Structures et marchés agricoles, ressources et territoires

This report reviews the literature on competitiveness, productivity and efficiency in the agricultural and agri-food sectors. It clarifies concepts and terminology used in this area, and provides a critical assessment of approaches and indicators used in the literature to measure competitiveness, productivity and efficiency at sectoral and farm levels. It also discusses recent findings on productivity growth, changes in relative competitiveness between sub-sectors and countries, and determinants of competitiveness, in addition to identifying the major knowledge gaps. This report suggests that more attention should be paid to the agri-food sector, non-price factors of competitiveness, and the impact of government intervention on competitiveness.

In recent decades, the concept of sustainability has become increasingly prominent in agricultural policy debates. This has led more and more stakeholders to pay attention to the questions of monitoring and evaluation of agricultural practices, and raised the question of appropriate indicators to assess sustainability aspects of given practices. We provide here a review of indicators of sustainability for agriculture. We describe sustainability indicators used in the literature following the typology based on the three sustainability pillars: environmental, economic and social. The literature review shows that the environmental pillar has undergone an ‘indicator explosion’, due to the multitude of themes covered and the attention given by society to this dimension of sustainability. By contrast, economic indicators target a relatively small number of themes. Social indicators typically cover two main themes: sustainability relating to the farming community and sustainability relating to society as a whole. The measurement of these social indicators is challenging as they are often qualitative and may therefore be considered subjective. Careful attention should be given to the choice of indicators, since the data measured will infl uence the calculation of that indicator and therefore the outcome of the analysis. It should fi rst be decided whether individual or composite indicators are preferable, and whether single indicators or a set of indicators should be used. Also, sustainability assessments should be validated, credible and reproducible. Several selection criteria are provided in the literature, such as representativeness, transferability, adaptability and measurability at an acceptable cost.

Abstract There are few empirical studies assessing the effectiveness of aid for trade as regards trade performance. Furthermore, existing work does not test which are the channels through which aid for trade has an impact on trade performance. We address this question using a two‐step empirical analysis. Relying on an export performance model, we first test whether institutions and infrastructure, our two potential channels of transmission, are significant determinants of export performance. Second, we test the impact of aid for trade sectoral flows on the previously detected determinants of export performance. We show, as part of the first step, that the infrastructure channel is a highly significant determinant of export performance, whereas the institutional channel turns out to have a limited positive impact on developing countries’ export performance. Furthermore, we show, from the second step, that aid for infrastructure, once instrumented, has a strong and positive impact on the infrastructure level. As a result, we find that a ten per cent increase in aid for infrastructure commitments per capita in developing countries leads to an average 2.34 per cent increase in the exports over GDP ratio. It is also equivalent to a 2.71 per cent reduction in tariff and nontariff barriers. These results highlight the high potential impact of aid for trade on developing countries’ export performance throughout the infrastructure channel.

Purpose: Agricultural advisory services are perceived by many actors involved in rural development as a key driver behind innovation processes in agriculture. However, changes in national and global contexts cause dramatic changes in the orientation of advisory services, their organisation and their methods of intervention. This article aims to analyse the major research topics related to agricultural advice. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on an extensive review of literature produced over a ten-year period that is accessible through the CAB, ECONLITandWeb of Science citation indexes. Using keywords related to extension and advisory services, we selected published articles according to the relevance of the results provided in relation to advisory services and the quality of the discussion on past or current controversies. Findings: The results show that the ongoing scientific debates are shaped by the diversity of disciplines, methods, topics and schools of thought. The scientific community largely has focussed on five main themes: (1) the institutional environment of agricultural advisory services; (2) the structures necessary for the operation of an advisory system; (3) the actors providing advisory services and the skills deployed in advisory activities; (4) the approaches, methods, tools and content of advisory activities; and (5) the assessment and impacts of advisory systems. Practical implications: This literature review is useful for researchers and practitioners to better understand research results in the field of advisory services. It paves the way for future research. Originality/Value: Although many articles have been written in recent decades on agricultural advisory services, few studies provide an overview of the contributions of, and debates in, the international scientific community.

