Category: Economic and social impact
The economic impact of Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara (Thysanoptera : Thripidae) on California avocado production
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
Avocado Production and Local Trade in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania: A Case of an Emerging Trade Commodity from Horticulture
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
Multilevel business power in environmental politics: the avocado boom and water scarcity in Chile
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
Is smuggling welfare-improving? Evidence from avocados in Costa Rica
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
Spatial patterns and determinants of avocado frontier dynamics in Mexico
The surging demand for commodity crops has led to rapid and severe agricultural frontier expansion globally and has put producing regions increasingly under pressure. However, knowledge about spatial patterns of agricultural frontier dynamics, their leading spatial determinants, and socio-ecological trade-offs is often lacking, hindering contextualized decision making towards more sustainable food systems. Here, we used inventory data to map frontier dynamics of avocado production, a cash crop of
Designing a Closed-loop Supply Chain Network Considering Social Factors; A Case Study on Avocado Industry
Recently, the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) and its application to various fields have been an area of great interest. Despite the importance of CLSC, there remains a paucity of evidence on agriculture in this area. In this work, a CLSC network for the avocado industry is firstly designed by developing a bi-objective model considering the costs of the avocado industry and the social factor of job employment opportunities. The two objectives are the total costs minimization and job employment maximization