Institut für Landwirtschaftliche Betriebslehre

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Analysis of the impact, costs and acceptance of lapwing plots as a protection measure for farmland birds in Germany
(2023) Buschmann, Christoph; Lippert, Christian
Biodiversity in the agricultural landscape is declining in the European Union (EU) including Germany. This trend is also observed for farmland bird populations that are used as an important indicator of overall species diversity. Among farmland birds, the Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is an indicator species whose population has been particularly affected. Populations suffer inter alia from frequent cultivation measures and degraded habitat quality on agriculturally used land. To improve the status of farmland bird populations, appropriate measures are called for both in the EU and on German national level in different strategy papers. The European Commission has set the concrete target to increase farmland bird populations by 30 % until 2050. Despite the high demand to plan the implementation of biodiversity strategies, literature provides little guidance for farmland birds, i. e. ex-ante modelling of how many protection measures and how much compensation are needed to achieve certain time-bound conservation targets. The thesis addresses this research gap by analysing the impact of the conservation measure ‘lapwing plot’. Lapwing plots are fallow sections within arable fields that can be used as feeding areas and - during the breeding season - provide cover for the chicks from predators. In detail, the thesis pursues three objectives: First, to project how much lapwing plot provision is required to meet specific time-bound conservation targets on a national level by using a spatially explicit population viability analysis (PVA). Second, to calculate the corresponding costs based on implementation and opportunity costs (i. e. gross margins forgone) for compensating farmers who participate in a lapwing plot agri-environmental scheme (AES). For this, the PVA is combined with an economic analysis. Third, to analyse the acceptance of a lapwing plot AES by surveying farmers with a discrete choice experiment (DCE). PVA results show that the lapwing population in Germany could decline from 70.000 breeding pairs in 2006 to 12.000 or 23.000 pairs (depending on model assumptions) in 2055 if no further conservation measures were taken and land use remained stable. To achieve the ’30 % plus conservation target’ of the EU Commission for the lapwing, 30 % or 65 % of the breeding pairs need to be protected by a lapwing plot in arable land or a comparably effective measure in grassland. The corresponding costs for protection on arable land range from on average 1.1 to 5.6 million € per year depending on model assumptions. Costs may, however, be reduced by up to 52 % with a regionally focused economic optimisation. Since AES participation is voluntary, acceptance is of crucial importance. The DCE conducted to analyse acceptance considers different design options if the lapwing plot were introduced as an AES and identifies possible drivers and inhibitors of farmers’ participation. Remarkably, those design options which ensure that the AES can be co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), i. e., a participation period of five years and the nature of the relevant sanctions regime, are a particular acceptance barrier. However, so far EAFRD - as part of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - has been the most important funding instrument for AESs. Therefore, the thesis outlines how the lack of EAFRD acceptance could be addressed in the new CAP period 2023-2027 and points out alternative funding instruments. In conclusion, the lapwing plot is - according to the PVA results - a suitable measure to meet conservation objectives, such as the ’30 % plus conservation target’ of the EU Commission, if it is implemented to a sufficient extent. However, it is questionable whether a sufficient extent of implementation can be achieved if the lapwing plot is put into practice relying on voluntary AES with the available funding instruments and limited budgets. This would require a high level of acceptance among farmers in the affected regions. Therefore, the lapwing plot needs to be combined with other conservation approaches including the expansion of protected areas and in-field measures, such as the reduced use of fertilisers and pesticides. For policy makers, it is recommended to develop combined solutions in overall strategies and perform corresponding ex-ante modelling. For such strategies the thesis provides an important basis and with the PVA a suitable expandable model.
Understanding and addressing food loss and waste : a multidimensional analysis of wheat loss and bread waste in Iran
(2023) Ghaziani, Shahin; Reiner, Doluschitz
Food loss and waste (FLW) is a global issue with significant environmental and economic consequences, threatening food security. Reports show that 14% of global food production is lost in production and supply chains, while 17% is wasted at the consumption stage. Despite this, theres a lack of knowledge, especially in developing countries like Iran, facing challenges due to sanctions, environmental issues, and water scarcity. This doctoral study focuses on FLW in Iran, adopting a lifecycle approach, with wheat and wheat bread in Fars province as the main focus. The research aims to quantify and analyze food waste, identify hotspots, enhance quantification methods, and explore causes and solutions. The study includes mapping the wheat lifecycle, analyzing loss and waste factors, and proposing interventions. Data collection involves surveys and a laboratory experiment. The first survey in October 2018 used value stream mapping to overview the wheat and bread lifecycle. It identified farms, foodservice establishments, and households as major hotspots, revealing data gaps. The second survey, from December 2018 to August 2019, focused on household bread waste (HBW) in Shiraz. The survey involved 419 households and included a self-assessment questionnaire, a food frequency questionnaire for dietary data collection, and a socioeconomic status section. Findings led to three articles. The third article addressed underestimation in self-assessment methods using a lab experiment, improving accuracy. A lab experiment simulated common consumption recipes and measured resulting waste. Comparing the lab results with HBW estimates from the questionnaire survey, the article presents underestimation ratios ranging from 1.24 to 1.80. The fourth article reveals HBW in Shiraz at 1.80%, with traditional bread waste at 1.70% and non-traditional bread waste at 2.50%. However, these percentages do not consider the underestimation inherent in the self-assessment method. Adjusting for underestimation within this study population, traditional bread waste increases to 3.06%, and non-traditional bread waste rises to 3.58%. Outdated data from previous Iranian reports was highlighted. The final article uses multiple regression modeling to predict HBW based on household dietary patterns and socioeconomic scores. It emphasizes the need for consumer-focused interventions to address household food waste effectively, such as developing FLW reduction policies targeting specific consumers grouped based on waste-related characteristics. In conclusion, the dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of wheat loss and bread waste in Iran, offering insights into environmental, economic, and food security implications. It guides improvements in agricultural productivity, farmer cooperation, and consumer-focused strategies for sustainable consumption. The research contributes methodological advancements and informs decision-making for reducing wheat loss and bread waste, fostering responsible production and consumption.
The adoption of agricultural machinery and its economic impacts in China
(2023) Quan, Xiuhao; Doluschitz, Reiner
In modern agriculture, machinery plays an important role to substitute manual labor and to improve productivity and economic performance of farm households. Conventional agricultural machinery in crop production includes tractors, cultivators, tillers, combine harvesters, pumps, threshers, planters, fertilizer spreaders, seeders, etc. In recent years, as an innovative agricultural machinery, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been adopted in precision agriculture for crop monitoring and crop spraying. However, factors influencing Chinese farmers’ adoption of agricultural machinery and the economic impacts of the adoption have not been adequately studied, especially regarding farm machinery in maize production and UAVs in precision agriculture. In addition, there is limited literature that systematically summarizes the use of UAVs in maize production. The development of UAV-based pattern management in Chinese agriculture and the prerequisites for adopting and implementing this approach remain unclear. By utilizing farm household data, qualitative methods, and econometric quantitative methods, this dissertation aims to (i) identify the factors influencing the adoption of farm machinery and UAVs by Chinese farmers; (ii) estimate the economic impacts of adopting farm machinery and UAVs; (iii) provide an overview of UAV applications in maize production; (iv) study the prerequisites for adopting and implementing UAV-based pattern management in Chinese agriculture; (v) outline and recommend policy instruments to promote the use of farm machinery and UAVs in China. The empirical results indicate that the determinants of farm machinery adoption and UAV adoption can be attributed by three major aspects: farmer characteristics (e.g., age, education level, and perceptions about agricultural machinery), farm characteristics (e.g., farm size, land fragmentation, and cooperative membership), and other external socio-economic factors (e.g., subsidies, technical assistance, and labor shortages). The adoption of farm machinery and UAVs has shown significantly positive economic effects. However, the effects vary among farm household types due to the heterogeneous farm characteristics and socio-economic conditions. Farm machinery use significantly increased maize yield by 0.216 tons/ha and improved labor productivity by 18.65%. Young, male, and better-educated farmers benefit more from adopting farm machinery, and farms located in plain regions with cooperative membership and rented land can gain higher economic benefits from machinery use. In addition, the impacts of farm machinery adoption on maize yield and labor productivity slightly decrease with farm size. The adoption of UAVs in pesticide application significantly increased revenue and reduced the time spent on pesticide application by approximately 434-488 USD/ha and 14.4-15.8 hours/ha, respectively. In terms of marginal revenue and marginal time spent on pesticide application, the optimal area for using UAVs in pesticide spraying is estimated to be 20 hectares of arable land, suggesting that small and medium-scale farmers are the main beneficiaries of UAV adoption. For the wide application of UAV-based pattern management in precision agriculture, certain socio-economic and technical prerequisites are necessary. These include farmers possessing adequate UAV-related capabilities, relatively large farm sizes, availability of UAV-related subsidies, and superior UAV performance. Balancing the pros and cons, the effective promotion of farm machinery in maize production and UAVs in precision agriculture requires the establishment of a comprehensive socio-economic institution. This institution should integrate strategies from both the public and private sectors such as the implementation of land consolidation, the establishment of agricultural machinery cooperatives for benefit-risk sharing, the provision of practical training and education on agricultural machinery, and subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery. Due to the heterogeneous effects of farm machinery adoption and UAV adoption, it is necessary to develop customized extension services tailored to various types of farm households to prevent inequity among farmers.