Facing a growing and more affluent world population, changing climate and finite natural resources, world food systems will have to change in the future. The aim of the Agrimonde-Terra foresight study was to build global scenarios linking land use and food security, with special attention paid to overlooked aspects such as nutrition and health, in order to help explore the possible future of the global food system. In this article, we seek to highlight how the resulting set of scenarios contributes to the debate on land use and food security and enlarges the range of possible futures for the global food system. We highlight four main contributions. Combining a scenario building method based on morphological analysis and quantitative simulations with a tractable and simple biomass balance model, the proposed approach improves transparency and coherence between scenario narratives and quantitative assessment. Agrimonde-Terra's scenarios comprise a wide range of alternative diets, with contrasting underlying nutritional and health issues, which accompany contrasting urbanization and rural transformation processes, both dimensions that are lacking in other sets of global scenarios. Agrimonde-Terra's scenarios share some similarities with existing sets of global scenarios, notably the SSPs, but are usually less optimistic regarding agricultural land expansion up to 2050. Results suggest that changing global diets toward healthier patterns could also help to limit the expansion in agricultural land area. Agrimonde-Terra's scenarios enlarge the scope of possible futures by proposing two pathways that are uncommon in other sets of global scenarios. The first proposes to explore possible reconnection of the food industry and regional production within supranational regional blocs. The second means that we should consider that a 'perfect storm', induced by climate change and an ecological crisis combined with social and economic crises, is still possible. Both scenarios should be part of the debate as the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic shows.

This paper provides a review of 25 scenario studies and a synthesis of their main responses on how to feed the world up to 2050. The review also points out significant uncertainty regarding the extent to which the different identified levers may help to feed the world sustainably up to 2050. This allows us to emphasise some areas where further work is needed.

Seafood products are important sources of protein and components of a healthy and sustainable diet. Understanding consumers’ preferences for fish products is crucial for increasing fish consumption. This article reports the consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for different fish species and attributes on representative samples in five European countries (n = 2509): France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Consumer choices were investigated for fresh fish in a retail market under hypothetical situations arranged by a labelled choice experiment conducted for seven fish species: Cod, herring, seabass, seabream, salmon, trout, and pangasius. The results show the highest premiums for wild-caught fish than farm-raised alternatives. Ready-to-cook products are generally preferred to whole fish, whereas fish fillet preference is more species-specific. The results show positive premiums for a sustainability label and nutrition and health claims, with high heterogeneity across countries and species. With consumers’ preferences and WTP being largely country- and fish-dependent, businesses (fish companies, retailers, and others) should consider the specific market context and adapt their labelling strategies accordingly. Public authorities campaigns should inform consumers about the tangible benefits related with health and environmental labels.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to investigate technical, scale, allocative and economic efficiencies by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier methods to provide a decision‐making tool and managerial implications in the measurement of farm business performance and efficiency. Design/methodology/approach Technical, scale, allocative and economic efficiencies are analyzed with the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) sample for 13 farm business branches in Slovenia in the period 1994‐2003. DEA models are used with an output‐orientation, three outputs and four inputs. The non‐parametric DEA estimations are compared with a parametric stochastic frontier approach. The cluster analysis is used to identify three different farm business groups according to their performance. Findings The average technical, scale, allocative and economic efficiencies for the whole FADN sample over the analyzed period are relatively high (around or over 0.90), suggesting that, although the FADN sample contains very different farms, the latter have similar management practices, and are similarly able to make the best use of the existing technology. Five farm branches (crop, dairy, livestock using own feed, fruit, and forestry) are fully efficient with respect to all four analyzed efficiency measures, suggesting that these specializations have the best chance to compete on the European and world markets. Originality/value Studies of technical, scale, allocative and economic efficiencies are rare for transitional farm businesses, especially in Slovenia. The research contributes to the crucial issue of whether small family farm businesses might be able to compete on international markets, as Slovenian agriculture is characterized by such structures.

Abstract Many countries have implemented policies to reduce the use of chemical inputs in agriculture. However, these policies face many obstacles that limit their effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to review the main challenges associated with reducing chemical inputs in agriculture and to propose potential solutions. Our analysis, based on a literature review linking agronomy and economics, shows that several agronomic options have proven effective in reducing chemical inputs or mitigating their negative impacts. We argue that the organization of the agri-food system itself is a major barrier to their implementation. Involving all stakeholders, from the chemical input industry to consumers, and designing appropriate policy frameworks are key to address this issue. We recommend combining different policy instruments, such as standards, taxes and subsidies, in a simplified and coherent way to increase effectiveness and ensure better coordination in the adoption of sustainable practices.

The OECD Trade Policy Working Paper series is designed to make available to a wide readership selected studies by OECD staff or by outside consultants. This document has been declassified on the responsibility of the Working Party of the Trade Committee under the OECD reference number TAD/TC/WP(2010)21/FINAL. Comments on the series are welcome and should be sent to tad.contact@oecd.org.

