Category: Economic and social impact

2017 Colombia

Economic Economic impact of the avocado (cv. Hass) wilt disease complex in Antioquia, Colombia, crops under different technological management levels

Authors: Guillermo Ramirez-Gil, Joaquin; Gilchrist Ramelli, Elizabeth; Morales Osorio, Juan Gonzalo

The avocado wilt disease complex is the most important pathology in avocado crops worldwide. Despite its importance, research about its economic losses is limited. In this work, the objective was to determine the economic impact of the wilt disease in three regions located in Antioquia, Colombia, and its relationship with the technological level of farm management. Six nurseries and 20 fruit production lots were tested for economic losses due to the wilt disease, including all crops stages of development. Results showed an average incidence and mortality of 28.2 and 60.8%, respectively, at the nursery level. Economic losses due to the disease were 356, 340 and 325 USD per nursery per production cycle. Cost over-run for the nursery stage was 64.5, 75.4 and 50.9 USD for the northern, eastern and southwestern regions, respectively. In the field crops, an incidence of 33.83 and mortality of 25.06 were observed, economic losses were 2340, 1702 and 2103 USD ha(-1), with a cost over-run of 225, 372 and 287.9 USD ha(-1) for the same regions, respectively, during a 8-year period. As expected, the highest yields, lowest incidence of the wilt disease and best cost/benefit relationship, were registered for high technological grade of farm management. In this work, the economic impact of the avocado wilt disease during the different stages of crop development were determined as a direct effect of plant deaths and reduction of plant production, in addition to the cost over-run due to replanting and disease management. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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2022 Sweden

Food Carbon Literacy: A Definition and Framework Exemplified by Designing and Evaluating a Digital Grocery List for Increasing Food Carbon Literacy and Changing Behavior

Authors: Hedin, B.; Grönborg, L.; Johansson, G.

Public knowledge about the differences in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production and transportation of different kinds of food are generally low. People with an interest in choosing food with low greenhouse gas emissions must therefore either increase this “food carbon literacy” or be provided with such information when they decide what food to buy. Research about this specific kind of food literacy is, however, scarce, lacking both well-defined terminology and interventions attempting to increase food carbon literacy. In this paper we provide a framework for future research in the area by defining “food carbon literacy”, serving as a starting point for categorizing, comparing, and generalizing future research findings. Drawing on previous work on other kinds of literacies, we distinguish between (1) food carbon literacy, (2) food product carbon literacy, (3) food handling carbon literacy, and (4) financial food carbon literacy. We have furthermore developed and tested a digital behavior change intervention in the form of a digital grocery list used on mobile phones. The list works as other digital grocery shopping lists, but also displays the CO2e footprint of the food added to the list, thereby enabling the user to change products at the planning stage and increase their food carbon literacy. It was tested on a group of 38 people for a duration of 2 weeks. The goals of the pilot study were to investigate quantitatively whether such a tool would increase food carbon literacy, and to investigate qualitatively how such a tool could be used and designed. The results show a strong increase in food carbon literacy for food the respondents had added to their grocery lists, but also for food that had not been added to their lists, indicating a generalization of the knowledge. Finally, we provide implications for the design of such systems, based on the qualitative evaluation.

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2003 California

The economic impact of Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara (Thysanoptera : Thripidae) on California avocado production

Authors: Hoddle, M.S.; Jetter, K.M.; Morse, J.G.

In 1996, Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) invaded California avocado orchards and moved pest management practices that relied almost exclusively on biological control to strategies dependent on insecticides to maintain thrips densities below economically damaging levels. By 1998, average losses due to thrips feeding damage in untreated infested groves reduced industry revenues by 12%. Producer costs increased by about 4.5% when S. perseae populations required management. In the short run (i.e., the time period during which the industry adapts to managing a new pest), producers cannot fully adapt to increases in production costs and the annual cost of S. perseae to producers with a thrips infestation is estimated to be $8.65 million (US). In the long run (i.e., the time period after which the industry has fully adapted to the effects of a new pest), producers are able to fully reallocate resources to their most efficient use and the annual cost of S. perseae is calculated to be $5.22 million (US) per year. For the entire USA avocado industry, the annual short-run loss attributable to S. perseae in California is calculated to be $8.51 million (US) and $4.45 million (US) in the long run. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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2019 Tanzania

Avocado Production and Local Trade in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania: A Case of an Emerging Trade Commodity from Horticulture

Authors: Juma, I.; Fors, H.; Hovmalm, H.P.; Nyomora, A.; Faith, M.; Geleta, M.; Carlsson, A.; Ortiz, R.O.

Avocado crop in Tanzania is sparingly investigated regardless of being an important fruit commodity. This study was undertaken to explore the yield and the value chain of this crop in the country. Data were collected mainly by face-to-face interviews with 275 avocado farmers, 231 avocado traders and 16 key informants. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and one-way analysis of variance were used for data analysis. The average crop yield ranged from 76 to 124 kg plant between regions. The average price for the farmers produce ranged from US$ 0.30 to 0.45 kg between regions. About 72% of the farmers were dissatisfied with avocado business whereas 79% of the traders were pleased with it. A number of challenges were found hindering the development of the avocado industry in Tanzania, which in turn affects the fruit yield and the value chain. Addressing these challenges at the national, regional, district and village levels is important for improving the livelihood of Tanzanian farmers growing this crop, given the fact that a good proportion of the country population is employed in the agricultural sector and most of the reported challenges also affect the value chain of other crops.

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2021 Chile

Multilevel business power in environmental politics: the avocado boom and water scarcity in Chile

Authors: Madariaga, A.; Maillet, A.; Rozas, J.

The production and export of avocados in Chile have experienced explosive growth since the 1990s, severely threatening local communities' human right to water. Despite contentious activities and protest, there has been scant reaction from public authorities and policy continues to strongly support avocado exports. We explain this by analyzing the role that business plays in water politics and the different means it has to counter the search for political influence by aggrieved communities. We argue that the outcome is a product of the multilevel deployment of business power. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, we use process tracing methods to unveil business power mechanisms at the local, national and international levels and their connections. We contribute to the cross-fertilization of business power analyses in comparative political economy and environmental politics, and to the understanding of the under-researched multilevel dynamics of business power and the related politics of scale shift.

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2018 Costa Rica

Is smuggling welfare-improving? Evidence from avocados in Costa Rica

Authors: Metivier, J.; Bouet, A.

Does smuggling improve economic welfare? This paper provides a theoretical model of illegal trade and determines the impact of smuggling on economic welfare. We focus on Costa Rica’s recent prohibition of avocados imported from Mexico. Using unique data on trade, production, and the price of Costa Rican and Mexican avocados, we find that the quantity of avocados smuggled into Costa Rica on an annual basis ranges from 4,668 to 10,232 metric tons, representing up to four times the quantity of locally produced avocados. Furthermore, we demonstrate that smuggling is necessarily welfare-improving compared to the “no-smuggling situation”. Compared to the “free-trade situation”, smuggling does not always compensate for the negative effects arising from the restrictive trade measure. In most cases, welfare is lower after the prohibition and smuggling than prior to the implementation of the prohibition. In some cases, however, smuggling results in a gain in terms of trade that offsets the harmful effects associated with the trading cost of smuggling. We find that such situations occur when the trading cost of smuggling is low, and thus when enforcement of the prohibition by public authorities is weak.

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