This paper illustrates a new methodology for finding preferred action choice(s) under uncertainty for well-defined classes of decision-makers The methodology does not replace the expected utility maximizing rule, which has been used to identify preferred action choices; rather it extends the...

Small-scale (communal) farmers in South Africa have limited access to factors of production, credit and information, and markets are often constrained by inadequate property rights and high transaction costs. The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives -...

The food system is undergoing significant structural change at local, national, and international levels. As the food system evolves, some segments along the chain between producers and consumers are disappearing. Others are being transformed. Supply chain concepts are useful for identifying and...

This paper illustrates a new methodology for finding preferred action choice(s) under uncertainty for well-defined classes of decision-makers The methodology does not replace the expected utility maximizing rule, which has been used to identify preferred action choices; rather it extends the...

Replaced with revised version of paper 05/26/11.

Data on agricultural and natural resource management typically have spatial patterns related to the landscapes from which they came. Consequently, econometric models designed to explain the determinants of humans' natural resource management practices or their outcomes often have spatial...

A translog stochastic cost frontier is estimated to calculate cost efficiency index (CEI) of 203 Kenyan and Ugandan maize producers using survey data from 2003. Results show a mean CEI of 1.95, with greater inefficiency among farms in Kenya of medium-large size. Key sources of inefficiency are...

The authors present an overview of agricultural systems models. Beginning with why systems are modeled and for what purposes, the paper examines types of agricultural systems and associated model types. The broad categories range from pictorial (iconic) models to descriptive analogue models to...