A new 5-year Common Agricultural Policy has been in place since January 2023. Like its predecessors, this new policy will fail to deliver significant climatic and environmental benefits. We show how the Green Architecture of the policy relying on the three instruments of conditionality, eco-schemes, and agri-environment and climate measures could have been used more consistently and effectively. Our proposals are based on core principles of public economics and fiscal federalism as well as on research results in agronomy and ecology. Conditionality criteria are the minimal requirements that every agricultural producer must meet. Farmers should be rewarded for efforts that go beyond these basic requirements through eco-schemes for global public goods complemented by agri-environment and climate measures centred on local public goods. Eco-schemes should cover the whole agricultural area by targeting permanent grasslands, crop diversification, and green cover and non-productive agro-ecological infrastructures. We discuss trade-offs that our proposals could generate.

This paper investigates how the various changes in the policy supporting agriculture in the European Union, i.e. the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and various types of subsidies (investment, production and rural development) affected the technical efficiency and productivity change of farms in France between 1990 and 2006. Three types of farming—field crop, dairy and beef cattle—are considered. Comparison of efficiency across periods indicates a significant reduction in efficiency in the period following the first CAP reform (1992 MacSharry reform) but an improvement in efficiency change. Econometric results related to the effect of subsidies on efficiency scores (with fixed effect models) and productivity change indices (with ordinary least squares) give ambiguous findings. The effect of a particular type of subsidy was found to be negative or positive depending on the sample’s production orientation and on the performance considered. Several methodological recommendations are drawn from the analysis for future research.

Our paper evaluates the efficiency adjusted for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for sheep meat breeding farms in French grassland areas during 1987–2013. The results show that by modifying the mix of polluting inputs farmers could, on average, offset more than 35% of their total inefficiency. The computation of shadow prices with an innovative approach reveals that, while prices for carbon dioxide and methane range within acceptable levels, the price of nitrous oxide is exorbitant. This suggests that, if policy-makers intend to encourage farmers to reduce this type of pollution, policy measures should be accompanied by sufficient subsidies to compensate farmers or other incentives aiming at nitrous oxide reduction.

Throughout the world, animal production faces huge sustainability challenges. The latter are exacerbated in the European Union (EU) by consumption issues linked, in particular, to the health and environmental impacts of meat consumption, and by the increasing societal concerns linked to animal welfare. Simultaneously, animal production may also provide benefits, notably from an economic and nutritional point of view. Some livestock systems, notably grass-based systems, may also offer positive climatic and environmental effects. Animal production is highly regulated in the EU, whereas the consumption of animal products is not (or very lightly) regulated. Many of the negative and positive effects are public goods that are not well taken into account by private actors and markets. Thus, there is legitimacy and scope for public policies aimed at reducing the damage and increasing the benefits of animal production and consumption. The last part of the paper explains how this could be achieved in the EU through a significantly revised and extended Common Agricultural Policy that more closely follows the principles of public economics. Public regulation principles that are proposed have a more general scope and can be adapted to other livestock contexts.

Recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in many commodity prices. This report examines the question of whether commodity price volatility has materially changed with the rapid run up in world prices in 2006-09, followed by an equally sharp decline in many commodity prices. The report analyses international price volatility for selected agricultural commodities over the past half-century and their relationship with crude oil, fertiliser and the euro-dollar exchange rates. The analysis utilises different data sources, frequency of price observations, periods of observation, price volatility measures and a number of statistical tests to examine the various dimensions of the issue.

Summary This article summarises the views of a panel of experts from the areas of agricultural economics, ecology, agri‐environmental policy and agricultural extension who were bought together for a novel workshop on agri‐environment schemes conducted at the Agricultural Economics Society's 91 st Annual Conference. The panel discussed the past, present and future of European Union agri‐environment schemes with emphasis on the movement from top‐down action‐based schemes to participatory‐partnership results‐based schemes. Pierre Dupraz, an expert in economic evaluations of agri‐environment schemes, pointed out past issues of agri‐environment schemes including the conflicting objectives and the growing complexity. James Moran, an ecologist who has been involved in the design of results‐based schemes, identified the importance of designing schemes that are adaptable and incentivise farmers to improve. Ronan O'Flaherty, a senior policymaker involved in new scheme design in Ireland, shone a light on the policy behind agri‐environment schemes and the importance of stakeholder buy‐in. Pat Murphy, a knowledge transfer specialist involved in the implementation of agri‐environment schemes, discussed the importance that knowledge transfer must play in the future of agri‐environment schemes. Together the speakers identified the challenges faced in designing and implementing agri‐environment schemes that improve environmental outcomes whether they be action or results‐based.

