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The Groundnut Market in Senegal: Examination of Price and Policy Changes
J.K.Gray
Virginia,
2004
Aннотация:
The Government of Senegal is attempting to liberalize the groundnut market. In the
past, this market was highly regulated with government-set producer prices, groundnut
oil processing mills owned by parastatals, and requirements that all groundnuts be
sold to these quasi-governmental organizations. In recent years, these rules are
being relaxed, and farmers are allowed to sell groundnuts on the open market. However,
farmers continue to sell most of their groundnuts, as before, to the mills.
This study attempts to shed light on the effects of this market liberalization. First,
an attempt is made to provide estimates of the farmers' short-run output supply and
input demand responses to price changes. A quadratic profit function model is estimated
using data collected for the current study and a similar dataset collected by Akobundu
[1997]. Second, a quadratic programming model is used to examine the effects of eliminating
pan-territorial prices. Results indicate that the elimination of the pan-territorial
price system will have an overall benefit to Senegalese society. However, as expected,
groundnut producers in areas remote from the groundnut oil processing mills would
face lower prices. The effects on producers and consumers in the major producing
regions, however, were found to be minimal.
Finally, the dissertation provides an extensive description of the economic activities
of small-scale farm households in Senegal’s Groundnut Basin. Differences between
males and females and between household heads and other males in the household are
also examined. Although females are not as involved in groundnut production, they
do not seem to face discrimination in either the official or the open market.
The description of the situation facing small-scale farmers provided in this dissertation
is not encouraging. The quantity and timing of the rains in the Groundnut Basin add
an unwelcome uncertainty to farming. Increases in population are adding pressure
to the environment and are placing heavy demands on wood and grazing lands. Only
eight percent of the farmers had groundnut seed multiplication ratios less than one,
and sixty-seven percent had ratios less than five.
The dissertation also indicates that farmers are not producing enough to feed their
families. Fewer than twelve percent of the households produce a caloric surplus.
Sixty percent produced less than fifty percent of their caloric needs. The study
indicates that farmers are not earning enough from agricultural production to take
care of normal expenses throughout the year. Thus, when combined with uncertain rains
and a worsening environment, the farmers have little margin of safety. Therefore,
any government policies affecting groundnut production in particular or agricultural
production in general should take into account the situation already facing the farmers.
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Публикации с ключевыми словами: агропродовольственная политика - анализ благосостояния - арахис - Сенегал - предложение сельхозпродукции
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