stochastic partial equilibrium model of U.S. corn, ethanol, and gasoline markets. My second essay focuses on studying the price behavior of the renewable fuel credit (RFC) market, which is the mechanism developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet the RFS. RFCs are a tradable, bankable, and borrowable accounting mechanism to ensure that all obligated parties use a mandated level of renewable fuel. I first develop a conceptual framework to understand how the market works and then apply stochastic dynamic programming to simulate prices for RFCs, examine the sensitivity of prices to relevant shocks, and estimate RFC option premiums. My third essay assesses the impact of policy led U.S. ethanol on the markets of global crude oil and U.S. gasoline using a structural Vector Auto Regression model of global crude oil, U.S. gasoline and ethanol markets.

  3. Agriculture and Food Security | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    1MB). Funding. The Agriculture and Food Security program funds research primarily through competitive calls. Announcements and details on eligibility and thematic focus for funding opportunities will be posted on IDRC's funding page.

  4. Value chain management for commodities: a case study from the chemical industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kannegiesser, M.; Günther, H.O.; Beek, van P.; Grunow, M.; Habla, C.

    2009-01-01

    We present a planning model for chemical commodities related to an industry case. Commodities are standard chemicals characterized by sales and supply volatility in volume and value. Increasing and volatile prices of crude oil-dependent raw materials require coordination of sales and supply

  5. The role of COMESA in promoting intra-regional agricultural trade: Case study of Sudan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azharia Abdelbagi Elbushra

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available African countries have created many regional trade agreements with the economic objectives of reducing trade barriers and encouraging economic growth. The COMESA is an example of regional integration singed on 1993 by 19 African countries including Sudan. COMESA represents a chance for member countries to enhance their economic and social relations through increasing intra-trade. The objective of this paper is to assess the role of COMESA in promoting intra-regional agricultural trade between Sudan and COMESA countries. A multi-market model with Armington non-linear specification was applied. The paper results showed that there is a great potential for Sudan to increase its agricultural exports to other COMESA countries. The domestic agricultural markets are expected to be hampered by imports surge and increase in competition, while the producers of agricultural export commodities will be better off. In order to compete and benefit from potential in the COMESA markets, the paper recommended improving efficiency in the Sudanese agricultural sector through increasing productivity, lowering cost of production, enhancing marketing services, attaining economies of scale and attracting foreign investment.

  6. Exploring future agricultural development and biodiversity in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Soesbergen, Arnout; Arnell, Andrew P.; Sassen, Marieke

    2017-01-01

    Competition for land is increasing as a consequence of the growing demands for food and other commodities and the need to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land conversion and the intensification of current agricultural systems continues to lead to a loss of biodiversity and trade......-offs among ecosystem functions. Decision-makers need to understand these trade-offs in order to better balance different demands on land and resources. There is an urgent need for spatially explicit information and analyses on the effects of different trajectories of human-induced landscape change...... and that expanding protected areas to include other important biodiversity areas can help reduce biodiversity losses in all three countries. These results highlight the need for effective protection and the potential benefits of expanding the protected area network while meeting agricultural production needs....

  7. 16 CFR 500.16 - Measurement of container type commodities, how expressed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodities shall be expressed as follows: (1) For bag type commodities, in terms of count followed by linear... a dimension of 2 feet or more will be expressed in feet with any remainder in terms of inches or...) When the unit bag is gussetted, the dimensions will be expressed as width, depth and length in terms of...

  8. [Qualitative characteristics and classification study on commodity specification and grade standard of Panax notoginseng].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Da-Hui; Xu, Na; Guo, Lan-Ping; Jin, Yan; Cui, Xiu-Ming; Yang, Ye; Zhu, Xin-Yan; Zhan, Zhi-Lai; Huang, Lu-Qi

    2016-03-01

    Through the markets investigations and literature surveying, this paper investigates and analyzes the qualitative characteristics and commodity condition of Panax notoginseng. And the samples collected from market and origin were analyzed in order to revise the commodity specification and grade standard of P. notoginseng combined with production practice. In this paper, the authors divide the P. notoginseng into 4 commodity specification which are root (including Cunqi and Dongqi ), Rhizome and rootlet according to different parts and harvest time. And the root were divided into 8 grade which are 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 120, countless and substandard. The density and internal components between the different commodity specification and grade of P. notoginseng were also compared. As well as the effect of different producing area, cultivation years and harvesting time on the commodity specification and grade of P. notoginseng were researched. On this basis, we revise and improve the commodity specification and grade standard of P. notoginseng. Moreover, we suggest the quality control indexes of P. notoginseng should be developed according to the different medicinal part and commodity specification in CHP. In order to guide the standardized production of traditional Chinese medicine and ensure the quality of medicinal materials, the cultivation years and density of each medicinal materials should also be indicated in CHP. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  9. The normal mycoflora of commodities from Thailand. 2. Beans, rice, small grains and other commodities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitt, J I; Hocking, A D; Bhudhasamai, K; Miscamble, B F; Wheeler, K A; Tanboon-Ek, P

    1994-09-01

    Part of a comprehensive study of fungi occurring in commodities in Thailand, this paper reports results from 276 samples of mung beans, rice, sorghum and soybeans as well as other minor crops. Samples for major commodities were taken from farmers' stocks, middlemen and retail outlets, while those for minor crops were mostly from retail. Each sample was divided into two portions, one being examined in Bangkok and the second at North Ryde. Mycological examinations were carried out by direct plating after surface disinfection in chlorine. Media used were dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar, dichloran 18% glycerol agar, Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus agar and dichloran chloramphenicol peptone agar. Fungi were identified to species level and percentage infection of samples calculated. The dominant fungus found in mung beans was Fusarium semitectum, which was present in 40% of samples and at a high level (18% of all seeds) overall. Aspergillus flavus was also found in 40% of samples, but only in 2% of seeds overall. Lasiodiplodia theobromae was the only other fungus exceeding 1% total infection. The major fungi found in soybeans were A. flavus (67% of samples; 6% overall) and Cladosporium cladosporioides (49% of samples; 9% overall). Storage fungi were more common in soybeans than the other commodities, indicating longer or adverse storage. Paddy rice contained high levels of a wide variety of field fungi, notably Fusarium semitectum, Bipolaris oryzae, and Curvularia, Phoma and Colletotrichum species. However, probably due to the heat generated by milling, milled rice contained very few fungi, which were mostly of storage origin. Only 3% of particles examined contained internal fungi. Infection in sorghum was typical of oilseeds, dominated by Aspergillus flavus, which was present in 86% of samples, with an overall infection rate of 12%. Beans other than soybeans were infected by a wide range of field fungi, but at low levels, with less than half of seeds

  10. Leadership Learning Opportunities in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education: The Role of The Teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKim, Aaron J.; Pauley, C. M.; Velez, Jonathan J.; Sorensen, Tyson J.