Towards sustainable chemical fertilizer management in China : from theory to farm household
(2023) Yu, Xiaomin; Doluschitz, Reiner
Over the past few decades, China’s grain production has expanded drastically. On the one hand, this has eliminated food shortages and allowed China to feed its huge and still growing population. On the other hand, the rapid growth in grain productivity has come at a heavy cost. Excessive fertilizer use has led to a variety of negative consequences that threaten national food security and environmental sustainability. Since the 2010s, the Chinese government and academia have made considerable efforts to reduce the consumption of chemical fertilizers and improve nutrient management. These include a wide range of regulations to control or guide chemical fertilizer use, policies to eliminate subsidies for the fertilizer industry, and nationwide promotion of scientific fertilizer application methods. In response to these efforts, Chinas overall fertilizer application rate has been declining since 2016. However, China still applies far more fertilizers than its crops need, and the current crop Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) and Phosphorus Use Efficiency (PUE) in China are both below the global average. Therefore, reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers for crop production and sustainably feeding a large population remains a key challenge for China. This dissertation aims to contribute to sustainable nutrient management in China by providing a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of fertilizer use and management at the national, regional, farm and household levels. In the first study (Chapter 2), a systematic review of the historical development and current status of chemical fertilizer use and management in China at the national level is presented. In addition, fertilizer nutrient surpluses are estimated for 30 provinces in China and the regional and temporal variations are visualized. In the second study (Chapter 3), the relationship between fertilizer nutrient surpluses and the regional economy at the provincial level is examined within the framework of the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. A panel cointegration approach is employed, using time-series data from 1988 to 2019. In the third study (Chapter 4), the research focus is further narrowed to the farm household resolution. Using cross-sectional survey data from 774 maize-growing farms in northern China in 2019, the study investigates the role of farm characteristics, farmers knowledge, perceptions, and socioeconomic context in farmers fertilizer use strategies. The studies confirm that by 2021, China has reached zero growth in fertilizer use and fertilizer nutrient surpluses at the national and regional level. However, regions with a high proportion of cash crops, such as the southeast coast and northwest, still suffer from high nutrient surpluses. Furthermore, in circa 2012, China has reached its EKC turning point between fertilizer nutrient surpluses and GDP per capita. With further economic growth, the fertilizer surpluses in most Chinese provinces will decrease, indicating a moderating of the tension between economic development and the environment. Looking at the farm and household level, the study shows that in northern China, small farms are more likely to overuse fertilizers in maize cultivation without further yield improvement. Current extension programs have had a positive impact on farmers’ fertilizer use strategies and environmental awareness; nevertheless, the coverage and effectiveness of trainings should be improved. In summary, the dissertation identifies the following key factors that impede sustainable chemical fertilizer management in China: small farm size; regional economic dependence on cash crops; the large discrepancy between farmers practices and scientific production guidelines; and the shrinking and aging of Chinas rural labor force. To address these aspects, the dissertation proposes recommendations at the national strategic level, policy level and implementation level, respectively. The findings and recommendations of this dissertation can serve as a robust decision support and scientific basis for policy makers, stakeholders and researchers in the field of sustainable nutrient management in China.
Sustainability assessment and education for sustainability in the Russian Federation on the example of Tambov region
(2021) Bezgin, Anna; Doluschitz, Reiner
Over the past few decades economic growth has come at the expenses of the environments and the topic of sustainable development is becoming more important. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The main aim of this dissertation was to investigate the available methodologies of sustainability assessment and to test which of them could be suitable for Russian conditions. Russia is an interesting subject for research as, it has its own history of sustainability science, but quite often the commitment to sustainable development is only in rhetoric and there are some problems with the interpretation of the concept of sustainable development. For example, in Russian official documents the term sustainability is used as a synonym for stable economic growth. The focus of the research was a creation of an indicator system for a regional sustainability assessment on the example of Tambov region of the Russian Federation. At the first stage of the research a regional assessment was performed with the help of the United Nations set of sustainable development indicators, SWOT analysis was performed to identify the main strengths and problems in the region. Also, the availability of statistical data and relevancy for the research region of the indicators was checked. During the next stage of the research a composite indicator was created using different techniques for normalization of indicator and weighting. Then robustness and sensitivity analysis of created indicators was performed, the results were visualised, and composite indicators were decomposed to explain the drivers of the aggregated results. The result of this work has shown that composite indicators together with regional assessment on the base of sustainability indicators are the tools that could support policymakers in sustainability decision-making. There are some problems with the availability of the statistical data in Russia, and there is no monitoring mechanism at the federal district level and lack of coordination with work of statistical agencies. This research is confirming a necessity of further research, and a need to develop a monitoring and assessment system in Russian Federation. The second part of the research was devoted to education for sustainable development. UNESCO is stressing that the approach of Education for Sustainable Development empowers learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations, and therefore education is playing a crucial role in reaching sustainability (UNESCO, 2017). The aim of this research was to see how the sustainability topics are integrated into the curriculum of the agricultural universities, to define the sources of integration and research possible problems and formulate the recommendations for strengthening the integration. To research the education for sustainable development in Russia first a literature review was conducted, followed by 16 semi-structured interviews with the representatives of 8 universities. The research confirmed the fact that sustainability is present as a topic in the official documents, for example educational standard, but this mention remains only rhetorical and does not provide the background for the establishment of a framework for integration of sustainability concept. As a result, the integration into education is mostly driven by the personal initiative of the teaching staff. There is a clear demand for an integration framework of sustainability topics in the federal state educational standard. The main problems are uncoordination and competition between departments and ministries, overload of teachers, lack of best-practices, absence of system in the education and limited financing. These problems could be mitigated with creation of interdepartmental centres, creation of interdisciplinary working groups, creation of a systematic concept of education for sustainability and involvement of different stakeholders into educational projects, but the success of these measures depends on the general approach and if the importance of sustainability will be present only in official documents, then there will be no shift in integration, and everything will depend only on individual initiative of teachers.
