The production of genetically modified (GM) animals is an emerging technique that could potentially impact the livestock and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, food products derived from GM animals have not yet entered the market whilst two pharmaceutical products have. The objective of this...

The 2014 U.S. Farm Act has new programs for providing producers with commodity support payments covering “shallow losses†in revenue. We develop an approach to examine the sensitivity of the farmer’s downside risk protection to marginal changes in the deductible in shallow loss...

The instability of commodity prices and the hypothesis that speculative behaviour was one of its causes has brought renewed interest in futures markets. The paper analyses the European wheat futures markets (feed and milling) and the Chi- cago Board of Trade’s wheat contract as a...

The paper presents an evolutionary perspective on how Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) have adapted over time to new challenges and technological paradigm and trajectories. Starting from a conventional science-based approach and the robust empirical evidence supporting it,...

The paper assesses the structures and dynamics of transnational cooperation projects promoted by Local Action Groups (LAGs) in different periods (from LEADER II to LEADER Axis) using Social Network Analysis (SNA) in a specific case study: the Veneto Region in Italy. The classical indexes of SNA...

The production of food employs different kinds of biotechnologies, some of which are more controversial than others. The public and the agrifood sector have developed a number of responses to address their concerns about biotechnologies considered controversial. In this contribution the...

With this paper, we examine the current state of global governance of biofuels and assess the potential regulatory and non-regulatory mechanisms for such governance. We ask two questions: a) what are the current efforts and initiatives towards the global governance of biofuels; and b) which form...

The Natura 2000 network is the cornerstone of the EU Biodiversity Strategy aimed at halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet in many EU Member States the level of development and execution of management plans and conservation measures of Natura 2000 sites is often very low...

The Nigerian Microfinance sub-sector is yet to attain the desired level of global best practice. This paper thus investigated the performance and productivity changes of MFBs in South-West Nigeria, from 2006 to 2010, having had the Microfinance Policy launched in 2004. From the use of relevant...

This paper provides an overview of the economics of biofuels. It starts by describing the remarkable growth of the biofuel industry over the last decade, with emphasis on developments in the United States, Brazil and the European Union, and it identifies the driving role played by some critical...