    2017-01-01

    Learning environments combining agriculture, food, natural resources, and leadership knowledge and skills are increasingly essential in preparing students for future success. School-based agricultural education offers a premier context in which to teach leadership within agriculture, food, and natural resources curriculum. However, providing…

  11. Commodity futures and market efficiency

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krištoufek, Ladislav; Vošvrda, Miloslav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 42, č. 1 (2014), s. 50-57 ISSN 0140-9883 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/09/0965 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP402/11/0948 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : commodities * efficiency * entropy * long-term memory * fractal dimension Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 2.708, year: 2014 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2013/E/kristoufek-0420811.pdf

  12. Prospective analysis agriculture energy 2030. Agriculture and the challenges of energy - Synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vert, Julien; Portet, Fabienne; Even, Marie-Aude; Herault, Bruno; Laisney, Celine; Mahe, Thuriane

    2010-01-01

    The present overview document contains the main results of the Agriculture Energy 2030 prospective study, based on the work of the group led by the CEP [Centre d'etudes et de prospective/Centre for studies and strategic foresight] at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Spatial Planning. Energy in agriculture is all too often seen as a purely cyclical problem whereas it is a major issue for the future due to its economic consequences for agricultural holdings, its links with environmental and climatic issues, and its influence on food supply chains and spatial planning. Based on the scenario method, this analysis initially involved describing the whole range of links between agriculture and energy in France and organising them into a system of variables before going on to draw up an inventory of the knowledge available. Starting out from this diagnostic approach, the group constructed four scenarios over the period to 2030: 'Regionalization and sobriety to confront the crisis', 'Twin track agriculture and energy realism', 'Health Agriculture with no major energy constraints' and 'Ecological agriculture and energy savings'. These scenarios do not form an exhaustive panorama of all possible developments of the agriculture-energy system - they are rather formalised images of what the future might hold. However, quantification and comparison of the scenarios has led to the identification of major room for progress in energy efficiency in French farming. By helping gain greater awareness of future difficulties and issues or, conversely, opportunities to be grasped, these scenarios provided input for the strategic analysis phase, the concluding stage of this exercise, and the identification of general objectives and levers for public action. (authors)

  13. Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-14

    passed laws restricting legal production to medicinal and industrial purposes only.42 The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act defined hemp as a narcotic drug...refers to industrial hemp, “marijuana” (or “ marihuana ” as it is spelled in the older statutes) refers to the psychotropic drug (whether used for... medicinal or recreational purposes), and “cannabis” refers to the plant species that has industrial, medicinal , and recreational varieties.1 Comparison of

  14. 7 CFR 1488.3 - General.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... increase total commercial sales of agricultural commodities to the importing country. ... AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS FINANCING OF SALES OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES Financing of Export Sales of Agricultural Commodities From Private Stocks Under CCC Export Credit Sales Program (GSM-5...

  15. Uruguay Round of GATT: Potential Opportunities for Egypt, The

    OpenAIRE

    Karen Oerter; William H. Meyers

    1995-01-01

    What agricultural opportunities may be opened to countries such as Egypt due to the liberalization of world trade? This paper discusses the effects of changes in market access, domestic support, and export competition outlined in the recent General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and explains how these changes will affect world agricultural trade in rice, cotton, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, oranges, and dates.

  16. The influence of biofuels, economic and financial factors on daily returns of commodity futures prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Algieri, Bernardina

    2014-01-01

    Biofuels production has experienced rapid growth worldwide as one of the several strategies to promote green energy economies. Indeed, climate change mitigation and energy security have been frequent rationales behind biofuel policies, but biofuels production could generate negative impacts, such as additional demand for feedstocks, and therefore for land on which to grow them, with a consequent increase in food commodity prices. In this context, this paper examines the effect of biofuels and other economic and financial factors on daily returns of a group of commodity futures prices using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) family models in univariate and multivariate settings. The results show that a complex of drivers are relevant in explaining commodity futures returns; more precisely, the Standard and Poor's (S and P) 500 positively affects commodity markets, while the US/Euro exchange rate brings about a decline in commodity returns. It turns out, in addition, that energy market returns are significant in explaining commodity returns on a daily basis, while monetary liquidity is not. This would imply that biofuel policy should be carefully monitored in order to avoid excessive first-generation subsidization, which would trigger a fuel vs. food conflict. - Highlights: • The effects of biofuels and other economic and financial factors on daily returns of commodity futures prices are examined. • A GARCH methodology in univariate and multivariate settings is adopted. • The results show that a complex of drivers is relevant in explaining commodity futures returns. • Energy market returns play a significant role in pushing commodity returns. • The increase in monetary liquidity does not contribute to changes in futures returns on a daily basis

  17. Market Structure and Price Transmission of Eggs Commodity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Aziz Ahmad

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Purposes of this research are to determine some characteristics of distribution channel, market structure, and price maker transmission in purebred chicken egg commodity in Banyumas District, Central Java Province. Primary data applied on this research is from all channel distribution levels; from producers to final consumers. Meanwhile secondary data is collected from government official sources, such as BPS-Statistic of Banyumas Disrict, Banyumas Department of Industry, Trading and Cooperation, and previous researches which has been made by researcher team. Sample determining is directed by proportional random sampling methods. Some measurements are applied to this research, including to; Herfindahl Index (HI, Concentration Ratio (CF, and Minimum Efficiency Scale (MES to investigate market structure; and Asymmetric Price Transmission (APT to determine price transmission mechanism model. This research finds that (1 the distribution channel of egg commodity is spitted to different channel, the first channel: egg producer – retail traders – final consumers, and second channel: egg producers – whole seller – retail traders – final consumers; (2 market structure which is created to this farming specific commodity is perfect market; (3 price transmission mechanism analysis statistically shows that there is almost no existence of dominant power in price formation.

