IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/roaaec/254152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing Agricultural Production Systems From A Sustainability Perspective: Some Findings From Agro-Ecological Zones Of Africa

Author

Listed:
  • IFEGWU, Kalu Ukpai

Abstract

The paper assessed agricultural production systems from a sustainability perspective defined in terms of relatively homogeneous agro-ecological zones of Africa, using the framework of a production function. Data used were drawn from FAOSTAT, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research and World Bank Indicators respectively for the period 1961-2009. The data were separated into three sub periods, namely: entire period (1961-2009), the pre-Structural Adjustment Period (SAP) reform period (1961-1985) and the post SAP reform period (1986-2009). This was necessitated by the need to examine whether production systems may have been shifted out of the overall trajectory of system evolution by shocks e.g. policy (SAP) among others. To investigate whether there has been a degradation of the quality of the natural resource base across the diverse agro-ecological zones; the estimated TFP trends were related to changes in selected resource quality variables over time. The results showed that the Northern and Southern agro-ecological zones had non-negative trends in TFP, indicating sustainability of production systems. However, the result indicated that the policy instrument (structural adjustment programme) may have shifted farming or production systems out of the overall trajectory of system evolution in three out of the five agro-ecological zones studied which showed negative TFP trends. A degradation of resource quality over time was noted during the pre-SAP reform period, but was maintained during the post-SAP period.

Suggested Citation

  • IFEGWU, Kalu Ukpai, 2016. "Assessing Agricultural Production Systems From A Sustainability Perspective: Some Findings From Agro-Ecological Zones Of Africa," Review of Agricultural and Applied Economics (RAAE), Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, vol. 19(2), pages 1-7, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:roaaec:254152
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.254152
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/254152/files/RAAE_2_2016_Ifegwu.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.254152?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simeon K. Ehui & Dunstan S.C. Spencer, 1993. "Measuring the sustainability and economic viability of tropical farming systems: a model from sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(4), pages 279-296, December.
    2. Fuglie, Keith, 2013. "U.S. Agricultural Productivity," 2013: Productivity and Its Impacts on Global Trade, June 2-4, 2013. Seville, Spain 152336, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    3. John K. Lynam & Robert W. Herdt, 1989. "Sense and Sustainability: Sustainability as an Objective in International Agricultural Research," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 3(4), pages 381-398, December.
    4. Lynam, John K. & Herdt, Robert W., 1989. "Sense and sustainability: Sustainability as an objective in international agricultural research," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 3(4), pages 381-398, December.
    5. Barnes, Andrew P., 2002. "Publicly-funded UK agricultural R&D and 'social' total factor productivity," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 65-74, May.
    6. Battese, George E., 1992. "Frontier production functions and technical efficiency: a survey of empirical applications in agricultural economics," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 7(3-4), pages 185-208, October.
    7. Byerlee, Derek & Murgai, Rinku, 2001. "Sense and sustainability revisited: the limits of total factor productivity measures of sustainable agricultural systems," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 227-236, December.
    8. Ehui, Simeon K. & Spencer, Dunstan S. C., 1993. "Measuring the sustainability and economic viability of tropical farming systems: a model from sub-Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 279-296, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali, Mubarik, 1996. "Quantifying the socio-economic determinants of sustainable crop production: an application to wheat cultivation in the Tarai of Nepal," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 45-60, April.
    2. Kumar, Praduman & Mittal, Surabhi, 2006. "Agricultural Productivity Trends in India: Sustainability Issues," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 19(Conferenc).
    3. Byerlee, Derek & Murgai, Rinku, 2001. "Sense and sustainability revisited: the limits of total factor productivity measures of sustainable agricultural systems," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 227-236, December.
    4. Ali, Mubarik & Byerlee, Derek, 2000. "Productivity growth and resource degradation in Pakistan's Punjab - a decomposition analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2480, The World Bank.
    5. Alston, Julian M. & Anderson, Jock R. & Pardey, Philip G., 1995. "Perceived Productivity, Forgone Future Farm Fruitfulness and Rural Research Resource Rationalization," 1994 Conference, August 22-29, 1994, Harare, Zimbabwe 183440, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Ramani, Shyama V. & Thutupalli, Ajay, 2015. "Emergence of controversy in technology transitions: Green Revolution and Bt cotton in India," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 198-212.
    7. Rejesus, Roderick M. & Heisey, Paul W. & Smale, Melinda, 1999. "Sources of Productivity Growth in Wheat: A Review of Recent Performance and Medium- to Long-Term Prospects," Economics Working Papers 7693, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    8. Camelia Burja, 2012. "Determinants Of The Agricultural Productivity Growth Among Romanian Regions," Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, Faculty of Sciences, "1 Decembrie 1918" University, Alba Iulia, vol. 1(14), pages 1-18.
    9. Gaitán-Cremaschi, Daniel & Kamali, Farahnaz Pashaei & van Evert, Frits K. & Meuwissen, Miranda P.M. & Oude Lansink, Alfons G.J.M., 2015. "Benchmarking the sustainability performance of the Brazilian non-GM and GM soybean meal chains: An indicator-based approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 22-32.
    10. Chuku, Chuku, 2015. "Incorporating Environmental Externalities in Total Factor Productivity Analysis: The Case of Soil Erosion in Nigerian Agriculture," MPRA Paper 68165, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Asif Reza Anik & Sanzidur Rahman & Jaba Rani Sarker, 2017. "Agricultural Productivity Growth and the Role of Capital in South Asia (1980–2013)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-24, March.
    12. B.M. Campbell & P. Bradley & S.E. Carter, 1997. "Sustainability and peasant farming systems: Observations from Zimbabwe," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 14(2), pages 159-168, June.
    13. Silvia Saravia-Matus & T. S. Amjath-Babu & Sreejith Aravindakshan & Stefan Sieber & Jimmy A. Saravia & Sergio Gomez y Paloma, 2021. "Can Enhancing Efficiency Promote the Economic Viability of Smallholder Farmers? A Case of Sierra Leone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Keith Fuglie, 2004. "Productivity growth in Indonesian agriculture, 1961-2000," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 209-225.
    15. Ndip, Francis Ebai & Molua, Ernest L. & Mvodo, Meyo-Elise Stephanie & Nkendah, Robert & Djomo Choumbou, Raoul Fani & Tabetando, Rayner & Akem, Nina Fabinin, 2023. "Farmland Fragmentation, crop diversification and incomes in Cameroon, a Congo Basin country," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    16. Jianxu Liu & Mengjiao Wang & Li Yang & Sanzidur Rahman & Songsak Sriboonchitta, 2020. "Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, June.
    17. Byerlee, Derek, 1990. "Technical Change, Productivity, and Sustainability in Irrigated Wheat Systems of Asia: Emerging Issues," 1990 Annual meeting, August 5-8, Vancouver, Canada 270921, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    18. Mercedes Beltrán-Esteve & Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo & Ernest Reig-Martínez, 2012. "What makes a citrus farmer go organic? Empirical evidence from Spanish citrus farming," Working Papers 1205, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    19. Ghelfi, Rino & Bertazzoli, Aldo & Marchi, Alan & Rivaroli, Sergio & Samoggia, Antonella, 2010. "Inputs use in the agriculture of Emilia-Romagna: farm comparison through the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index," 120th Seminar, September 2-4, 2010, Chania, Crete 109322, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Franco, Juan Agustín & Gaspar, Paula & Mesias, Francisco Javier, 2012. "Economic analysis of scenarios for the sustainability of extensive livestock farming in Spain under the CAP," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 120-129.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:roaaec:254152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feuagsk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.