Discrete Choice Experimente zur Analyse des Entscheidungsverhaltens von Landwirten am Beispiel von Vorkaufsrechten für landwirtschaftliche Nutzflächen und Ertragsversicherungen
(2022) Moog, Kristina; Bahrs, Enno
Farmers in Germany are currently facing new challenges, which require operational adaptation and associated decisions. As a result of climate change, extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency, which can damage or even destroy agricultural harvests. For this reason, farmers are faced with the decision of whether and how they can protect their crops from damaging events and which instruments are best suited for this purpose. However, the increasing prices on the farmland market and the associated appearance of non-agricultural investors on the farmland market also mean that land can become more expensive for farmers. The possibility of privileging farmers towards investors in the form of pre-emptive rights, which is being discussed politically in this context, is an instrument for shaping the farmland market. This outlines the focus of this work, which is to examine the decision-making behaviour of farmers in connection with these exemplary current challenges and to determine what willingness there is on the part of farmers to pay or accept certain solutions for overcoming these decision-making challenges and what benefits these solutions have for farmers. Discrete choice experiments are used for this purpose, in which the farmers surveyed are confronted with (fictional) decision-making situations in which the preferred alternative is to be chosen from several alternatives. These alternatives are described by different attributes and levels, which are systematically varied over the entire experimental design. Subsequently, different models can be used to estimate the benefit of individual attributes and the willingness to pay or willingness to accept. Therefore, a discrete choice experiment was developed to investigate the decision-making behaviour of farmers when registering pre-emptive rights, to determine the benefits of individual pre-emptive rights attributes and the willingness-to-pay for these attributes. The results,show, that the majority of the farmers surveyed preferred to choose one of the two pre-emptive rights over the status quo. I.e. farmers derive a benefit from pre-emptive rights and show a willingness-to-pay for pre-emptive rights to farmland, both of which depend on the characteristics of the pre-emptive right, but also on the personal and operational situation of the respondent. Due to the complexity of the issue of pre-emptive rights, another discrete choice experiment was conducted to analyse the decision-making behaviour of the owners of farmland affected by pre-emptive rights. Based on the sample chosen, only owners of farmland who are farmers themselves were interviewed. Here, too, the aim is to estimate the benefits and the monetary willingness-to-accept for pre-emptive rights, this time on the part of the affected farmland owners. However, it also becomes clear that there is a monetary willingness-to-accept this, i.e. that a compensation payment is expected from the entitled party for the granting of pre-emptive rights. As in the previous studies, the benefit as well as the willingness-to-accept strongly depends on the char¬acteristics of the pre-emptive right and the personal and farm situation of the respondents. Finally, another discrete choice experiment was conducted among orchardists and vintners in Baden-Württemberg. The subject of the study is the decision-making behaviour of the orchardists and vintners surveyed regarding the conclusion of state-subsidised crop insurance policies to protect against damage due to extreme weather events. The creation of the discrete choice experiment is based on a pilot project introduced in 2019 by the state of Baden-Württemberg to promote crop insurance against extreme weather-related damage in orcharding and viticulture. Here, too, the majority of respondents decide to take up subsidised crop insurance and show a willingness to pay for crop insurance. This decision is influenced by the characteristics of the crop insurance, but also by the previous risk management of the surveyed farms. Summing up all the analyses carried out, it can be said that farmers face up to the challenges currently arising, deal with the possible solutions and, within the framework of discrete choice experiments, decide by majority in favour of these solutions and thus against the status quo.
Akzeptanz, Status quo und Entwicklung der Digitalisierung entlang der genossenschaftlichen agro-food Wertschöpfungskette
(2022) Munz, Jana; Doluschitz, Reiner
Within the first subject area (I. Status quo and development of digitalization in German agriculture) in one publication presented in this dissertation, the model of Porter and Heppelmann (2014) was taken up and further developed to empirically capture the status quo of digitization in German agriculture. Using a cluster analysis, the farmers participating in the survey could be assigned to two specific development stages. 58.2 % of the respondents were assigned to the second development stage of "users of smart products". 41.8 % of the respondents could be classified as "users of smart, connected products", among whom the use of complex systems that connect individual mechanical and electrical components are particularly widespread. Thus, it could be determined that German farms have not yet reached the level of "smart farming" and also not the level of "product systems". The nature of the use of FMIS in terms of widespread use of web-based applications, automatic digital data entry and, above all, the use of universal data standards were identified within the study as the greatest obstacles on the way to achieving "smart farming". Digitzation is also presented as a prerequisite for future economic performance and survival for cooperatives, with rural cooperatives in particular facing increasing competitive pressure due to structural change processes, ongoing transformation processes through digitization and the emergence of new competitors. According to the current state of knowledge, the topic of digitization in rural cooperatives has not been examined yet and is now, for the first time, the focus of scientific studies within the second subject area of this dissertation (II. Acceptance, status quo and development of rural cooperatives in the context of digitization). Two publications first shed light on the determinants of acceptance factors for the use of digital technologies among rural cooperatives. The first study presented here is based on the identification and analysis of acceptance factors regarding the use of internet-based information systems (IS) along the cooperative value chain of the red meat industry from the perspective of farmers or members/customers of a livestock marketing cooperative. Three benefit-generating factors regarding the expected use of internet-based IS could be identified as valid acceptance factors: the support in documentation and an obligatory exchange of data towards administrative bodies (B2A); the inter-farm data exchange between farmer and livestock marketing company/slaughterhouse (B2B); the function of integrating external data into the IS. Another study focuses on the intermediary level of German agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives from the perspective of the managing directors, with the three acceptance factors relating to the expected use of digital technologies in the business areas of procurement and logistics, customer/member management, and marketing being identified as having a beneficial effect. Personnel and financial factors as well as strategic and operational factors were identified as the greatest challenge on the way to implementing digital technologies. Opportunities arising from membership of the cooperative network therefore need to be exploited in a targeted manner to address challenges and jointly mitigate risks. Overall, it was possible to demonstrate that there is an "attitudinal acceptance" of the introduction of digital technologies at the level of primary production and the intermediate level of agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives. In the course of the analyses, the determinant of the size of the cooperative or farm could be attributed as a positive influence on the acceptance of digital technologies. The final paper presented as part of this dissertation makes a contribution with regard to identifying the status quo of digital technology adoption in agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives and derives opportunities for a digital differentiation for these cooperatives. Based on a cluster analysis, the cooperatives could be assigned to the cluster of "Basic Adopters" (n=48) and "Advanced service-oriented Adopters" (n=18). Against the backdrop of ongoing cut-throat competition and the findings obtained in the present studies, it is recommended that agricultural trade cooperatives consider an individually tailored differentiation strategy and, to this end, build up concrete digital competencies with an increased service orientation in order to adapt their business model or business processes to current industry developments.
Voraussetzungen und Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten sowie ökonomische Auswirkungen von Kompensationsmaßnahmen gemäß BNatSchG in der Landwirtschaft in Ballungsräumen am Beispiel der Region Stuttgart
(2021) Sponagel, Christian; Bahrs, Enno
Land take due to urbanisation has a major local and global impact on the natural balance, that are to be compensated for in many countries around the world. In Germany, this kind of impacts are to be compensated for according to the Impact Mitigation Regulation pursuant to Article 13 of the German Nature Conservation Act. In addition to land take for an intervention, such as a building site, additional land is required for the implementation of offset measures. Especially in expanding urban areas, where land scarcity is a problem, offsetting can exacerbate land use conflicts. Agriculture, in particular, is one key stakeholder in the context of offsetting. On the one hand, agricultural land, especially intensively used arable land, offers considerable potential for nature conservation enhancement. On the other hand, agriculture is also characterised by its considerable spatial impact. There is also a need for improvement in the compensation process from the point of view of nature conservation, as there are often deficits in the maintenance and implementation of measures. Existing instruments such as eco-accounts or so-called production-integrated compensation, a form of cooperation between nature conservation and agriculture, have so far been poorly established. The present study, therefore, analyses offset activities with a focus on agriculture in urban areas, drawing more particularly on the example of the Stuttgart Region. Chapters 2 and 3 of the study focus on the analysis of individual farms. In addition to in-depth interviews with farms, Chapter 2 provides a spatial analysis of agricultural land take for offset purposes using the example of the neighbouring cities of Stuttgart and Filderstadt. The insights gained are applied in Chapter 3 to analyse the acceptance of offset measures using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). In Chapter 3 the DCE is conducted with farmers in and outside the Stuttgart Region. In Chapter 4, the offset potential is determined using the example of arable land in the Stuttgart Region with the help of a geodata-based land use model. Within Chapter 5 different offset scenarios at regional level are analysed. To this end, data on the estimated offset needs of the municipalities in the Stuttgart Region up to 2030 were furnished by the Verband Region Stuttgart. They are used for modelling, and the results of the DCE from Chapter 3 are incorporated. Chapter 6 addresses the regional bundling and networking of production-integrated compensation measures with the help of expert-based maps. Using geodata, a spatially differentiated assessment is carried out from an agricultural and nature conservation perspective. The aim here is to identify areas that offer the greatest possible potential for synergies between agriculture and nature conservation in conjunction with offset measures. The spatial analysis shows that agriculture is disproportionately affected by land loss in the context of the intervention regulation compared to other land uses. Furthermore, the results show that agriculture generally accepts voluntary offset measures although this very much depends on the type of measure and legal safeguard. The results also show a considerable potential for offset measures on agricultural land, although there are strong spatial disparities in terms of costs, especially between the centre of an urban area and the peripheral areas, as demonstrated by the example of the Stuttgart Region. Consequently, the spatially unrestricted implementation of compensation can lead to a polarisation between the core of the region with therefore just a few ecologically beneficial, landscape-enhancing offset measures and the peripheral areas with numerous ecologically beneficial, landscape-enhancing offset measures. Moreover, the developed expert-based maps show that synergies are possible between agriculture and nature conservation on a significant scale. Offset measures can thus contribute to ecological sustainability in agricultural landscapes and are a relevant business option for farms. There are major challenges when it comes to communication between agriculture and authorities or municipalities: ensuring understanding and transparency in terms of the market for offset measures, and assessing the nature conservation enhancement of production-integrated compensation measures. In addition, the various forms of legal safeguard in connection with the determination of the legally prescribed care and maintenance period must be more clearly specified and communicated in the future. Voluntary or eco-accounting measures, in particular, should be used more intensively, as they allow for forward planning.