  18. Towards microalgal triglycerides in the commodity markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benvenuti, Giulia; Ruiz, Jesús; Lamers, Packo P.; Bosma, Rouke; Wijffels, René H.; Barbosa, Maria J.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Microalgal triglycerides (TAGs) hold great promise as sustainable feedstock for commodity industries. However, to determine research priorities and support business decisions, solid techno-economic studies are essential. Here, we present a techno-economic analysis of two-step TAG

  19. MODERN FEATURES OF TAXATION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES OF UKRAINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burkovskaya A.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Permanent changes in tax legislation and a significant share of the cost structure of agricultural enterprises for taxes on payment of taxes determine the special importance of the correct decision while choosing a system of taxation. Today, for Ukraine, the issue of developing a mechanism that would define new and more effective principles of taxation of agricultural producers is particularly relevant. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study changes in taxation of agricultural producers over the last few years, to identify the peculiarities and problems of taxation of agricultural enterprises in Ukraine, and to determine how the state supports agriculture. Results. In this article, the system of tax burden on agricultural enterprises of Ukraine is considered: tax rates, mechanisms and types of taxes to be paid by agrarian enterprises. The methods and instruments of tax regulation in the agrarian sector and their gradual change over the last few years have been analyzed. A schematic diagram of the changes of the special regime in taxation in 2016-2017 years has been constructed. The alternative ways of supporting agricultural commodity producers by means of subsidy programs are presented. The flaws of tax innovations in agriculture are substantiated. The importance of state regulation of the agrarian sector of the economy through the tax mechanisms has been confirmed. Conclusion. Conclusions are made regarding to the modern state of the system of taxation of agrarian enterprises and the consequences of increasing the tax burden for taxpayers of the IV group of the single tax. Taking into account changes in the agrarian sector and the economy as a whole, the agricultural taxation system requires serious reforms, including in terms of eliminating tax problems for different categories of agricultural producers. However, taxation in agriculture, where there are specific economic conditions, should stimulate producers, which

  20. Smart Sensing Technology for Agriculture and Environmental Monitoring

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    The book focuses on the different aspects of sensing technology, i.e. high reliability, adaptability, recalibration, information processing, data fusion, validation and integration of novel and high performance sensors specifically aims to monitor agricultural and environmental parameters.   This book is dedicated to Sensing systems for Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring  offers to variety of users, namely, Master and PhD degree students, researchers, practitioners, especially Agriculture and Environmental engineers. The book will provide an opportunity of a dedicated and a deep approach in order to improve their knowledge in this specific field.

  1. 7 CFR 1401.4 - Commodity certificates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... this section of loan collateral by a person to whom a loan secured by such collateral is made): or... loan collateral—(1) General. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in paragraphs (f) and... commodities pledged as collateral for CCC loans made to such person, at any time on or before the expiration...

  2. The effect of trade liberalisation on Syrian agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Basel Abbas

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Syrian agricultural policy should be characterized by a high level of government intervention, including fixed prices, government monopoly in strategic crop marketing, government distribution of industrial fertilizers, significant barriers on food and agricultural commodities import and so on. Although there were certain changes and liberalization in this area during several last years, the Syrian agriculture remains as the most regulated sector of national economy in Near east and northern Africa.On the other hand, we may state the fact that Syrian governmental agriculture policy was successful considering so called strategic crops most of all in achieving self-sufficiency in wheat production, also an essential increase of cotton production volume which represents most important export crop of this near east country, took a part. Besides this progress there was restriction of disparity development in countryside and municipal household’s incomes, which is partial reason for slowing down of Syrian countryside poverty. These positive outcomes were reached at the expense of increasing go­vern­men­tal expenses and worsening of resources efficiency usage both in agriculture production and energy sectors. Considering forecasted spend of oil sources, the Syrian government will be ne­ce­s­sa­ri­ly forced to search for alternative resources of economic growth and government budget incomes in near future.The last five year country plan presumes consequental delimitation of grants and implication of value added tax. There is to be a quite large liberalisation in agriculture sector, which should lead to consequential down of wheat production, sugar beet and cotton and increase of barley, lentil and chickpea production.

  3. EFICIÊNCIA DOS MERCADOS FUTUROS DE COMMODITIES AGRÍCOLAS APLICANDO-SE O TESTE DE COINTEGRAÇÃO./ EFFICIENCY OF THE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY FUTURES MARKET BY APPLYING THE COINTEGRATION TEST.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Harry Harzer

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo tem o objetivo de testar a forma fraca de eficiência do mercado futuro brasileiro dacommoditie agrícola café arábica, usando a técnica de cointegração a fim de verificar se os preços futuroscorrentes são estimadores não viesados dos preços à vista esperados para o futuro. Para isso, utiliza asséries históricas de janeiro de 2005 a maio de 2011 dos preços futuros, que foram coletados na Bolsa deMercadorias e Futuros – BM&F, e os preços à vista calculados pelo CEPEA/ESALQ/USP. As métricas utilizadassão os testes ADF de Dickey e Fuller para detectar a presença de raiz unitária e o teste de cointegraçãode Johansen para verificar a existência de um relacionamento de longo prazo. Os resultados indicaram anão estacionariedade das séries de preços e a presença de cointegração. Porém, o teste dos parâmetrosα = 0 e β = 1 da regressão que comprovam a eficiência fraca e não viés encontraram indícios estatísticosde não eficiência de mercado, bem como da presença de um viés indicando a existência de um prêmioassociado ao risco./ This article aims at testing the weak form of efficiency of the commodity futures market in Arabicacoffee farming using the cointegration technique in order to check if the current futures prices arebiased estimators of spot prices expected for the future. Thereto it uses the futures prices time seriesfrom January 2005 to May 2011, which were collected in the Commodities and Futures Exchange - BM &F and spot prices, calculated by CEPEA / ESALQ / USP. Dickey and Fuller’s ADF tests are the metrics usedto detect the presence of unit root and Johansen’s cointegration test is used to verify the existence ofa long term relationship. The results indicated the non-stationarity of price series besides the presenceof cointegration. However, regression parameters testing α = 0 e β = 1 proves that weak efficiency andnon-biased found statistical evidence of non-market efficiency

  4. PERFORMANCE OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CIPRIAN APOSTOL

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The term ecological agriculture has been attributed by the European Union of Romania to define this system of agriculture and is similar with terms organic agriculture or biological agriculture, which are used in other member states. One of the main goals of ecological agriculture is the production of agricultural and food products fresh and genuine through processes created to respect nature and its systems. Thus, it prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms, fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, stimulators and growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics for livestock and the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, drastic interventions on the soil, the introduction of genetically modified organisms, in the case of the cultivated soil. The study aims to highlight the main features of ecological agriculture and its impact on the national economy. Through a descriptive and comparative analysis of specific indicators are surprising the main aspects of ecological agriculture performance in Romania and are identified investment opportunities in this sector of the national economy. Following this study, it was found that ecological agriculture in Romania is quite performant and recorded a continuous development, but mainly in the production, not in the processing and trading of natural products, which is why investment in these areas would be welcome.

