مجله اقتصاد و توسعه کشاورزی
سال سی و هفتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 61، Winter 2024)

Using appropriate policies to overcome food insecurity is one of the pillars of economic prosperity of countries. Economic decisions that change macroeconomic parameters can directly or indirectly affect food production and prices and affect food security. Therefore, achieving a clear understanding of how macroeconomic policies affect different dimensions of food security in the country can lead to providing solutions to improve the food security index. In this study, a framework of simultaneous equations is presented in order to investigate the relationship between monetary and financial policies with food production and prices in the country. In this regard, using the method of generalized moments, behavioral equations were estimated separately using the data of 1978-2018. The model was then implemented as a system of equations using the Gauss Seidel method. Different scenarios were simulated in this model to investigate the effects of changes in interest rates, money volume, and general government investment on various aspects of food security. The results indicated that government investment in the agriculture sector and public investment expenditures have a positive impact on food production through capital stock. Additionally, changes in interest rates have minimal effects on food production but significant negative effects on food prices. Overall, monetary policy decisions result in increased food prices alongside decreased food production due to the demand for money and private investment. Therefore, the implementation of these policies should be done more carefully in order to encourage farmers to increase production and therefore ensure food security for consumers.

This study examined the correlation between economic growth and the impact on the environment, specifically focusing on the concept of environmental sustainability. The World Bank's Adjusted Net Savings (ANS) data is utilized in this study to gauge the strain on the environment, specifically through the measurement of natural disinvestment. This measurement encompasses the cumulative effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) damage, as well as depletions in minerals, energy, and forest resources. This study uses panel data with respect to the endogeneity of explanatory variables to estimate the real effect of per capita income and the other variables on environmental pressure. In this regard, employing the panel Fixed-Effects Instrumental Variable (IV) methodology, the data from 213 countries have been used in the period from 1990 to 2018. Through regression analysis, it has been discovered that there is a direct correlation between income and the impact on the environment in developing nations. However, this relationship is notably more pronounced in low-income countries compared to high-income countries. Additionally, the study reveals that trade expansion contributes to an increase in environmental pressure across all groups of countries. An increase in the school enrolment rate can affect the environment in developed and high-income developing countries. Moreover, the variable effect of capital openness on environmental pressure was estimated to be positive for developed and high-income countries. However, this effect was found to be negative for low-income countries. Finally, the result showed that developing countries should improve their legal structure and also reduce the bureaucracy and complexity of the laws.

The increasing concern of consumers about the quality and safety of agricultural products all over the world has caused organic products to become one of the most popular options for healthy. The increasing trend and consumption of organic agricultural products has led to the increasing growth of the market of these products in the last two decades. Due to the importance of entering and gaining a share of this growing market, this study investigates the factors affecting the international organic products market entry and determines the appropriate strategy for entering it using structural equation modeling. The data of this study was obtained by collecting 90 questionnaires from producers of organic saffron, pistachio, and raisin products in the year 2021 with available sampling method in Khorasan Razavi province. The obtained results indicate that the variables of risk and motivation to enter the international market directly and the production and marketing ownership indirectly and through influencing the motivation to enter the international market, influence the international market entry strategy. Based on this, the appropriate strategy for entering the international market of organic products, indirect, cooperative and non-attendance strategies such as indirect export, contract production and joint investment was obtained. Therefore, it is suggested that the government should remove or reduce the risks caused by sanctions and obstacles to enter the market for the direct presence of organic product producers in international markets.

Every year, approximately one-third of the total food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted due to various reasons. This level of wastage has substantial adverse impacts on the environment, economy, and society. Numerous studies have proposed various policies to address the issue of food waste, such as incorporating technology into existing supply chains. However, concerns about their effectiveness and unintended consequences have led researchers to emphasize market-based approaches for waste reduction. The present study was carried out to estimate waste and investigate the potential for developing different marketing channels as market-based approaches to reduce waste in the leafy vegetable supply chain in Kermanshah province. To achieve this purpose, a system dynamics modelling of the waste system in the leafy vegetable supply chain was developed by using the literature review and interviews with experts and stakeholders. The tool for collecting research data was a questionnaire. The statistical population of this study is two groups including 22 experts and 728 actors in the leafy vegetable supply chain. Based on the findings, around 31,000 tonnes (39%) of leafy vegetables are wasted annually across the supply chain. The research scenarios indicate that the establishment of processing industries will effectively decrease the overall waste of leafy vegetables from around 31,000 tons to approximately 20,000 tons annually. Therefore, government initiatives and policies in the field of leafy vegetable exchange in the study area must focus on supporting businesses associated with leafy vegetable processing industries and establishing infrastructure prerequisites for these industries.

