Originally published in 1993, this book provides an excellent analysis of commodity policies internationally during the late 20th Century. It discusses 2 major methods of market regulation: price stabilization – based on buffer stocks or export quotas – and compensatory finance. The authors analyse whether major commodity policies have reached their primary objectives and to what extent they have had economic side effects. Discussion of more general policy issues centres around three international commodity agreements for coffee, rubber and cocoa. The authors also look at the policies adopted by individual nations to regulate commodity trading and assess to what extent they have reached their objectives. A discussion of the intervention of the International Monetary Fund and STABEX assesses the degree of stability they can provide in a highly volatile and variable environment. Nearly 30 years later, volatile world commodity markets are still a major issue in the policy dialogue. Although topics, policy instruments and concepts have changed, this book remains a fundamental contribution to the study of international commodity policy. It will be of great interest to students of commodity policy and economic development and economists in national and international organizations dealing with market stabilization.

Low prices associated with variable quality of non-timber forest products in terms of users and consumers' needs and requirements are one of the factors limiting access and participation in markets. Quality can be determined on field or by the user. The current study explores the possibility to understand the current practices of producers in terms of quality supply and to link at least some of the users' quality criteria to production and marketing practices of producers. The study finds that good quality as defined on field is not always good when measured in laboratory; yet improving quality on field increases the likelihood of obtaining chemically good gum. Furthermore, determinants of supply by collectors and traders are investigated for two quality attributes namely size and cleanliness of gum nodules. Quality maintenance and improvement is influenced by harvest and post-harvest practices, behaviour and experience of traders, and price expectations. Research implications include the necessity for scholars interested in product quality to bring together the production and consumption sides because their perceptions and requirements may not always converge; regular trainings for collectors of non-timber forest products focusing on quality aspects; jointly establish clear rules of forest and market management in order to counteract the influence of market forces (price) on forests exploitation and enabling traders to have a definition of quality that is coherent and responsive to the actions and needs of collectors and users respectively.

LANDSAT images published by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) reveal large-scale land degradation in Ghana's forest-savanna transition zone, most of which has allegedly occurred in a prime settlement area for migrant farmers from Northwest Ghana—the "usual suspects." Several studies attribute environmental degradation in this region to the unsustainable farm practices of immigrants, most of whom belong to the Dagaba ethnic group. This section uses several lines of evidence at different scale levels to challenge these studies. First, UNEP's LANDSAT images overstate the extent of the degradation. Second, most land degradation took place before the arrival of migrants from northwest Ghana. Third, previous studies blaming migrants for land degradation neglect key drivers of land cover change in the region. And fourth, primary data show that migrants' farm practices are different, but not more degrading than those of native farmers.

This paper analyses the structural changes which have been present since the economic clauses of the International Coffee Agreements have no longer been in effect. It studies the elements that modified the coffee policy over time. It also investigates the main characteristics of the entire coffee sector during and after government control of the sector. Specifically, it considers the prices, government expenditure in the coffee industry, partners' participation and their organisation, and the performance of the coffee industry. We use data collected from several bureaus, institutions, libraries, and field surveys done with the main parties involved in the Mexican coffee sector. Data coming from the national coffee census updated in 2008 was used to figure out some characteristics of the coffee supply chain. The overall results indicate that the main causes for the structural changes have been the adjustment in the Mexican economic policy and the alignment to international agreements in coffee. We found that the coffee margins were higher during the time of the quota system than in the relatively free coffee market currently in place.

This paper analyses how coffee-producing households responded to the low coffee prices prevailing around 2003. We provide theory on differential responses in regions dedicated to coffee growing, compared to more diversified or better accessible regions. We show how labor market effects can explain why in the former regions value-adding activities (processing, certification) are undertaken while in the latter regions off-farm activities are adopted. Farm size favors value-adding activities as well as on-farm diversification. These findings call for policy responses to low prices that distinguish between specialized regions and diversified or well-connected regions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low returns from marketing of non-timber forest products such as gum arabic restrict the collection of these products.A hypothesis is tested that access to good markets motivates collectors to harvest and market gum arabic.Analyses of the choice of participation in group marketing, sale price, quantity of gum collected and the final choice of market outlet are done.Decision outcomes include fixed transaction costs at the collection stage and proportional costs at the marketing stage.Original data from 348 gum collectors in the Sylvopastoral zone and Eastern region of Senegal were used.Results confirm the stated hypothesis; indeed the marketing context and outcome play a big role in collection systems of gum arabic in Senegal.The costs incurred in finding the good market can be regarded as an investment, whereby the collector may continue to transact with the same trading partner (and hence in the same market).The need for infrastructural development, strengthening groups and market expansion are emphasised as key policy interventions.

This study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of improved rice varieties by small- scale rice farmers in Rwanda. The Conditional Logit Model (CLM) was applied to explore the variety attributes and farm household characteristics influencing the farmers’ choice among different alternatives. The model is based on random utility maximization and makes the probabilities of the choice of variety dependent on variety-specific attributes and farm household-specific characteristics. A sample size of 180 rice farmers interviewed was randomly selected from six rice growing marshlands. Results revealed that a majority of rice farmers (78 %) had adopted improved varieties but the proportion of land cultivated to these varieties was still low (ranging from 0.05 to 0.2 ha). The maximum likelihood analysis showed that the prices of seeds and of paddy and the yield are variety-specific attributes that significantly influence the farmers’ choice of an improved rice variety. The higher the price of seed, the lower the likelihood of adoption; the higher the price of paddy and yield, the higher the likelihood of adoption. Also, farm size, labor availability within a farm household, and access to financial facilities significantly influence farmers’ decisions to adopt improved rice varieties. The findings suggest that future policies should make efforts to improve the seed supply system among farmers to increase the intensity of use of improved varieties. In addition, the prices of paddy should provide a market incentive that increases the likelihood of adoption through market development.

The overall goal of the FARMAF project is to improve food security and livelihoods of the rural poor in Africa. The project focuses on smallholder farmers in target African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Zambia. The specific objective is to enhance access to and promote the use of effective farm risk management tools. It is expected that this will reduce exposure of smallholder farmers to downward shocks, improve access to credit, and increase the capacity to invest in yield-enhancing technology, as well as strengthen farmers' capacity to better manage the marketing of agricultural produce. The overall impact on farm output and household income and food security will be positive, reducing poverty in rural households. In this policy paper we provide more insight into the impact assessment framework and address related policy issues. First, we elaborate on the current state of affairs of three risk management tools analysed within the FARMAF project, namely insurance in Zambia and Burkina Faso, warehouse receipt systems in Tanzania and Burkina Faso, and market information systems in all three countries. Subsequently, methodological approaches fostering lesson-sharing, challenges encountered and related policy issues are discussed. (Resume d'auteur)