  5. The development and projection of exports of selected agricultural and alimentary commodities from the Czech Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Stávková

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This contribution presents partial results of a statistical analysis of export indicators of selected agricultural and alimentary categories of products from the Czech Republic according to countries in a reference period 1993−2002. The analysis includes short-run prediction based on applied modes of developmental tendencies of assessed phenomena.

  6. The role and potential of information technology in agricultural improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milovanović Slavoljub

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The agro-industrial sector in developing countriesis faced with challenges, such as requirement for increase of food production and yield and creation of opportunity for employment of rural and poor population. In addition, the agricultural sector is influenced by global factors and fast changes. These facts indicate that there is great need for information and information technologies (IT, which can be used to cope with the challenges and changes and to improve agricultural production and marketing. However, the potential of IT is not fully utilized in agriculture. Implementation of IT in agricultural sector and rural areas is relatively slow in comparison to the other sectors of the economy where contemporary IT has been implemented at high speed. The aim of the paper is to analyze role, potential and contribution of IT in agribusiness and to explain opportunities for use of IT in many fields of agricultural sector. Our findings are based on economic theory and available literature, and they suggest that IT has great potential for supporting farmers and the other stakeholders in improvement of efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of agriculture. However, the stakeholders have to cope with many limitations and problems in IT implementation and use.

  7. PROBLEMS OF CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS: FOREIGN EXPERIENCE AND NATIONAL FUNDAMENTALS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludmila Stepura

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In the article an estimation of methodical approaches to implementation of the process of typology of agricultural enterprises on the basis of generalization of domestic and foreign experience has been carried out. It has been established that now in Ukraine, in relation to agricultural enterprises, there is no single methodological approach regarding the typology of agricultural enterprises. In practice, for the formation of the information array, a methodology is used to compile statistical reporting "Basic indicators of production and economic activity of agricultural enterprises". However, it is not used in determining the taxation regime of farms in the corporate sector of the agrarian economy. It has been established that in certain EU member states the EU applies a single approach to all households and farms by assigning them to agricultural producers without taking into account their legal form on the basis of sales volumes or assessing their ability to generate, level of marketability, or more typical of the former socialist countries, Apply their own thresholds for agricultural households and individually define the conditions for legal entities and farmers. We believe that in order to ensure the effectiveness of state support for agricultural production and strengthen its role in the development of rural areas, it is necessary to determine the indicators and thresholds for the acquisition of the status of agricultural producer. An important indicator in establishing the status of agricultural commodity producer is the level of income derived from the sale of agricultural products, including incidental and related, equal to the size of the minimum wage for each member of the household.

  8. A Crosswalk of Mineral Commodity End Uses and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, James J.; Matos, Grecia R.; Menzie, W. David

    2015-09-14

    This crosswalk is based on the premise that there is a connection between the way mineral commodities are used and how this use is reflected in the economy. Raw mineral commodities are the basic materials from which goods, finished products, or intermediate materials are manufactured or made. Mineral commodities are vital to the development of the U.S. economy and they impact nearly every industrial segment of the economy, representing 12.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2014). In an effort to better understand the distribution of mineral commodities in the economy, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) attempts to link the end uses of mineral commodities to the corresponding North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

  9. On the link between oil and commodity prices: a panel VAR approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bremond, Vincent; Hache, Emmanuel; Joets, Marc

    2013-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to study the relationships between the price of oil and a large dataset of commodity prices, relying on panel data settings. Using second generation panel co-integration tests, our findings show that the WTI and commodity prices are not linked in the long term. Nevertheless, considering our results in causality tests, we show that short-run relations exist, mainly from the price of crude oil to commodity prices. We thus implement a panel VAR estimation with an impulse response function analysis. Two main conclusions emerge: (i) fast co-movements are highlighted, while (ii) market efficiency is emphasized. (authors)

  10. UAV-Based Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for Precision Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angel, Y.; Parkes, S. D.; Turner, D.; Houborg, R.; Lucieer, A.; McCabe, M.

    2017-12-01

    Modern agricultural production relies on monitoring crop status by observing and measuring variables such as soil condition, plant health, fertilizer and pesticide effect, irrigation and crop yield. Managing all of these factors is a considerable challenge for crop producers. As such, providing integrated technological solutions that enable improved diagnostics of field condition to maximize profits, while minimizing environmental impacts, would be of much interest. Such challenges can be addressed by implementing remote sensing systems such as hyperspectral imaging to produce precise biophysical indicator maps across the various cycles of crop development. Recent progress in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have advanced traditional satellite-based capabilities, providing a capacity for high-spatial, spectral and temporal response. However, while some hyperspectral sensors have been developed for use onboard UAVs, significant investment is required to develop a system and data processing workflow that retrieves accurately georeferenced mosaics. Here we explore the use of a pushbroom hyperspectral camera that is integrated on-board a multi-rotor UAV system to measure the surface reflectance in 272 distinct spectral bands across a wavelengths range spanning 400-1000 nm, and outline the requirement for sensor calibration, integration onto a stable UAV platform enabling accurate positional data, flight planning, and development of data post-processing workflows for georeferenced mosaics. The provision of high-quality and geo-corrected imagery facilitates the development of metrics of vegetation health that can be used to identify potential problems such as production inefficiencies, diseases and nutrient deficiencies and other data-streams to enable improved crop management. Immense opportunities remain to be exploited in the implementation of UAV-based hyperspectral sensing (and its combination with other imaging systems) to provide a transferable and scalable

  11. Stopping the spread of agricultural pests with radiation: Quarantine commodity treatments and eradication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vick, K.W.

    1997-01-01

    Almost 60 yr ago, E. F. Knipling, a young U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist, proposed that it might be economically feasible to eradicate the newly introduced screwworm from Florida if a way could be found to sterilize the males. He believed that the male screwworm fly's strong mating instinct would cause released sterile males to seek out and mate with native screwworm females, interrupting the normal reproductive cycle. Knipling thought this was possible because another USDA scientist, R. C. Bushland, had recently found a way to rear this animal parasite cheaply and in large numbers in the laboratory, making possible the rearing and release of large numbers of sterile male flies into the native population. Some 13 yr would pass before research showed that radiation-induced dominant lethal mutations offered an efficient, practical way to render screwworm flies sterile

  12. The analysis of today situation on the market of the agricultural machines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šárka Stojarová

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is dealing with the analysis of the market of agricultural machines in the Czech Republic. The part of the article is focused on export and import development of agricultural machines between Czech Republic, EU countries and the other countries of the world. The trade balance progress of agricultural machines is analyzed for Czech market as well. In the article the possible opportunities for the Czech exporters, which concern Danish, Spanish, and Polish market, are also emphasized. The part of the analysis is also focused on the area of subsidy policy for Czech agricultural subjects. The analysis of subsidies deals with the opportunity of financial supports by the Czech government and by the European Union. The difference in subsidy policy for Czech Republic before and after the entering the European Union is also mentioned.