Food production in controlled cultivation areas plays a crucial role in increasing productivity and offsetting supply shortages. Product yields, water consumption, and energy use are the main parameters determining the performance of food production in a greenhouse. Smart technology is an effective solution to improve these parameters. This study aimed to identify the components, challenges, and requirements for the development of smart agriculture in greenhouses. Our case study focused on Tehran province, which encompasses a significant portion of the total greenhouses in Iran. The statistical population consisted of 20 subject-matter experts with research or executive experience in greenhouse automation, selected purposefully. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used in this study to collect data. First, we identified the variables affecting the development of smart agriculture in greenhouses by using a literature review and semi-structured interviews with experts, Then, the experts were asked to evaluate the cross-influence of the identified variables through pairwise comparison. Finally, data analysis was done using MICMAC software. The findings indicate that the identified requirements and challenges have had a significant influence on the lack of smart agriculture in greenhouses. Through network analysis of influence and dependence relationships, it was found that economic requirements and challenges, technical and infrastructural requirements and challenges, legal and regulatory requirements, and institutional requirements were the most influential variables in the development of smart agriculture in Tehran province.

In recent decades, the significance of the issue of climate change has escalated due to its intensified impacts, potentially diminishing or halting economic growth, particularly in developing countries and vulnerable sectors such as agriculture. Climate change may be considered the most important and complex human challenge. Among the economic effects, trade variables have been examined inadequately. Accordingly, the focus of this study is to investigate the impact of climate change on the export and import of agricultural products in Iran over a forty-year horizon, which was carried out using a dynamic input-output model. This study uses scenarios of temperature anomaly to examine the impact of climate change on different sectors of Iran’s economy. The findings indicate that climate change has a significant impact on the growth of both exports and imports of agricultural products. Under normal conditions without climate change, the average annual growth rate of agricultural product imports is 2.7 percent. However, this rate decreases to 1-1.8 percent when different climate change scenarios are taken into account. Regarding the exports, the corresponding value is 2.75 percent, expected to be reduced to 0.55-1.8 percent.  In addition, it was found that agricultural trade will be dominated by cereals import. Also, the total trade of the Iranian economy will change in favor of non-agricultural commodities

Burundi, like other countries, invests in agricultural research and development. The adoption of the most productive varieties is one of the ways of increasing agricultural yields. Rice, because of its high productivity, is among the cereals which occupy an important place in the food security strategy in Burundi. This study aims to identify the effect of the adoption of this variety on the productivity of rice farmers. Using random sampling technique was used to select the respondents to fill the questionnaires, data were collected from 524 rice farmers spread across the five villages, namely Buringa, Murira, Nyeshanga, Ninga and Bwiza of the Gihanga commune in Bubanza, Burundi. The analysis of the determinants and the quasi-experimental method based on propensity score matching was used in the estimation of the results of the effect of adoption of the rutete variety on the productivity of rice farmers and estimate the results. The study found that the average rice yields for adopted and non-adopted farmers were respectively 9754 and 9912 kg/ha. Also, if non-adopting farmers decide to adopt the variety, their counterfactual rice yield would be 7931 kg/ha for adopters and for non-adopters reached 7927 kg/ha. The average effect of the treatment on the rice yield of the adopters was 1823 kg/ha and significant (p<0.01). The decision to adopt for non-adopting rice farmers could increase the average yield by 1984 kg/ha. The results imply the positive role of the adoption of the rutete rice variety on the performance of rice farmers in Gihanga. It is recommended that the government and research institutions involved in the agricultural sustainable development support rice farmers by increasing agricultural research innovation with the aim of increasing the yield of crops.