scholarly journals Implications of Water Scarcity for Water Productivity and Farm Labor

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
James F. Booker ◽  
W. Scott Trees
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Labor Demand ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Seasonal Workers ◽  
Response To Water

Increasing water scarcity causes a variety of pressures on agricultural production given current and growing food demands. This paper seeks to add to our understanding of water scarcity adaptations by explicitly addressing linkages between water scarcity, water productivity, cropping choices, and farm labor. We challenge the widespread claim that tightening foreign (especially Mexican) labor supply will necessarily result in less labor-intensive crop choices. Instead, by linking water scarcity and farm labor through the lens of water productivity we illustrate scenarios under which climate and technological change result in greater future labor demand in agriculture, including temporary and seasonal workers, largely due to water productivity increases resulting from switching to more labor-intensive crops. We conclude that a focus on crop choices is central to understanding changes in water productivity, labor demand, and technological innovations in response to water scarcity.

scholarly journals Too Risky to Focus on Agriculture? An Empirical Study of China’s Agricultural Households’ Off-Farm Employment Decisions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Chen ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Chien-Yu Huang
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Employment Decisions ◽  
Agricultural Households ◽  
Production Risks

This paper investigates China’s agricultural households and their individual members’ off-farm labor supply decision in response to farm production risks and a number of other factors (e.g., demographic characteristics, farm characteristics, and local market features). Whether and to what extent farming risks may affect farmers’ off-farm employment in China are rarely studied. Our paper provides an empirical study to demonstrate that agricultural production risks significantly impact off-farm labor supply in rural China. The impacts of associated variables on households off-farm labor supply decisions are quantified using a sample of large–scale nationwide household finance survey in 2010. The results suggest that off-farm employment serves as a risk adaption strategy for Chinese farmers. Policy suggestions on retaining farmers to focus on agricultural production are discussed.

Effects of Water Supply on Labor Demand and Agricultural Production in California's San Joaquin Valley

2015 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 1550003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Speir ◽  
Aaron Mamula ◽  
Daniel Ladd
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Labor Demand ◽  
San Joaquin Valley ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Labor Input ◽  
Annual Crops ◽  
Region Scale

We estimate the effect of changes in water deliveries from large projects on agricultural production. We estimate a region-scale, multi-output production model of the San Joaquin Valley of California using observed historical data. The model incorporates seven crop outputs and the labor input as functions of project water supply, groundwater pumping price, other surface water sources, wages, and crop prices. We find that: (1) reduced irrigation water supply reduces the demand for farm labor and the production of some crops, (2) regional production mix tends to shift towards cotton when water supply is high and (3) some structural change has occurred over the course of our 22 year study period, with production of annual crops becoming more sensitive to changes in project water supply and labor becoming less sensitive to local surface water conditions.

Implications of higher retirement age for the labor market

2017 ◽  
pp. 22-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ivanova ◽  
A. Balaev ◽  
E. Gurvich
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Labor Demand ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Demographic Trends ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Demographic Projections ◽  
The Impact

The paper considers the impact of the increase in retirement age on labor supply and economic growth. Combining own estimates of labor participation and demographic projections by the Rosstat, the authors predict marked fall in the labor force (by 5.6 million persons over 2016-2030). Labor demand is also going down but to a lesser degree. If vigorous measures are not implemented, the labor force shortage will reach 6% of the labor force by the period end, thus restraining economic growth. Even rapid and ambitious increase in the retirement age (by 1 year each year to 65 years for both men and women) can only partially mitigate the adverse consequences of demographic trends.