  13. 7 CFR 1405.9 - Commodity assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Commodity assessments. (a) CCC will deduct from the proceeds of a marketing assistance loan an amount equal... collected in one of the following ways, as requested by the State, but not both: (i) When the proceeds of... the State. (2) CCC will deduct from the proceeds of a marketing assistance loan an amount equal to the...

  14. IMPACTS OF AFRICA'S TOTAL AND COMMODITY-BASED TRADE WITH CHINA AND OECD COUNTRIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nihal Bayraktar

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the changes in the pattern of Africa’s trade with China and OECD countries, and the impacts of these changes on sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth. In the study, the country-level total exports and imports, as well as the commodity-based exports and imports are considered for 42 sub-Saharan African countries between 1980 and 2014. The results show that as the share of China in sub-Saharan Africa’s trade has significantly increased, a declining trend is observed for OECD countries, traditional trading partners. Despite changing trade links, the investigation of the commodity-based exports and imports indicate that the types of imported and exported commodities have not changed much for Africa. However, a strong link is observed between economic growth in SSA and its changing trade links from the OECD countries towards China at the total level as well as at the commodity level. The study concludes that there is an increase in the international competition for Africa’s commodities, and resulting in improvements in the terms of trade has led to higher income growth in the region.

  15. 76 FR 49291 - Agricultural Swaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-10

    ...) Pursuant to Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act, Permitting the Kansas City Board of Trade Clearing Corporation To Clear Over-the-Counter Wheat Calendar Swaps and (2) Pursuant to Section 4d of the Commodity... businesses that produce, process, and merchandize energy commodities at retail and wholesale levels; National...

  16. Food versus fuel: What do prices tell us?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zibin; Lohr, Luanne; Escalante, Cesar; Wetzstein, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Sorting out the impacts of biofuels on global agricultural commodity prices is impossible without turning to data and distinguishing between the short-run versus the long-run impacts. Using time-series prices on fuels and agricultural commodities, the aim is to investigate the long-run cointegration of these prices simultaneously with their multivariate short-run interactions. Results indicate no direct long-run price relations between fuel and agricultural commodity prices, and limited if any direct short-run relationships. In terms of short-run price movements, sugar prices are influencing all the other agricultural commodity prices except rice. With sugar the number one world input for ethanol, results indicate increased ethanol production is potentially influencing short-run agricultural commodity prices. Overall, results support the effect of agricultural commodity prices as market signals which restore commodity markets to their equilibria after a demand or supply event (shock).

  17. Single-Commodity Vehicle Routing Problem with Pickup and Delivery Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Martinovic

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel variation of the vehicle routing problem (VRP. Single commodity cargo with pickup and delivery service is considered. Customers are labeled as either cargo sink or cargo source, depending on their pickup or delivery demand. This problem is called a single commodity vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery service (1-VRPPD. 1-VRPPD deals with multiple vehicles and is the same as the single-commodity traveling salesman problem (1-PDTSP when the number of vehicles is equal to 1. Since 1-VRPPD specializes VRP, it is hard in the strong sense. Iterative modified simulated annealing (IMSA is presented along with greedy random-based initial solution algorithm. IMSA provides a good approximation to the global optimum in a large search space. Experiment is done for the instances with different number of customers and their demands. With respect to average values of IMSA execution times, proposed method is appropriate for practical applications.

  18. Business opportunities in the Mexican dairy industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnands, J.H.M.; Armenta Gutierrez, B.M.; Poelarends, J.J.; Valk, van der O.M.C.

    2010-01-01

    This study explores the Mexican and Dutch business opportunities in the dairy industry in Mexico. The report discusses first the external environment of the Mexican dairy sector: the economic developments, the country's overall competitiveness, and the economic and agricultural policies. Next, it

  19. Research Award: Agriculture and Food Security

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Corey Piccioni

    2013-08-07

    Aug 7, 2013 ... research awards providing a unique opportunity to enhance research skills and gain a fresh perspecve on crucial development issues. These one‐year, paid, ... programming through a research acvity focusing on agriculture and food security, specifically on the gender and social (equity) dimensions of ...

  20. The Influence Of Highway Transportation Infrastructure Condition Toward Commodity Production Generation for The Resilience Needs at Regional Internal Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbardin, Juang; Parikesit, Danang; Riyanto, Bambang; Mulyono, Agus Taufik

    2018-02-01

    The poultry commodity consumption and requirement is one of the main commodities that must be fulfilled in a region to maintain the availability of meat from poultry. Poultry commodity production is one of the production sectors that have a clean environment resistance. An increasing of poultry commodity generation production requires a smooth distribution to arrive at the processing. The livestock location as a commodity production is placed at a considerable far distance from residential and market locations. Zones that have poultry commodity production have an excess potential to supply other zones that are lacking in production to the consumption of these commodities. The condition of highway transportation infrastructure that is very diverse with the damage level availability in a zone has an influence in the supply and demand of poultry commodity requirement in the regional internal of Central Java province. In order to know the effect of highway transportation infrastructure condition toward the poultry commodity movement, demography factor and availability of freight vehicles will be reviewed to estimate the amount of poultry commodity movement generation production. Thus the poultry commodity consumption requirement that located in the internal - regional zone of central java province can be adequated from the zone. So it can be minimized the negative impacts that affect the environment at the zone in terms of comparison of the movement attraction and generation production at poultry commodity in Central Java.

  1. Aromatherapy Oils: Commodities, Materials, Essences

    OpenAIRE

    Barcan, Ruth

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the essential oils that are the central tools of aromatherapy and uses them as a case study for different approaches to material culture. It considers the conceptual and political implications of thinking of essential oils as, in turn, commodities, materials and essences. I argue that both cultural studies and aromatherapy have something to learn from each other. Classic materialist approaches might do well to focus more attention on the material properties and effects o...