Success factors of farm investments : the example of Swiss dairy farms
(2021) Kramer, Benedikt; Doluschitz, Reiner
This scientific analysis aims to identify success factors of farm investments, which are supported by interest free loans. The data basis consists of data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) from 2003 through 2014 from Switzerland, which is matched to data from the Meliorations- und Agrarkredit-Projekt-Informations-System (MAPIS), where all supported dairy barn investments in Switzerland are registered. In addition, a Gini coefficient on the level of municipality is added, calculated from agricultural census data (AGIS). One of the main variables analysed is calculated profit. Another important variable, analysed in this work, is herd size. As a first step, the development of calculated profit and herd size change after investment are analysed by two separate fixed-effects panel regression models. The results show, that calculated profit is significantly and positively influenced by the amount of agricultural land of the farm and significantly reduced for the first three years after investment. From the fourth year onwards, no coefficients are significant anymore, which might either be caused by a divergent development of individual farms or by the diminishing number of observations. Herd size change is positive and significantly influenced by the amount of agricultural land. Also the period of quota phasing out affected herd size change positively. Dairy herds probably grew in the year before investment already and kept growing till five years after investment. Both dependent variables indicate that farms undergo an adjustment phase after investment. For the analysis of investment probability, the data sample is extended by including observations of all dairy farms and combined dairy/arable crop farms in the valley and hill region. Observations after investment are excluded. A logit regression model of the pooled data reveals that among the financial variables, only equity and farm income have a small positive and significant effect on investment probability. Social characteristics show a larger effect. The investment probability increases with age, farm household size and the presence of a partner. In order to analyse influencing factors of successful investments, investments that enable the farm to achieve the same or higher calculated profit as before, are considered successful. The year before investment is used as the basis and a Cox Proportional-Hazard-model is used to investigate those influencing factors. The model reveals that for farm having a higher calculated profit before investment, it is more difficult to restore that level after investment. Off-farm income and expenses for purchase of additional animals affect recovery of calculated profit significantly negative. The largest significant negative impact comes with more family labour. The results suggest that family labour which is likely to be freed up by productivity gains, is not reallocated to off-farm income. Additional indicators for land competition on the level of municipality are used. Agricultural income per family working unit is analysed as financial measure. This is a precursor for calculated profit and reflects financial efficiency of the input of family labor. In addition, growth of the dairy herd is analyzed. A random effects model is used for both variables. For dairy herd growth, utilized agricultural area and milk quota abolishment have a positive effect. More subsidized projects within a municipality and a higher concentration of acreage have a negative effect. For agricultural income per family working unit, utilised agricultural area, number of subsidized projects within a municipality, valley region and equity have a positive effect while milk quota abolishment has a negative effect. Off-farm income, which has been used as off-farm income per full-time working unit, showed no statistically significant effect. Neighboring effects appear to be more important for dairy herd growth than for agricultural income. Based on the derived definitions, success factors are identified. An adjustment phase is confirmed, while the productivity of family labour seems to be the most important influencing factor for recovering calculated profits of the pre-investment situation. Structural influences seem most important for herd size growth. With regard to the negative effect of off-farm labour, off-farm labour might be seen as enabling farms with off-farm labour to accept a lower level of labour productivity. In general, the social characteristics of farms seem to have a larger impact on dairy farm investments than financial variables. For investment support, the results imply not only to put emphasis on financial characteristics. In addition, the adjustment phase must be considered with investment plans. With such long lasting investments like dairy barns, strategic decisions by the farmer combined with family characteristics might be more important than financial indicators.
The potential of rural cooperatives development in Albania : challenges and benefits
(2021) Sokoli, Olta; Doluschitz, Reiner
Promising but particularly challenging remains the agricultural sector in Albania even after almost three decades of transition and the collapse of communism regime. The country is located in a very strategic geographical area of Europe, tempting for centuries to its neighbors is struggling to find the way to promote the agriculture sector. On the other hand, the agriculture sector contributes to almost half of the employment in Albania and accounts for about one-fifth of the gross domestic product (ILO - International Labour Organisation, 2018). Roughly 60% is subsistence farming meaning that small and family farms with an average of 1.2 ha to 2 ha is the most common profile of the farmers (INSTAT, 2018). Combining this with the land fragmentation, for instance two or more rather small parcels per farm, geographically spread, generates a challenge for farmers. As a consequence of the land reform implemented in the early 1990s, in which state agricultural land was equally distributed to the rural population, which resulted in small and fragmented farms that hampered the growth and competitiveness of agriculture. Due to negative experience in the past, Albania, farmers tend to be hesitant to form or join organizations such as cooperatives, as in many other post communism regime countries. However, there are signs of change, as the first movements of cooperatives establishment have started, even though initiated by external factor such as international projects provided by GIZ, FAO and many other foreigner programs. The two major objectives of this research are: first to highlight the obstacles why farmers are hesitant to participate in cooperation even after three decades of regime change. Secondly, the benefits and the mechanisms to promote this movement, as well as the impact it might have in further development of agriculture in the country. Based on this observations and consecutive problematic this dissertation analyzes the potential of cooperative development in the following key issues: cooperatives evolution within the last decades, governmental institution supporting role in this movement, the factors that influence the willingness of farmers to or not to cooperate. The research has taken place in the main villages/areas of Lushnja and Fier district covering about 25% of the Albanian national milk/dairy cow per head (INSTAT, 2018). The research sample included 238 farmers involved in cow milk production who were selected randomly by the interviewers. The interviewed farmers were all personally involved in farm activities, including the production and sale of cow milk Furthermore, the findings show the importance of governmental institutions in the promotion and the support for the development of cooperatives. Their role is fundamental as they play the leading and managerial role of the policy implementation. Moreover, a particular importance has shown the indirect affect that local rules have on cooperation. From the findings, it emerges that the main and most noteworthy mechanism of how local rules affect willingness to cooperate is by constructing social capital. Without leaving apart the determinants of the local rules, trust, and leadership skills in cooperation taken individually and in relation to each other (Agrawal 2001, Ostrom 2009, Ostrom and Mc Ginhis 2014). Summarizing the above mentioned major findings and in conclusion, innovative initiatives is a process in itself that should be elaborated and supported broadly to deliver the importance it brings in the development of the farm or in the farmers organization such as cooperatives, without leaving aside the impact it might have in the community (Dossa and Kaeufer, 2014; Bocken et al., 2013; Weltzien, 2011). A challenging initiative does not make it not valuable and uncertain but should intrigue the community to incorporate new possibilities.
