This study examines the farmer and farm operations characteristics of producers growing specialty corn and soybeans under contract. By identifying the class of farmers participating in value-added grain production, a better assessment of how and where contract farming is penetrating the grain sector can be made. If family farms are [...]

In 1929 rural sociologist Rupert Vance surveyed the southern landscape, seeing no end in sight to the cotton production that impoverished the South. In search of ways for cotton farmers to diversify, Vance noted that "whether equitable or not, a system of division of the product by shares between landlord [...]

Punjab government has started contract farming scheme from rabi season 2002-03. Under this scheme, the area is being shifted from rice and wheat to other high valued crops. Farmers entering new contract farming ventures should be prepared to balance the prospect of higher returns with the possibility of greater risk. [...]

The Filipino cut flower industry is one of the country’s sunshine industries. It is regarded as a good area in which to invest as cut flower production is less landintensive and produces high value products. The Philippines’ competitive advantage is attributed to an ideal climate for year-round cultivation, the availability [...]

Stochastic frontier production function was used to assess technical efficiency and its determinants for a stratified sample of 1118 poultry farms in Vietnam for which data were collected in 1999. In general there are significant differences in the production behaviour and efficiency level between the North and the South, among [...]

In this paper, a brief history of regulation of broiler contracts is presented. The main characteristic of these contracts has been that virtually all regulatory attempts on either federal or state levels have failed. Two possible sources of market failure that may justify regulation are identified: asymmetric bargaining power between [...]

Studies have consistently shown that in the relatively unregulated environments of the global economic periphery contract farming has led to highly regressive socioeconomic outcomes. Contract farming is not inherently regressive for the small farm sector however. In the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, contract farming is used as part of an [...]

Poverty reduction is one of the major concerns of policy makers in many countries in Sub- Saharan Africa. Given that in many Sub-Saharan countries the vast majority of people live in rural areas, promotion of employment and/or income generation for rural households is considered the key approach for poverty alleviation. [...]

This article examines a self-enforcing contract between a risk-neutral principal and a risk-averse agent who is able to hold up values ex post. It shows that risk aversion and variance can only partly explain the contract's incentive intensity. Ex post bargaining power and outside options will also determine contract choice. [...]

A collaborative research project financed by ACIAR in East Java (Indonesia) shows the success of contract farming between PT Pioneer (an MNC) and smallholder farmers in seed corn production. The MNC was able to reduce transaction costs while the smallholders had access to an established international seed corn market. In [...]