  2. Modeling phytosanitary risk of unintended commodity use: the example of U.S. potato exports to Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Glenn; Erikson, Lottie; Caton, Barney; Gutierrez, Walter; Griffin, Robert

    2014-09-01

    Diversion of commodities from their intended use to an unintended use, e.g., when commodities intended for consumption are used as seed for planting, is an important issue in agricultural trade that has implications for the establishment of pests and pathogens in an importing country and for the appropriate strength of plant health measures. Consequently, understanding and accurately characterizing the risk of diversion from intended use is highly relevant to policymakers, trading partners, and in trade dispute arbitration. To our knowledge, no risk assessments have ever accounted for the likelihood of diversion from intended use. Here we present an approach to analyzing this risk using diversion of U.S. table stock potatoes to seed for planting by Mexican potato producers as a case study. We use probabilistic pathway models to characterize the movement of white, yellow, and russet potatoes from the United States into Mexico at current and double export volumes. We then model the likelihood of these potatoes being diverted for seed and the subsequent establishment of bacteria, nematode, and virus pests in Mexico. Our approach demonstrates how diversion from intended use can be quantified in one scenario and, in particular, how it can be analyzed to estimate the magnitude of diversion required to produce a high risk of pest establishment. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain for the U.S.A.

  3. Changes in Agricultural Markets in Poland following its Accession to the European Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Czyżewski Andrzej

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article attempts to determine the most significant tendencies and changes observed in Poland’s core markets of agricultural products, which occurred during the period preceding Poland’s accession to the European Union (1994-2003 and after the accession (2004-2013. The key markets of agricultural products include markets with the largest value of commodity production during the analysed period, such as cereals, potatoes, sugar beet, rapeseed, fruit, vegetables, pork, beef and poultry, cows’ milks and eggs. The development of domestic production, consumption and real purchasing prices were observed and compared in order to achieve the main objective. The research was preceded by the characterisation of macroeconomic and resource conditionalities of agricultural production as well as the trade balance of the Polish agri-food sector. On the basis of the conducted studies, there were singled out three groups of markets in which the situation during the period following Poland’s accession to the EU developed in a similar way.

  4. REDD+ and climate smart agriculture in landscapes: A case study in Vietnam using companion modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvini, G; Ligtenberg, A; van Paassen, A; Bregt, A K; Avitabile, V; Herold, M

    2016-05-01

    Finding land use strategies that merge land-based climate change mitigation measures and adaptation strategies is still an open issue in climate discourse. This article explores synergies and trade-offs between REDD+, a scheme that focuses mainly on mitigation through forest conservation, with "Climate Smart Agriculture", an approach that emphasizes adaptive agriculture. We introduce a framework for ex-ante assessment of the impact of land management policies and interventions and for quantifying their impacts on land-based mitigation and adaptation goals. The framework includes a companion modelling (ComMod) process informed by interviews with policymakers, local experts and local farmers. The ComMod process consists of a Role-Playing Game with local farmers and an Agent Based Model. The game provided a participatory means to develop policy and climate change scenarios. These scenarios were then used as inputs to the Agent Based Model, a spatially explicit model to simulate landscape dynamics and the associated carbon emissions over decades. We applied the framework using as case study a community in central Vietnam, characterized by deforestation for subsistence agriculture and cultivation of acacias as a cash crop. The main findings show that the framework is useful in guiding consideration of local stakeholders' goals, needs and constraints. Additionally the framework provided beneficial information to policymakers, pointing to ways that policies might be re-designed to make them better tailored to local circumstances and therefore more effective in addressing synergistically climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. 31 CFR 103.17 - Reports by futures commission merchants and introducing brokers in commodities of suspicious...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... merchants and introducing brokers in commodities of suspicious transactions. 103.17 Section 103.17 Money and... merchants and introducing brokers in commodities of suspicious transactions. (a) General—(1) Every futures commission merchant (“FCM”) and introducing broker in commodities (“IB-C”) within the United States shall...

  6. United Nations Commission on Commodities for Women's and ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... commodities in order to achieve the health-related Millennium Development ... Special journal issue highlights IDRC-supported findings on women's paid work ... to address climate change-related challenges in India, including heat stress, ...

  7. Monitoring the impacts of weather and climate extremes on global agricultural production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Johansson

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB, under the direction of the Department of Agriculture's Office of the Chief Economist, employs a staff of agricultural meteorologists whose mission is to monitor and assess the impacts of weather and climate on crops in key growing areas throughout the world. The results of those analyses contribute to the deliberations conducted by the Interagency Commodity Estimates Committees (ICEC led by analysts at the World Agricultural Outlook Board. The results of those deliberations can be found in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE report, one of the designated Principle Federal Economic Indicators issued monthly by the Federal Government (White House (Office of Management and Budget, 2015. The process used to develop those estimates each month requires the integration of an assessment of the current climatic conditions with knowledge of the agricultural practices and market conditions of a particular country. Weather and climate data are used in conjunction with information on when and where crops are planted, production practices including irrigation, which varieties are best suited for that particular climate, and what naturally occurring hazards can be expected in any given year. Being able to closely compare current conditions to historic observations of weather and realized output on a fine scale, temporally and geographically, is a key component of the international estimates in the WASDE process.

  8. Impacts of ASEAN Agricultural Trade Liberalization on ASEAN-6 Economies and Income Distribution in Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Rina Oktaviani; Eka Puspitawati; Haryadi

    2008-01-01

    This research paper intends to analyse: (a) the impacts of ASEAN trade liberalization on the macroeconomy variables – gross domestic product (GDP), Terms of Trade (ToT), balance of trade, inflation and real wage – and agricultural industries (output, exports and imports) in the ASEAN 6 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Viet Nam); and (b) the impact of trade liberalization on income distribution in Indonesia. A multi-country and multi-commodity computabl...

  9. What if the Doha Round Fails? Implications for Canadian Agriculture

    OpenAIRE

    Gifford, Michael N.; McCalla, Alex F.; Meilke, Karl D.

    2008-01-01

    Many commentators assume that the WTO Doha Round negotiations have already failed and that this failure will not matter for Canadian agriculture. Neither view is correct. Most countries appear willing to make the effort needed to bring the negotiations to a make or break point in early 2008. If the Doha Round does eventually fail, an important opportunity to make the agricultural trading system significantly less distorted, more open and fair will have been lost. For Canadian agriculture, the...