Behavioral economic impact on animal health surveillance system in Thailand (correct version of the dissertation)
(2021) Kewprasopsak, Tossapond
Zoonotic diseases are a continuously significant threat to global human and livestock health (causing millions of deaths yearly). Zoonotic diseases are not only a human health threat, but also a threat to animal health and welfare. Moreover, they have a high impact on national economies and food security due to productivity and production reduction. Expanding worldwide travel and global trade increases the importance of the threat of zoonotic diseases. The increase in global meat consumption contrasts with the escalating instability of the global meat market, which is affected by the increase of livestock densities, changes in production intensity, and slaughtering systems, causing animal disease outbreaks to spread widely. This study focuses on the animal disease surveillance system in Thailand as an important world meat exporter. In 2014, the Participatory One Health Disease Detection project, or PODD was set up by the veterinary inspection authorities to test animal epidemic control systems using smartphone applications in the Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand The main objectives of this study are (i) to evaluate the economic impact of the PODD system on farmers by impact assessment (n = 177) (ii) to demonstrate the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives on the PODD reporters by the experimental approach (n = 17), (iii) and to present the effect of the socioeconomic factors and behavioral bias on farmers animal disease reporting behavior with the logit model (n = 467). Focusing on the first objective, the results of this study concluded that there is an impact on the farmers. The technology alone cannot improve animal health security in the short-term. In the second objective, the results concluded that, in the case of the PODD reporters, the decision of using monetary incentives to motivate most of the PODD reporters has a negative impact in the long-term. Losing reporter motivation and effort reflected to the low efficiency of the digital surveillance system of PODD and no impact on farmers. Concerning In the last objective, the results concluded that the optimistic bias of farmers has a very high impact on their decision making about reporting animal diseases on their farm. Just one infected farm in the case of dairy milk farmers can spread the foot-and-mouth disease to other farms. The new digital animal health surveillance system alone is not enough to reduce the impact of animal diseases of farmers. Suitable motivation for the reports and awareness of farmers optimistic bias in animal disease reporting cannot be neglected in digital animal disease surveillance system improvement. Overall, it can be concluded that the digital animal disease surveillance system is a powerful instrument for reducing the impact of animal diseases and increasing food safety and security. However, application of this advanced technology still needs time to demonstrate the impact and to be broadly adopted by users. In terms of motivation, the monetary incentive can increase the effort of report in the short run but it comes at a high cost and has a negative impact in the long-term. While the social incentive costs less and is more effective in the long-term. Where farmers animal disease reporting behavior is concerned, the optimistic bias is the highest influential factor on the farmers’ reporting decisions, in an inverse correlation.
Behavioral economic impact on animal health surveillance system in Thailand
(2021) Kewprasopsak, Tossapond; Reiner, Doluschitz
Zoonotic diseases are a continuously significant threat to global human and livestock health (causing millions of deaths yearly). Zoonotic diseases are not only a human health threat, but also a threat to animal health and welfare. Moreover, they have a high impact on national economies and food security due to productivity and production reduction. Expanding worldwide travel and global trade increases the importance of the threat of zoonotic diseases. The increase in global meat consumption contrasts with the escalating instability of the global meat market, which is affected by the increase of livestock densities, changes in production intensity, and slaughtering systems, causing animal disease outbreaks to spread widely. This study focuses on the animal disease surveillance system in Thailand as an important world meat exporter. In 2014, the Participatory One Health Disease Detection project, or PODD was set up by the veterinary inspection authorities to test animal epidemic control systems using smartphone applications in the Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand The main objectives of this study are (i) to evaluate the economic impact of the PODD system on farmers by impact assessment (n = 177) (ii) to demonstrate the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives on the PODD reporters by the experimental approach (n = 17), (iii) and to present the effect of the socioeconomic factors and behavioral bias on farmers animal disease reporting behavior with the logit model (n = 467). Focusing on the first objective, the results of this study concluded that there is an impact on the farmers. The technology alone cannot improve animal health security in the short-term. In the second objective, the results concluded that, in the case of the PODD reporters, the decision of using monetary incentives to motivate most of the PODD reporters has a negative impact in the long-term. Losing reporter motivation and effort reflected to the low efficiency of the digital surveillance system of PODD and no impact on farmers. Concerning In the last objective, the results concluded that the optimistic bias of farmers has a very high impact on their decision making about reporting animal diseases on their farm. Just one infected farm in the case of dairy milk farmers can spread the foot-and-mouth disease to other farms. The new digital animal health surveillance system alone is not enough to reduce the impact of animal diseases of farmers. Suitable motivation for the reports and awareness of farmers optimistic bias in animal disease reporting cannot be neglected in digital animal disease surveillance system improvement. Overall, it can be concluded that the digital animal disease surveillance system is a powerful instrument for reducing the impact of animal diseases and increasing food safety and security. However, application of this advanced technology still needs time to demonstrate the impact and to be broadly adopted by users. In terms of motivation, the monetary incentive can increase the effort of report in the short run but it comes at a high cost and has a negative impact in the long-term. While the social incentive costs less and is more effective in the long-term. Where farmers’ animal disease reporting behavior is concerned, the optimistic bias is the highest influential factor on the farmers reporting decisions, in an inverse correlation.
Operationalisierung von Werten in Genossenschaften
(2020) Breuning, Senta; Doluschitz, Reiner
Values have gained in relevance due to their importance to individuals as well as to companies, as they are used, among other things, for orientation and identity formation. This is true for society as a whole, but especially for the structure of cooperatives. Against this background, the present cumulative dissertation will first of all establish an intersection of social (individual values) and cooperative (company values) values. For this purpose, numerous representative social value studies were analysed and a comprehensive national and international analysis of the cooperative scientific literature was collected. The aim of the intersection was to analyse a common denominator of individual and company values in order to be able to conduct an empirical survey based on fundamental values of society and cooperatives. The result of the two analyses was an intersection of 16 values, which serve as a basis for the quantitative empirical survey along a structured questionnaire. In the further course of the present dissertation it was clarified what German society knows about cooperatives and their principles and values. As differentiating factors, individual determinants such as gender, generation, federal states and cooperative branches have been analysed comparatively. In principle, a clear majority of German society has heard the term cooperatives before. However, the cooperative values and principles are much less known than the term cooperative itseld. The lack of knowledge about the term "cooperative" as well as about the cooperative values and principles is mainly found among women and the younger generations Y and Z. Contrary to the expectations, no differences are discernible with regard to the degree of familiarity with the term cooperative and its values and principles in an East-West comparison of the federal states. However, the level of awareness of cooperatives and their values and principles depends on the cooperative sector. Therefore, it can be concluded that the test persons who are familiar with the field of cooperative banks have heard the term cooperative more often and are more familiar with the cooperative principles and values than the test persons who are more acquainted with commercial or rural cooperatives. Furthermore, it should be noted that members of cooperatives are better informed about the term cooperative and its values and principles than the general German population. While the social values represent the individual values of German society and are classified as "important" to "very important", the cooperative values are the company values which are perceived by society as "less important". When listing the individual and company values, it becomes clear that the sequences are not identical and that the mean values differ considerably. Freedom is the most important individual value, whereas freedom comes last in the company values. Meanwhile, solidarity is the most important company value, which is nevertheless ranked 12th in the list of individual values. Other interesting differences, but also similarities, such as in the value of security, can be found in the rankings of the individual and company values. In general, it is worth noting that women and the oldest age cohorts, i.e. the traditionalists, rate both individual and company values more important than men and the younger generations Y and Z. Against this background, cooperatives are faced with the decision of how they want to deal with the result, especially in the context of their strategic management. In this context, either the adaptation or the differentiation strategy is suitable with regard to the application of values. The adaptation strategy consciously communicates the values that the selected target group considers as important. The differentiation strategy explicitly communicates values that can be historically and branchspecifically associated with the individual cooperative. In addition to the challenge of value pluralism, which can be found in society as well as in cooperatives and their value communication, the heterogeneity of the membership structure and their value perception of corporate values poses an additional challenge for cooperatives. In order to operationalise values in the corporate culture of cooperatives, the membership structure should therefore be analysed on a case-by-case basis and the strategic orientation of the management should be chosen accordingly. In conclusion, it is important to note that values are considered abstract. However, when continuously applied in strategic management, as well as in precise and goaloriented communication, they represent an essential contribution to the corporate mission and vision. Thus, they can contribute a considerable share to the increase of positive perception and company success.
