School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableImpacts on producers and consumers of policy banning the use of Glyphosate Weedicide: the case of the tea production in Sri Lanka(Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Inc, 2020)Objective or research question Tea production is the highest foreign exchange earning agricultural industry in Sri Lanka. It provides livelihood for many people, thus plays a major part of the economy. In this study the likely economic impacts on the tea industry of the Sri Lankan government policy banning the use of Glyphosate weedicide ‘Roundup’ are investigated. The primary question is ‘How has the ban on Glyphosate affected the tea industry in Sri Lanka?’. There are two secondary questions: ‘What was the effect of the ban on Glyphosate on the tea/green leaf producing sector during and after the period of the ban?’ and ‘What have been the effect of the ban on Glyphosate on participants in the tea supply chain?’ The research objectives are to quantify changes in production processes, production and tea production gross margins in different green leaf producing groups, to identify key markets and participants in the supply chain of the tea industry, to analyse and critically assess quantitative and qualitative changes in the commodity parameters and business in each main market level of the tea supply chain, and to estimate welfare changes as a result of the ban on Glyphosate on participants in each market along the tea supply chain and on the industry. Background The tea industry is vital for the Sri Lankan economy. Weed management is important in commercial tea cultivation for a steady and good quality crop that ultimately affects the profitability of the business. Recent Sri Lankan Government policies on herbicide use have been to impose and then remove an island-wide ban on the weedicides that contain Glyphosate. This ban was implemented for purported public health and safety reasons. Opinion and advice about this justification is conflicting. The ban has reportedly had a substantial impact at the farm level and the industry. Methods The case in the study is the tea industry in Sri Lanka. An embedded single-case research design is used. Participants in the tea supply chain are the embedded units of analysis. Expert opinion was used to gather information and select the embedded units. Interviews with embedded units enabled collection of quantitative and qualitative data. An equilibrium displacement model (EDM) was developed to assess the impact of the ban on Glyphosate on consumer and producer surplus (welfare analysis) along the supply chain. Field-level gross margin budgets were developed for typical farm businesses, which enabled calculation of shifts in supply - ‘k’ shifts - specific to tea growing regions and for the whole industry. Description and critical analysis of qualitative data on the changes for tea businesses provided information on production, management practices, input usage, incomes of businesses, and perceptions of the participants in the tea supply chain about the government policy. Results and conclusions Initial results of the field survey will be reported in the paper.
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ItemOn assessing some of the net effects of IPM(Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, 1996)The potential costs and benefits, private and external, of a shift to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are considered. A method is developed to estimate the private net returns of IPM in particular farm situations. This method is then applied to compare the financial characteristics of IPM and conventional systems in apple and grain legume production in Victoria. A key finding is that in a 'typical year' of a 'typical operation' the annual net returns of a shift to IPM, in both crops, could be positive. Externalities associated with IPM may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances.
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ItemAn economic evaluation of alternative pest management strategies in Northern Victorian peach orchards(Australian Agricultural Economics Society, 1994)
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ItemThe tax Australia has to have(Australian Agricultural Economics Society, 1994)
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ItemThe decision to invest in lime for acid soils(Australian Agricultural Economics Society, 1994)This study is about how to make long-term farm management decisions effectively when the amount of information available is extremely limited. Long-term decisions rely on judgements of input responses and outcomes which are uncertain or unknown. This is the reality of farm management decision-making. Complex decisions have to be based, in part, on some very ‘soft’ data. Therefore, good decision-making relies on good judgement. Judgement derives from lessons from experience (old information), and from the assimilation of new information generated by analysis of all the available information. In this study, information about liming acid soils in north-eastern Victoria is used, along with farm management information, to generate further information, and thus facilitate the making of some judgements about the economic merit of investing in lime on a particular farm. Soil acidity is a physical phenomenon which has the potential to lower agricultural production and reduce farm profitability. The potential of soil acidity to lower agricultural production has led to it being described as a serious problem for agricultural activities in south-eastern Australia (Coventry 1985; Coventry et. al. 1987a; Cregan 1980; Ellington 1984b; Evans 1991; Helyar et. al. 1990; Reeves and Ellington 1985; and Williams 1980). Making long-term farm management decisions with the limited information which is available requires finding a way to analyse and assimilate the available and new information, and then presenting it in such a way that sound judgements can be made about the likelihood of the possible outcomes actually eventuating. In this study, the standard farm management investment technique discounted cash flow analysis is used. To facilitate making sound judgements about the likelihood of outcomes, a break-even method is developed and applied to the major unknown parameter. The break-even level of the critical factor in the investment provides the decision-maker, who is looking ahead in a world of very uncertain input responses and outcomes, with something concrete on which to focus. Judgements can be formed about the likelihood of this critical level of the critical variable being achieved. The analysis of liming as an investment provides information on the yields required for an investment in lime on the case study farm to break-even, that is, to cover all costs, including the opportunity cost of capital. The judgement made as to whether such yields are achievable will determine whether liming is a worthwhile investment on the case study farm and, implicitly, whether soil acidity is a problem requiring action by the case study farmer at this stage.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableHow many and how much - the whole lot matters: Pasture input to livestock output(Grassland Society of Southern Australia, 2021)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDecision analysis and decision making(Meridien Agriculture, 2021)