  10. ESTIMATION OF THE MODERN STATE OF PROVISION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES IN MYKOLAIV REGION BY MATERIAL AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalya Potryvaieva

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The research considers the issue of the provision of agrarian enterprises in Ukraine by material and technical resources and effective use of them. The scientific novelty of the results obtained is in the research of theoretical positions, substantiation of applied approaches concerning the organization of material and technical provision of enterprises of the agrarian sector, in particular, Mykolaiv region, taking into account the proposals of the second market of agricultural machinery, units, and aggregates. Methodology. The purpose of the article is the research and estimation of the current state of the provision of agrarian enterprises by material and technical resources. The object of scientific research is the process of provision of material and technical resources for enterprises of the agrarian sector in Mykolaiv region. The level of material and technical resources at agricultural enterprises in Mykolaiv region is analysed. Relative improvement of the situation with technical equipment and energy supply of agriculture in the Mykolaiv region since 2014 is defined; however, the dynamics are not active sufficiently and do not exceed five percent. The ratio between the amount of machinery purchased and disposed of by depreciation is disproportionate, the equipment provided by the unit of area, and the load on the machines available in the farms do not meet the requirements. The dynamics of capital and direct foreign investments in agriculture of Mykolaiv region, which during the research period increased, is investigated. It is proved that despite the rather successful development of capital investments by large-scale agricultural producers in the region, financial investments in modernization, repair, and acquisition of the new technology by small business entities are not sufficiently active. The authors substantiate that the tasks of technical re-equipment for commodity producers of the Mykolaiv region remain one of the most important

  11. Computerized commodity management system in Thailand and Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    Thailand's National Family Planning Program is testing a computerized contraceptive commodity reporting management in 4 provinces with 104 National Family Planning Program (NFPP) reporting entities. Staff in the Brazilian Association of Family Planning Entities (ABEPF) and CPAIMC, a major family planning service agency, have been trained in the use of a computerized commodity distribution management system and are ready to initiate test use. The systems were designed in response to specific commodity management needs of the concerned organizations. Neither distribution program functions as a contraceptive social marketing (CSM) program, but each system reviewed has aspects that are relevant to CSM commodity management needs. Both the Thai and Brazilian systems were designed to be as automatic and user friendly as possible. Both have 3 main databases and perform similar management and reporting functions. Differing program configurations and basic data forms reflect the specific purposes of each system. Databases for the logistics monitoring system in Thailand arethe reporting entity (or ID) file; the current month's data file; and the master balance file. The data source is the basic reporting form that also serves as a Request and Issue Voucher for commodities. Editing functions in the program check to see that the current "beginning balance" equals the previous month's ending balance. Indexing functions in the system allow direct access to the records of any reporting entity via the ID number, as well as the sequential processing of records by ID number. 6 reports can be generated: status report by issuing entity; status report by dispensing entity; aggregate status report; out of compliance products report; out of compliance outlets report; and suggested shipment to regional warehouse report. Databases for the distribution management system in Brazil are: the name-ID (client institution) file; the product file; and the data file. The data source is an order form

  12. Applications of CELSS technology to controlled environment agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bates, Maynard E.; Bubenheim, David L.

    1991-01-01

    Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is defined as the use of environmental manipulation for the commercial production of organisms, whether plants or animals. While many of the technologies necessary for aquaculture systems in North America is nevertheless doubling approximately every five years. Economic, cultural, and environmental pressures all favor CEA over field production for many non-commodity agricultural crops. Many countries around the world are already dependent on CEA for much of their fresh food. Controlled ecological life support systems (CELSS), under development at ARC, KSC, and JSC expand the concept of CEA to the extent that all human requirements for food, oxygen, and water will be provided regenerated by processing of waste streams to supply plant inputs. The CELSS will likely contain plants, humans, possibly other animals, microorganisms and physically and chemical processors. In effect, NASA will create engineered ecosystems. In the process of developing the technology for CELSS, NASA will develop information and technology which will be applied to improving the efficiency, reliability, and cost effectiveness for CEA, improving its resources recycling capabilities, and lessening its environmental impact to negligible levels.

  13. Transforming Agricultural Water Management in Support of Ecosystem Restoration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanlon, Edward; Capece, John

    2009-11-20

    Threats to ecosystems are not local; they have to be handled with the global view in mind. Eliminating Florida farms, in order to meet its environmental goals, would simply move the needed agricultural production overseas, where environmentally less sensitive approaches are often used, thus yielding no net ecological benefit. South Florida is uniquely positioned to lead in the creation of sustainable agricultural systems, given its population, technology, and environmental restoration imperative. Florida should therefore aggressively focus on developing sustainable systems that deliver both agricultural production and environmental services. This presentation introduces a new farming concept of dealing with Florida’s agricultural land issues. The state purchases large land areas in order to manage the land easily and with ecosystem services in mind. The proposed new farming concept is an alternative to the current “two sides of the ditch” model, in which on one side are yield-maximizing, input-intensive, commodity price-dependent farms, while on the other side are publicly-financed, nutrient-removing treatment areas and water reservoirs trying to mitigate the externalized costs of food production systems and other human-induced problems. The proposed approach is rental of the land back to agriculture during the restoration transition period in order to increase water storage (allowing for greater water flow-through and/or water storage on farms), preventing issues such as nutrients removal, using flood-tolerant crops and reducing soil subsidence. Since the proposed approach is still being developed, there exist various unknown variables and considerations. However, working towards a long-term sustainable scenario needs to be the way ahead, as the threats are global and balancing the environment and agriculture is a serious global challenge.

  14. Embodied phosphorus and the global connections of United States agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Graham K.; Bennett, Elena M.; Carpenter, Stephen R.

    2012-12-01

    Agricultural phosphorus (P) use is intricately linked to food security and water quality. Globalization of agricultural systems and changing diets clearly alter these relationships, yet their specific influence on non-renewable P reserves is less certain. We assessed P fertilizer used for production of food crops, livestock and biofuels in the US agricultural system, explicitly comparing the domestic P use required for US food consumption to the P use embodied in the production of US food imports and exports. By far the largest demand for P fertilizer throughout the US agricultural system was for feed and livestock production (56% of total P fertilizer use, including that for traded commodities). As little as 8% of the total mineral P inputs to US domestic agriculture in 2007 (1905 Gg P) was consumed in US diets in the same year, while larger fractions may have been retained in agricultural soils (28%), associated with different post-harvest losses (40%) or with biofuel refining (10%). One quarter of all P fertilizer used in the US was linked to export production, primarily crops, driving a large net P flux out of the country (338 Gg P). However, US meat consumption relied considerably on P fertilizer use in other countries to produce red meat imports. Changes in domestic farm management and consumer waste could together reduce the P fertilizer required for US food consumption by half, which is comparable to the P fertilizer reduction attainable by cutting domestic meat consumption (44%). US export-oriented agriculture, domestic post-harvest P losses and global demand for meat may ultimately have an important influence on the lifespan of US phosphate rock reserves.