Ökonomische Bewertung regionaler Wettbewerbspotentiale verschiedener landwirtschaftlicher Biomassen im Rahmen der Bioökonomie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Baden-Württembergs
(2020) Petig, Eckart; Bahrs, Enno
The finite nature of fossil resources and climate change pose major challenges to the global society and require a comprehensive transformation of the current economic system. One important aspect of this transformation, also known as bioeconomy, is the transition from a fossil-based to a bio-based supply of raw materials. In this context, agricultural production represents an important supplier of raw materials, which in Germany is already characterized by a strong competition for the scarce land. The scarce land is a major challenge of the expansion of the use of agricultural biomass for the bioeconomy. Accordingly, the derivation of the potential of agricultural biomass for bioeconomy requires consideration of the tradeoffs between various utilization paths. In this context, economic models can be valuable methods, which on one hand are able to depict the trade-offs of different value chains and can, on the other hand, incorporate the uncertainty by developing suitable scenarios. The aim of this thesis is the evaluation of the potential of different agricultural biomasses for the bioeconomy and to analyze the associated effects on agricultural production structures in Baden-Wuerttemberg. In chapter 2 the potential of grassland as a biogas substrate is evaluated, which might be important for the bioeconomy in the future. Due to the more complex harvesting process and partly unfavorable production conditions, grassland has higher production costs compared to arable biogas substrates. The consideration of iLUC Factors with high prices for GHG emissions could improve the competitiveness of grassland to such an extent that it is competitive with the production of biogas substrates on arable land. However, silage maize is often the more favorable biogas substrate in many respects, as chapter 3 shows by means of a site modeling for biogas plants in Baden-Wuerttemberg. In chapter 4 and 5 the potential of straw for energetic and material use is analyzed. These investigations are based on the combination of EFEM with the techno-economic location optimization model BIOLOCATE. The results clearly show the interaction between the economies of scale and the rising raw material supply costs. On the one hand, the average investment costs decrease with increasing plant size, but on the other hand the raw material costs increase, because the transport distances increase and an increasing demand for biomass results also in higher market prices. Additionally, the results show that straw can make a fundamental contribution to the bioeconomy by providing regional bioenergy and as feedstock for material value chains. However, even the use of by-products can have effects on cultivation structures and thus, reduce the production of agricultural biogas substrates, among other things. In Chapter 6 the effects of macroeconomic expansion paths of the bioeconomy on agricultural production structures in Baden-Wuerttemberg are investigated. For this purpose, the results of an iterative model coupling between the agricultural sector model ESIM and the energy sector model TIMES-PanEU of four bioeconomic scenarios are scaled down from national level to regional and farm level using EFEM. The results show different impacts on farm types and thus illustrate the advantages of a differentiated analysis of the expansion of the bioeconomy. Therefore, farms with mainly extensive production methods such as suckler cow husbandry do not profit from the expansion of the bioeconomy due to unfavorable production conditions, while especially large arable farms in fertile regions would benefit disproportional more than the average. Basically, the results reveal limits to the mobilization of additional biomass potential. The reason for this is the already high cultivation intensity of agricultural production in Germany, in which the expansion of one production restricts production of another due to competition for the limited agricultural land. For grassland, the results show that the decline in grassland-based cattle farming and unfavorable economic conditions can lead to a significant increase of unused grassland. Grassland thus presents itself as a promising resource for biomass production for the bioeconomy, as it can provide important ecosystem services (e.g. biodiversity) in addition to the provision of raw materials. However, a political framework has to be established that promotes ecological services accordingly. Finally, in chapter 7 additional research needs are identified, which include further development of the methodological approach. These comprise an extension of the analysis by macroeconomic models to integrate interactions with the material use in a more detailed way. Furthermore, an integration of ecological parameters is necessary for a holistic analysis in the context of bioeconomy.
Kooperative Lösungsansätze zur Begegnung der Herausforderungen der Daseinsvorsorge im ländlichen Raum
(2019) Adams, Isabel; Doluschitz, Reiner
In the context of social, (infra-)structural, agricultural and demographic change, new challenges are emerging for rural areas. Demographic change especially impacts on smaller communities without an efficient infrastructure (IREUS 2011, p. 64 f.). One central challenge that affects all areas of life is the nationwide provision of public services. Based on the challenges of providing public services on a nationwide basis, an approach already practised in some locations was analysed and further developed. Observations, infomation and statistical records from the past decade indicate that the wide-ranging tasks involved in providing public services are partially performed by cooperatives (cf. BLOME-DREES et al. 2015; DOLUSCHITZ et al. 2013a; GOESCHEL 2012, p. 51; KLEMISCH and BODDEN-BERG 2012, p. 570; Kluth 2017; MARTENS 2012, p. 145; MÜNKNER 2012, p. 332; STAPPEL 2016, p. 66) with the aim of addressing specific local problems (HAUNSTEIN and THÜRLING 2017, p. 2). Due to the lack of a basis of specifically required secondary data, a comprehensive data set was collected throughout Germany that enables analysis of the specific details and background to the emergence of newly-founded public service cooperatives. The results obtained confirm the background to these foundations as described in the literature, such as the desire for an appropriate infrastructure, regional deficits (BLOME-DREES et al. 2015, p. 134), threats to the infrastructure, social challenges (cf. WIEG 2016, p. 78) and specific local and regional problems (HAUNSTEIN and THÜRLING, 2017, p. 2). However, an analysis of the underlying the establishment of cooperatives also provides fresh, supplementary findings. On the one hand, further goals reflect a charitable purpose such as the creation of social points of contact, while on the other hand there are efforts to organise further training programmes, for example, based on the wishes/initiative of like-minded individuals. About two thirds of the responding public service cooperatives, especially in rural areas, are creating a new scheme for both members and non-members. Approximately one third of the public service cooperatives analysed aim to maintain or reactivate existing facilities and services that risk being discontinued or where discontinuation has already occurred as a result of various challenges. A second aspect of this dissertation relating to public services is the digitisation of the agricultural and food sectors. All in all, a heterogeneous pattern emerges with regard to digitisation along the value chain. As a result, the companies analysed are divided into pioneers, newcomers and followers. User structures were analysed by means of a survey among practising farmers that focused on the use of e-commerce structures when purchasing agricultural resources. These structures proved to be independent of age, farm size, location and farm orientation. On the basis of the surveys, time benefits were identified as the main source of motivation behind the procurement of resources through e-commerce channels, which contradicts the cost benefits described in the literature (cf. CLASEN 2005, p. 54 f.).