Agricultural Labor Supply

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra E. Hill ◽  
Izaac Ornelas ◽  
J. Edward Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Agricultural Labor ◽  
Farm Work

The labor supply response to agricultural wages is critical to the viability of crop production in high-income countries, which hire a largely foreign farm work force, as well as in low-income countries, where domestic workers move off the farm as the agricultural transformation unfolds. Modeling agricultural labor supply is more challenging than modeling the supply of other agricultural inputs or of labor to other sectors of the economy owing to unique features of agricultural production and farm labor markets. Data and econometric challenges abound, and estimates of agricultural labor supply elasticities are sparse. This review explains the importance and challenges of modeling farm labor supply and describes researchers’ efforts to address these challenges. It summarizes estimates of agricultural labor supply elasticities over the last 80 years, provides insights into variation in these estimates, identifies priority areas for future research, and reviews the most influential empirical work related to this important topic. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Resource Economics, Volume 13 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Analysis of intra-country virtual water trade strategy to alleviate water scarcity in Iran

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 2609-2649 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Faramarzi ◽  
H. Yang ◽  
J. Mousavi ◽  
R. Schulin ◽  
C. R. Binder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Mixed Integer ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Virtual Water Trade ◽  
Cereal Production

Abstract. Increasing water scarcity has posed a major constraint to sustain food production in many parts of the world. To study the situation at the regional level, we took Iran as an example and analyzed how an intra-country "virtual water trade strategy" (VWTS) may help improve cereal production as well as alleviate the water scarcity problem. This strategy calls, in part, for the adjustment of the structure of cropping pattern (ASCP) and interregional food trade where crop yield and crop water productivity as well as local economic and social conditions are taken into account. We constructed a systematic framework to assess ASCP at the provincial level under various driving forces and constraints. A mixed-integer, multi-objective, linear optimization model was developed and solved by linear programming. Data from 1990–2004 were used to account for yearly fluctuations of water availability and food production. Five scenarios were designed aimed at maximizing the national cereal production while meeting certain levels of wheat self-sufficiency under various water and land constraints in individual provinces. The results show that under the baseline scenario, which assumes a continuation of the existing water use and food policy at the national level, some ASCP scenarios could produce more wheat with less water. Based on different scenarios in ASCP, we calculated that 31% to 100% of the total wheat shortage in the deficit provinces could be supplied by the wheat surplus provinces. As a result, wheat deficit provinces would receive 3.5 billion m3 to 5.5 billion m3 of virtual water by importing wheat from surplus provinces.

Balancing crop yield and water productivity tradeoffs in herbaceous and woody crops

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (11) ◽  
pp. 1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elías Fereres ◽  
Francisco Orgaz ◽  
Victoria Gonzalez-Dugo ◽  
Luca Testi ◽  
Francisco J. Villalobos
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Evaporative Demand ◽  
Woody Crops ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Herbaceous Crops ◽  
Maximum Water ◽  
Response To Water

The links between water and crop yield are well known. In agricultural systems, maximum yield and maximum water productivity (WP; yield divided by water use) are not always compatible goals. In water-limited situations, optimal solutions must be reached by finding a compromise between the levels of crop production and WP. The tradeoffs between production and WP are reviewed here and the dominant effects of the environment on WP are examined. Genetic improvement for WP generally has yield tradeoffs, whereas management measures devised to improve WP also enhance yield. It is shown that partial closure of the stomata in response to environmental stimuli has a variable impact on canopy transpiration, depending on the degree of coupling between the canopy and the atmosphere. In contrast to the behaviour of the major herbaceous crops, WP increases in some woody crops in response to water stress, suggesting that biomass and transpiration are not linearly related, and that deficit irrigation should be successful in these species. Avoiding high evaporative demand periods (e.g. through tolerance to low temperatures) is an important option that aims to increase production and WP. A case study is presented for improving sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) yield and WP in temperate environments.

Grain yield, water productivity and CH 4 emission of irrigated rice in response to water management in south China

2016 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 319-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiming Liang ◽  
Xuhua Zhong ◽  
Nongrong Huang ◽  
Rubenito M. Lampayan ◽  
Junfeng Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
South China ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Irrigated Rice ◽  
Response To Water
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