In this article the stochastic frontier analysis method is used to evaluate the technical efficiency of Hungarian farms before and after accession to the European Union (EU), and to investigate the efficiency determinants. The results show that EU membership has reversed the pre-accession process of efficiency decrease. But the other side of the coin is that access to higher post-accession subsidies contributes to lower efficiency of Hungarian farmers. The other remarkable finding is a seeming scarcity of labour on farms, which constrains their production and efficiency. The Hungarian government may therefore have to design specific national policies if its aim is to promote a farming system that uses labour and at the same time is competitive.

Moving towards a more sustainable future requires concerted actions, particularly in the context of global climate change. Integrated assessments of agricultural systems (IAAS) are considered valuable tools to provide sound information for policy and decision-making. IAAS use storylines to define socio-economic and environmental framework assumptions. While a set of qualitative global storylines, known as the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), is available to inform integrated assessments at large scales, their spatial resolution and scope is insufficient for regional studies in agriculture. We present a protocol to operationalize the development of Shared Socio-economic Pathways for European agriculture - Eur-Agri-SSPs - to support IAAS. The proposed design of the storyline development process is based on six quality criteria: plausibility, vertical and horizontal consistency, salience, legitimacy, richness and creativity. Trade-offs between these criteria may occur. The process is science-driven and iterative to enhance plausibility and horizontal consistency. A nested approach is suggested to link storylines across scales while maintaining vertical consistency. Plausibility, legitimacy, salience, richness and creativity shall be stimulated in a participatory and interdisciplinary storyline development process. The quality criteria and process design requirements are combined in the protocol to increase conceptual and methodological transparency. The protocol specifies nine working steps. For each step, suitable methods are proposed and the intended level and format of stakeholder engagement are discussed. A key methodological challenge is to link global SSPs with regional perspectives provided by the stakeholders, while maintaining vertical consistency and stakeholder buy-in. We conclude that the protocol facilitates systematic development and evaluation of storylines, which can be transferred to other regions, sectors and scales and supports inter-comparisons of IAAS.

Traditional measures of respiratory function in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are based on maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) and vital capacity (VC). Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) measurements are easily performed by young children with neuromuscular disorders. The clinical value of SNIP in the longitudinal assessment of respiratory weakness remains to be assessed. The objective of the present study was to assess longitudinally the changes in SNIP, PImax and VC with age in DMD children. We hypothesised that their longitudinal assessment would show an earlier decline in SNIP than VC. A 3-year, prospective follow-up, at 6-month intervals of, 33 steroid-naïve, 5-20-year-old DMD patients was analysed using a linear mixed model. SNIP measurements were reliable (within-session coefficient of variation 8%). SNIP and VC increased until 10.5 and 12.5 years of age, respectively, and declined thereafter, while PImax did not change with age. SNIP was an earlier marker of decline in respiratory muscle strength (at 10.5 years) than VC (at 12.5 years) in young DMD patients. SNIP longitudinal assessment is useful in the detection of inspiratory strength decline in young DMD patients when VC values remain within normal values and as an outcome measure in clinical trials for emerging therapeutics in young DMD patients from the age of 5 years.

This article presents an analysis of the evolution of international trade in animal products over the period 2000 to 2018, using customs data from the "BACI" database. Firstly, this article presents the evolution of global trade in animal products for the top five exporting countries (in decreasing order: the European Union (EU), the United States, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia) and then for the two largest importers (China and Japan). It then looks at the world trade situation for four major animal products: poultry meat, pig meat, beef and dairy products. Animal products account for 16% of world agro-food trade; this rate has remained fairly stable throughout the period. The growing imbalance between supply and demand for animal products in Asian countries, particularly in China, is stimulating international trade to the benefit of the major exporting countries. The EU is the world's leading exporter of animal products (with 21% of the total in 2018) and the fourth importer (with 6% of the total). It is in surplus in dairy products and pig meat, but in deficit (in value) in beef and poultry meat. Dairy products, which are exported by very few countries (mainly the EU, New Zealand and the United States), account for almost a third of all trade in animal products. They are thus ahead of beef (23%), pork (12%) and poultry meat (12%). Trade in live animals remains low (5%).