Theoretical analysis and preference modelling for the valuation of ecosystem services from native pollinators in selected Thai rural communities
(2018) Narjes, Manuel; Lippert, Christian
Until now, the existing microeconomic models concerned with pollination markets have not accommodated the global diversity of beekeeper-farmer interactions. The most prominent of such theoretical models is dedicated to describing the determinants of colony stocking densities and of equilibrium wages that farmers have paid to commercial beekeepers for decades in the highly bee-pollination reliant almond monocultures of California. This cumulative dissertation generalizes this basic model by taking into account the marginal productivity of a given agro-ecosystem’s wild bees and the opportunity costs that farmers incur when assigning labor time to beekeeping. In that regard, we assessed the economic potential of on-farm beekeeping, which can involve several bee species, by juxtaposing this activity’s net benefits against those from hiring commercial pollination services. In addition to serving as a classification tool for a plurality of farmer-beekeeper-nature interactions and related optimization problems, the resulting analytical framework helps identifying the institutional settings that are most likely to lead to a specific bioeconomic equilibrium supply of pollination. What is more, it illustrates the interplay of the pertinent economic and agro-ecological factors, thus assisting the postulation of empirically testable hypotheses. We also conducted two separate discrete choice experiments (DCEs) with orchardists from the Thai provinces of Chiang Mai (N = 198 respondents) and Chanthaburi (N = 127), in order to elicit their preferences for changes in the population of local wild bees that would hypothetically result from a conservation policy consisting (along with a per-household implementation fee) of at least one of the following three measures: (i) offering farmers bee-friendly alternatives to conventional agro-chemicals, (ii) enabling the protection and/or rehabilitation of natural bee habitats near cropland, and (iii) fostering the husbandry of native bee species by transferring technical knowledge on the practice of on-farm beekeeping. In this context, we fitted random parameter logit models on the Chiang Mai dataset. They yielded a significant willingness to pay (WTP) for the presented conservation measures and suggested that the disutility the respondents perceived for a 50% decline in the local population of native bees was greater than the utility they would derive from experiencing a bee population increase of the same magnitude. Moreover, comparing our aggregated WTP estimates to the expected production losses, showed that orchard farmers underestimated the true use value of pollination. On the other hand, the average WTP for all conservation measures combined by far exceeded the costs that, according to our calculations, each household would incur for such a project to be implemented. Our models also indicated a significant preference heterogeneity in the sampled population, which we could partly explain with idiosyncratic variables such as the respondents’ attitudes towards native bees and beekeeping. Finally, we examined further sources of randomness in the observed choice behavior, by modelling the unknown choice decision-relevant influences that could not be captured during the DCEs. To that end, we fitted generalized mixed logit (GMXL) models on the pooled datasets, which allowed comparing, on a common utility scale, the part-worth (value) estimates from Chiang Mai and Chanthaburi, where different experimental designs were applied. Our results reveal that farmers in Chanthaburi, who reported having experienced crop declines that they attributed to insufficient pollination, introduced less subjective factors into their choices than their Chiang Mai counterparts, who may have been less familiar with the importance of conserving bees. Moreover, the GMXL results also suggest that Chanthaburi farmers placed a significantly higher value on the above-mentioned measures (i) and (ii), while caring comparatively less about a 50% decline in local wild bee colonies. One can thus hypothesize that an actual local pollinator decline may have made Chanthaburi farmers more aware of the importance of conserving native bees, while paradoxically making them more independent from the provision of wild pollination services, as they started managing crop pollination with stingless bees.
Analyse bedeutender Einflussfaktoren auf die Bodenrichtwerte für landwirtschaftliche Flächen in unterschiedlichen Regionen Deutschlands im Kontext bodenmarktpolitischer Interventionen
(2018) Lehn, Friederike; Bahrs, Enno
Agricultural land is a special good. It is immobile, non-extendable and, due to its multi-dimensional services essential for human well-being. Agricultural land is also the most important production factor for farms. In Germany, farmland prices have significantly increased over the last decade. Overall, the price developement have led to discussions as to whether stronger interventions in farmland markets are necessary or not. Among others, limiting further farmland price increases is pursued. However, such interventions should be based on previous analyses of the farmland market. Hence, the overall objective of this doctoral thesis is to improve the understanding of the price formation mechanisms of German farmland prices. Chapter 2 presents three methods of determining the value of farmland (standard farmland value, market value and capitalized ground rent) and discusses their applicability as a reference value for agricultural policy in order to identify prices beyond the (real) value. Chapter 3 analyzes the farmland price determinants in Germany and Italy by the means of a spatial econometric model. The model explicitly takes spatial dependencies among neighbouring areas into account, not only in form of spatially lagged farmland prices (spatial lag model) but also in form of spatially lagged explanatory variables (spatial Durbin model). Results show that both agricultural and non-agricultural factors are important for explaining farmland prices in both countries. Differences seem to be stronger within the member states than between the countries. Chapter 4 estimates a multiple linear regression model. Based on municipal level standard farmland values for North Rhine-Westphalia in 2010, small-scale factors influencing farmland prices are identified. Slope of farmland, population density and livestock density are the most important price determinants. Chapter 5 estimates a general spatial model of standard farmland values for arable land in the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia using municipal level data in 2013. Urban sprawl and livestock production are the main price drivers. In this context, a set of German legal regulations, mainly from tax law, is presented, that additionally reinforce these price-increasing impacts. Hence, proposed farmland market interventions aiming to limit farmland price increases are thwarted by regulations of other policy areas. It is recommended to adjust these existing regulations to the objective of intervention instead of creating new regulations.Chapter 6 analyzes the standard farmland values for arable land in North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2013 by the means of a quantile regression. Heterogeneous relationships across the conditional distribution of standard farmland values are found for several covariates. Non-agricultural factors and livestock density are more pronounced at the upper tail of the conditional distribution and thus, they are price drivers particularly for conditional higher farmland prices. Chapter 7 analyzes the impact of nature conservation on standard farmland values in Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia by including the shares of different protected areas in a spatiotemporal regression model. Results indicate that nature conservation can influence standard farmland values, but the magnitude and direction of the effect depend on the type of protected area, the type of land use and by region. Thus, it is argued that there is not only land-use competition, but also compatibility between agricultural production and nature conservation. Chapter 8 summarizes the results of the chapters 2 to 7 and discusses them with regard to the overall research questions. The analysis of the three federal states shows that a variety of standard farmland value determinants exists and that the farmland markets of the federal states exhibit regional differences in the importance of agricultural and non-agricultural factors. The results of this doctoral thesis further reveal that the draft laws of stronger farmland market regulations so far are hardly able to lead to better market outcomes. Thus, it is recommended addressing the price-increasing factors directly, including also regulations outside the land law, to reduce the increase of farmland prices. Finally, further research needs are shown, which particularly include the identification of options for action to successfully protect agricultural land.
Agrarökonomische Analyse von Verfahren zur Erzeugung lignozellulosehaltiger Biomasse und deren Akzeptanz in der Landwirtschaft Baden-Württembergs
(2018) Gillich, Caroline Sophie-Theresia; Lippert, Christian
In a future bio-based economy, agricultural production of renewable raw materials for the production of plant biomass is supposed to play a central role. This also includes the perennial crops short rotation coppice (SRC) and miscanthus. A material utilization, particularly of the produced lignocellulose, in chemical industry can contribute to a bio-based economic activity. However, the cultivation of SRC and miscanthus is not yet widespread. For a variety of reasons, such as lack of knowledge or low profitability, farmers have not strongly implemented these crops so far. To find out, which factors do have an impact on the cultivation of SRC and miscanthus, farmer workshops with surveys were conducted in selected regions of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Additionally, by means of a choice experiment, the preferences of the farmers for the cultivation of SRC and miscanthus were elicited. As the introduction of new production methods is often linked to increased risks, in addition the risk attitude of the farmers was determined by means of a “Holt and Laury” lottery. The surveys took place in the Vergleichsgebietsgruppen (VGG) „Unterland / Gaeue“, „Rhine / Lake Constance“ and „Bauland / Hohenlohe“ in Baden-Wuerttemberg. For all VGG site specific profitability and risk analyses were performed. The mentioned VGG were identified as most suitable for SRC and miscanthus. In total, 117 farmers participated in nine organized workshops. In the surveyed sample more farmers are cultivating SRC than in the entire farmer population. For the analysis of the choice experiment Random Parameter Logit Models were used. The following results are to be interpreted under ceteris paribus conditions. Generally, the part-worth utility of the cultivation of SRC and miscanthus is negative. Additionally to the opportunity costs of land, the expected average compensation payments amount to € 460 and € 400 per hectare and year for SRC and miscanthus. However, in this context farmers do not significantly distinguish between the two perennial crops. As expected an increasing profitability of these production activities increases the utility, whereas an increasing variability of contribution margins and increasing investment costs reduce the utility. It should be noted that a guaranteed purchase contract for the harvested crop over the whole cultivation period increases the utility of the permanent crops at a significant level. Through this the negative part-worth utility of SRC or miscanthus could be compensated almost completely. If colleagues in the near surrounding already cultivate these crops, this also increases the utility. Among the respondents a significant preference heterogeneity exists for both production activities and all attributes considered in the choice experiment. Further model estimations with interaction terms to explain part of the heterogeneity show that, among other things, an increasing farm size has a negative impact on the probability of cultivating SRC. An increasing age of the farm manager also reduces the utility of the cultivation of SRC and miscanthus. An increasing work experience has a positive effect on the probability of choosing SRC. Moreover, an increase of the initial investment cost reduces the utility of the participants the more, the more risk averse they are. In this context, the implicitly assumed interest rates, deduced from the model and assuming a farmer with average risk attitude, are in a realistic range between 2.3 % and 4.1 %. Based on the estimated part-worth utility distribution parameters of the model without interaction terms, finally supply functions were derived by means of Monte Carlo simulations, to illustrate cultivation potentials of SRC and miscanthus at various wood chip prices and for different scenarios. The potentials of SRC and miscanthus estimated this way are more realistic than former GIS-based potentials as not only location factors but also empirically found preferences of the farmers and opportunity costs of farmland were taken into account. Under the assumptions made, the maximum expectable potential of SRC and miscanthus on arable land in the surveyed region amounts in each case to 30,000 hectares. It should be noticed, that this cultivation potential is relatively low. The results of the choice experiment show that - as long as this is considered to be justified from an economic point of view - either a direct subsidy by the government, the cultivation in clusters or purchase guarantees for the farmers by the processing industry can strongly promote the cultivation of perennial lignocellulose containing crops.
