Under price ceilings and quality floors for agricultural inputs in cash crop sectors in developing countries where credit markets are weak, imperfect information on the ability of farmers to pay for their inputs at the end of the cropping season may lead the decentralized production of those...

In 1966, 90 percent of the cocoa growing areas in Bahia, Brazil had trees more than 30 years old. By 1985 most of the area had been replanted or supplied with new trees. Throughout most of this period there were high or rising cocoa prices, and zero or negative interest rates. High prices and...

This paper examines how market-based risk financing instruments could enable asset-poor but productive farmers exposed to production shocks to engage in riskier but higher-return agricultural activities. The financing of these exogenous shocks is addressed in a conceptual framework based on an...

Drawing on international evidence, the authors discuss the sources of economies of scale. Using representative farm-level survey data for South Africa's six major grain producing areas and one irrigation area for the period 1975-90, they: describe the the structure of South African agriculture,...

An estimated 80,000-100,000 Dominican farmers produce coffee and cocoa, nearly 40 percent of all agricultural producers. The sectors also provide employment for tens of thousands of field laborers and persons employed in linked economic activities. The majority of coffee and cocoa producers are...

In Poland, present policies are aimed at promoting large, mechanized farms over smaller family farms. These policies are based on the perception that large farms offer real economies of scale. But international evidence indicates that such large, mechanized farms are generally less efficient and...

The Colombian cut flower industry is one of the majordevelopment success stories of the last 20 years, growing from small beginnings in 1966 to the world's second largest exporter of cut flowers in 1980. This rapid development has made the cut flower industry a major contributor to the Colombian...

The authors assess whether the placement of bank branches in Bangladesh responds to unexploited potential for nonfarm rural development. They compare the branch location choicesof a large new private nonprofit bank, the famous Grameen Bank, with those of more traditional government banks. They...

So little is known about the rural nonfarm sector that those making policy to assist rural small-scale enterprises have done so largely"unencumbered by evidence". The Lanjouw survey of nonfarm data and policy experience attempts to correct this. Until recently, the commonly held view was that...

In modeling the supply of perennial crops, many researchers have used the vintage-capital production approach, most recently formulated by Akiyama and Trivedi. Implementing this approach requires reliable time-series data on production, total area planted, new planted area, yields, real producer...