  15. How is nutrition linked to agriculture and education?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayed Mohammad Naim Khalid

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural development is now expected to proceed in a way that maximizes opportunities to improve health and nutrition. Accordingly, the term “nutrition-education-agriculture linkages” describes the set of relationships that shows the mutual dependence of nutrition, education and agriculture. Changes in nutrition or education status are expected to affect agricultural production; conversely changes in the agricultural sector can have significant effects on individual health and nutritional status. Professionals in are trained in nutrition or agriculture, but very few will be trained in both. It is therefore difficult to begin discussions on nutrition-focused agricultural programs and policies. How do we begin to identify these linked outcomes? And how do we begin to think about ways to impact factors that are outside of our sector of expertise? This paper provides a simple framework for thinking critically about nutrition, education and agriculture linkages. The purpose is to help readers identify the linkages of greatest importance to their goals and to begin thinking about how to take steps toward integrating programs more effectively.

  16. Undergraduate Student Research Opportunities and Economic Revitalization through Urban Agriculture Initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schläppi, Michael R.

    2017-01-01

    Through interactions with the recently formed Cooperative of the Institute of Urban Agriculture and Nutrition (CIUAN), a catalyst initiative co-governed by community organizations and academia to engage in mutually beneficial research and teaching projects, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is supporting community efforts to bring…

  17. “Multi-functional Agriculture - Agriculture as a Resource for Energy and Environmental Preservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    the Editors

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available In the present global situation, agriculture plays a major role in the interaction between socio-economic and biophysical processes. In addition to its principal and fundamental role of providing food, it now also needs to consider other ecosystem services provided by agriculture and to explore the new frontiers for the the future. In the 50’s of the 20th century the major topic was the introduction of inorganic fertilizers, in the 60’s the use of synthetic compounds for plant protection (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, in the 70’s industrial crops, in the 80’s organic farming and the environmental impact of agronomic practices, and in the 90’s genetically modified crops (herbicide tolerance, insect resistance. In the current decade the themes are: land and water degradation, the production of agricultural biomass for bio-energy, and the increased expression of functional compounds in crops. The Bologna X Congress of ESA “Multi-functional Agriculture - Agriculture as a Resource for Energy and Environmental Preservation”, will meet the needs of finding tools to deal with environmental problems coupled with the increasing demand for food, and filling the knowledge gap on the physiological relationships between functional compound bio-synthesis and agricultural practices. Members of the European Society for Agronomy already have a deep knowledge of these issues, and the Bologna ESA Congress will provide an opportunity to develop them further particularly in regard to innovative agricultural techniques, new energy sources and better environmental monitoring.

  18. 16 CFR 500.13 - Measurement of commodities by area measure only, how expressed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... commodities by area measure only, how expressed. For commodities measured in terms of area measure only declaration of net quantity in terms of square yards, square feet, and square inches shall be expressed in the... only, how expressed. 500.13 Section 500.13 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION RULES...

  19. Linking phytoremediated pollutant removal to biomass economic opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Licht, Louis A.; Isebrands, J.G.

    2005-01-01

    Phytoremediation (phyto) strategies employ trees, shrubs, and/or grasses for treating contaminated air, soil, or water. These strategies include buffers, vegetation filters, in situ phytoremediation plantings, and percolation controlling vegetative caps. The design parameter that separates phytoremediation from landscaping is purposefully placing and growing a root-zone reactor volume with predictable pollutant removal performance. This phyto reactor integrates with other engineered systems to cover landfills, treat petrochemical spills in soils, intercept a soluble subsurface plume, and capture non-point surface sediment entrained in urban or field runoff. There are many potential economic opportunities for biomass associated with phytoremediation, including bioenergy and traditional industrial products such as solid wood products and reconstituted products (i.e., paper, chip board, laminated beams, extruded trim). More intangibly, phyto creates environmental benefits such as soil erosion control, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. Phyto also creates socio-economic benefits by diversify regional manufacturing into new products that employs local labor, thus building value-added industry. Alternative crops develop a greater diversity of products from the farmland, making the regional economy less exposed to global commodity crop price fluctuations. Thus, a strategic phyto treatment of non-point agricultural runoff would help diversify land use from annually tilled crops (corn, soybeans, wheat) into perennial, untilled tree crops. A landscape rebuilt using phyto would create diversity represented in business potential, healthier air and water, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. Moreover, phyto provides local and current pollutant treatment. Such timely treatment of pollutants that would otherwise move to our downstream or downwind neighbors is key to the environmental justice concept. We present four case study summaries to illustrate installed commercial

  20. Linking phytoremediated pollutant removal to biomass economic opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Licht, Louis A.; Isebrands, J.G.

    2005-01-01

    Phytoremediation (phyto) strategies employ trees, shrubs, and/or grasses for treating contaminated air, soil, or water. These strategies include buffers, vegetation filters, in situ phytoremediation plantings, and percolation controlling vegetative caps. The design parameter that separates phytoremediation from landscaping is purposefully placing and growing a root-zone reactor volume with predictable pollutant removal performance. This phyto reactor integrates with other engineered systems to cover landfills, treat petrochemical spills in soils, intercept a soluble subsurface plume, and capture non-point surface sediment entrained in urban or field runoff. There are many potential economic opportunities for biomass associated with phytoremediation, including bioenergy and traditional industrial products such as solid wood products and reconstituted products (i.e., paper, chip board, laminated beams, extruded trim). More intangibly, phyto creates environmental benefits such as soil erosion control, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. Phyto also creates socio-economic benefits by diversify regional manufacturing into new products that employs local labor, thus building value-added industry. Alternative crops develop a greater diversity of products from the farmland, making the regional economy less exposed to global commodity crop price fluctuations. Thus, a strategic phyto treatment of non-point agricultural runoff would help diversify land use from annually tilled crops (corn, soybeans, wheat) into perennial, untilled tree crops. A landscape rebuilt using phyto would create diversity represented in business potential, healthier air and water, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. Moreover, phyto provides local and current pollutant treatment. Such timely treatment of pollutants that would otherwise move to our downstream or downwind neighbors is key to the environmental justice concept. We present four case study summaries to illustrate installed commercial