Wirtschaftliche Analyse der Tierhaltungsbetriebe um die Metropole Moskau unter besonderer Berücksichtiung von Aufwands- und Ertragsrisiken
(2017) Droganova, Yulia; Fuchs, Clemens
The slow modernisation of the agricultural sector in the Russian Federation after the USSR era, the adoption and the ratification of the Basel Accords, the accession of Russia to the World Trade Organisation in 2012, and finally the crisis in the Ukraine, followed by the import ban on numerous agricultural, fishery products from the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, Norway in August 2014 are the most significant problems which found their reflection in this dissertation. This lead to an increased interest to analyse livestock farms in the Moscow region in consideration of risks in order to predict their profitable development. The goal of the current research was to identify the impending bankruptcy of the Russian livestock farms as early as possible in order to engage in efficient counter planning. The majority of the livestock farms in the Moscow region are dairy farms, which was why this type of livestock farming became the main topic of research for this thesis. The classification of dairy farms into solvent and insolvent farms is based on the application of the multivariate discriminant analysis, a bankruptcy predicting method that is widely used by many banks in Europe and the USA. The risk factor is taken into account in the empirical model of the dairy farm by setting up the stochastic Monte Carlo simulation with the most important random variables (prices, yields and interest rate) in order to quantitatively measure their influence on the economic profitability of a typical dairy farm. Following the results of the discriminant analysis, questions concerning the validation of this model were be raised. What measures were required for the dairy farms, classified as insolvent to deter bankruptcy? This question was examined using a cash flow model, summaries of relevant data and requirements for an empirical model of the dairy farms were collected through interviews of subject experts. On the basis of reference scenario/status quo scenario, three main scenarios were created: Scenario 1 Re-structuring, scenario 2 Improvement of Management and Marketing Activities, and scenario 3 Risk analysis, whereby the measures from scenarios 1 and 2 were stochastically simulated in the scenario 3 Risk analysis in order to be able to estimate the economic risks. From the data set of 31 farms, five typical model farms were selected: two correctly classified solvent, two correctly classified insolvent, and one, which showed up as a type 1 error in the discriminant analysis. A reference scenario describes the data period based on the average values of operational performance from 2008-2010, and the individualized data from the Russian statistics of 2011-2013 and forms a data basis for the scenarios 1 to 3. Scenario 1a Restructuring under Russian Insolvency Law is counterpoised to scenario 1b Restructuring under German Insolvency Law. Scenario 2a Improvement of Management and Marketing Activities without Investment and scenario 2b Improvement of Management and Marketing Activities with Investment contains measures to improve management and marketing. Labour costs were doubled, maintenance, repair costs as well as some other costs were adjusted; while the milk yields, the weight of the dairy cows, the silage yields and the yields of pastures, meadows have been estimated with a logistic function. Over a planning period of twelve years, the dairy farms classified as solvent maximised the increase of their equity capital in scenario 2b, which represents the best result compared to all other scenarios considered. Firstly, it has shown that an adequate insolvency law should support the restructuring process, secondly that training and education, consulting, motivation of employees through higher wages can lead to a better-combined performance in comparison to restructuring. In scenario 3 Risk Analysis, ten relevant random variables and their volatility were simulated and analysed within the frame conditions of the initial Scenarios 1 and 2. In addition, the target values selected were: equity after tax, equity change per hectare of agricultural area, internal equity interest and profit after tax. The presented results explain how on one hand, an adequate insolvency law can support the restructuring process and lead to reinstate solvency of the dairy farms. On the other hand, these results confirm, that the improvements in management can also lead to significant positive achievements in operational performance as opposed to restructuring. The farm, which belongs to type 1 error in the discriminant analysis, has ranked as a solvent dairy farm over the planning period of twelve years in all the scenarios considered. In this case, it can be concluded that the simulation model in the researched composition with the multivariate discriminant analysis has indirectly served to be applicable for validation purposes of the determined discriminant function.
Land use management under climate change : a microeconomic analysis with emphasis on risk
(2018) Reinmuth, Evelyn; Dabbert, Stephan
This cumulative dissertation was conducted under a grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the research group FOR 1695 - “Agricultural Landscapes under Global Climate Change – Processes and Feedbacks on a Regional Scale”. The goal of the sub-project from which this dissertation stems from was to explore, extend and strengthen the scientific basis for learning and risk strategies and the adaptation behavior of farmers’ economic planning decisions in crop production under the influence of climate change. The integrated bioeconomic simulation model FarmActor, was to be used as an experimental tool to develop an interdisciplinary methodological approach supported by empirical work in two study regions in Southwest Germany, the Kraichgau and the Swabian Alb. This dissertation examines risk in the context of land use management and specifically crop production. Risk in this context is related to how outcome distributions are affected by climatic influences. Risk strategies assess these contributions and account for them in the resulting decisions. The thesis is written as a cumulative dissertation and is composed of five articles. Four articles have been published by peer-reviewed journals. A fifth article has been published as a peer-reviewed conference proceeding. The article at fifth place represents the results of the main focus of this dissertation as presented in the following. Available economic models assume that farmers assess climatic risks only through yields or costs when building their land use management risk strategy for crop production. However, the available methodological approaches have been criticized for either under- or overestimating farmers’ actual behavior. In reality, and as a basis for field allocation planning, farmers have additional knowledge from monitoring crop development throughout the whole season. Yield is actually just the last point in a long sequence of (economic) evaluative observations about the production process. This influences how farmers define not only the riskiness of a yield distribution but also its costs. We hypothesize that, because it is not possible to methodologically integrate process evaluations in economic planning decisions, models lack performance, and as a consequence, it is very difficult to conduct proper research on the climate’s influences on land use management decisions. In this original research, we present a newly developed downside risk measure based on evaluations throughout the production process that can be included in the planning process as an additional parameter—so-called Annual Risk Scores. A comparative static analysis was performed to demonstrate how ARS scores assess future climatic conditions in the example of winter wheat production in the Kraichgau region as supported by empirical data. It was shown that the mechanism is sensitive to different climatic conditions. Furthermore, the ARS scores provide a different picture of climatic influence compared to an analysis based only on yields. The last article presented in this dissertation represents an integrative review that promotes more efficient model development and the reuse of newly developed methodologies in the field of integrated bio-economic simulation models. The review is based on lessons learned from working with the simulation model. Thus, the intended and outstanding full implementation of the ARS mechanism is presented in the last part of the synthesis, where we advise including the ARS scores as another constraint in the field allocation mechanisms of the FarmActor model. This is expected to improve the integration of both bio-physical and economic dimensions for complex integrated bio-economic simulation models.

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