The risk balancing literature suggests that business risk management (BRM) programs may, through risk balancing (offsetting adjustments between business risk and financial risk), lead farmers to take on more financial risk than they would take otherwise, which, in turn, increases the risk of...

From the protests in the streets of Genoa, Quebec and Seattle to the U.S. Senate, one doesn’t have to look far to find opposition to globalization and concentration.“… [D]o something about antitrust, the concentration that is clogging the free market …â€1was one plea...

There is increasing evidence that improved agricultural technologies benefit smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This evidence is however relatively clearer for innovations in smallholder crop production systems as compared to innovations in livestock production systems. Moreover, it is...

The introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops to Europe has been a significant source of tension among EU member states. While the political landscape is much divided there is also much unknown at the consumer level. The question of whether European consumers want GM foods made available...

The concept of sustainability is one of the forefront issues in global agricultural production at present, given mounting pressure to increase food production in both a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way. From an Irish perspective the sustainable intensification of agriculture...

Using a cross-sectional data collected on 400 cocoa farmers from the Ashanti and Western Regions of Ghana, this paper provides empirical evidence on the impacts of cocoa agroforests on yield and household income. The propensity-score matching model was employed. The heterogeneity of high, medium...

Regional employment and population change have displayed considerable spatial disparities within Northern Ireland in recent years. It is important to gain a better understanding of the causes of these spatial disparities to facilitate the development of effective policies to promote economic...

This paper compares innovation systems in three main Scottish livestock sectors: dairy, beef, and sheep, using the uptake of Estimated Breed Values (EBVs) across these three sectors. We apply an innovation systems approach to identify systemic challenges within these sectors. Barriers to the...