Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luboslav SZABO Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Miroslav GRZNAR Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Michal ZELINA Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovak Republic Title: Agricultural performance in the V4 countries and its position in the European Union Abstract: The paper is devoted to an analysis of the development of agrarian farms in Visegrad Group (V4) countries, primarily in terms of results and the most important production inputs of production factors and their efficiency in the period from 2004 to 2013 based on the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The results of the analysis show that if farms in the V4 countries want to achieve the same performance as developed countries, they must invest more in purchasing intensification factors and adjust the structure of assets production specification. It will be necessary to stop the reduction in the numbers of livestock and to strive for growth in gross farm income, mainly through the processing of agricultural raw materials. Keywords: agricultural production, effectiveness, factors of production, intermediate consumption, assets, support, work unit Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 337-346 Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/397/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/397/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201808-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:64:y:2018:i:8:id:397-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Fabio Gaetano Santeramo Author-Name: Emilia Lamonaca Author-Workplace-Name: University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy Author-Name: Francesco Contò Author-Workplace-Name: University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy Author-Name: Gianluca Nardone Author-Workplace-Name: University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy Author-Name: Antonio Stasi Author-Workplace-Name: University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy Title: Drivers of grain price volatility: a cursory critical review Abstract: Understanding the determinants of price volatility is a key step to prevent the potential negative consequences of the uncertainty faced by farmers. The presented critical review provides a novel categorization of grain price volatility drivers. The authors distinguish the endogenous and exogenous causes and conclude on the potential effects that each of the identified factors may generate on the price dynamics. In particular, there is deepened the contribution of endogenous factors, such as the spatial and temporal arbitrage, as well as the drivers of shocks of demand and supply. Keywords: arbitrage, commodity, risk, storage, trade, uncertainty Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 347-356 Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/55/2017-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/55/2017-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201808-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:64:y:2018:i:8:id:55-2017-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Bojan Matkovski Author-Name: Stanislav Zekic Author-Workplace-Name: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Serbia Author-Name: Mirko Savic Author-Workplace-Name: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Serbia Author-Name: Boris Radovanov Author-Workplace-Name: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Serbia Title: Trade of agri-food products in the EU enlargement process: Evidence from the Southeastern Europe Abstract: Since the last decade, significant changes have occurred in the trade flows of agri-food products of the Southeastern European countries (SEE) due to adjustment to international market. Namely, as all countries of the SEE strive to be full members of the EU; market opportunities have been changing, primarily because of the reduced barriers on trade with the EU, as well as with the regional countries. In order to investigate the effects of the liberalization process of the agri-food sector of the SEE countries on their export, as well as the total foreign trade, a gravity model based on panel data in the period 2005-2015 has been estimated. According to the results, liberalization of the market in the SEE countries, as a consequence of the EU enlargement process, as well as regional integrations, had positive effects on the total foreign trade of agri-food products. Despite the positive liberalization effects on the agri-food trade, all SEE countries have a lower level of competitiveness than the EU countries, so an organized access to products which possess comparative advantages will be an important condition for the achievement of their particular positions at the international market. Keywords: agri-food products, Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), EU, gravity model, Southeastern European countries (SEE) Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 357-366 Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/134/2017-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/134/2017-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201808-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:64:y:2018:i:8:id:134-2017-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gonzalo HERRANZ DE RAFAEL Author-Workplace-Name: University of Almería, CEMyRI, Almería, Spain Author-Name: Juan Sebastian FERNANDEZ-PRADOS Title: Intensive agriculture, marketing and social structure: the case of south-eastern Spain Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to analyse the opinions of farmers in the province of Almería concerning the state of the fruit and vegetable sector, to learn about the main considerations in their decision-making processes when marketing their products and their assessment of the image of companies and cooperatives and to analyse the social structure of this collective. To that end, the analysis was conducted on three levels: a descriptive analysis on two levels - a quantitative analysis of the socio-demographic, socio-economic and marketing characteristics of farmers in the province of Almería and a qualitative analysis based on the opinions of farmers and a group of experts in the sector; and an explanatory analysis, based on a binary logistic regression model, to show how decision-making occurs in the marketing dialectic, whether it either be at the source (auction) or the end-point (cooperative). The conclusion is that the marketing variables that are most tied to context - such as price, timeframe or certification - better explain the decision-making process of farmers in the province of Almería when marketing their products, both for cooperative members and for those who sell their products in alhóndigas (traditional auction houses). Keywords: Almería, auction, cooperatives, farmers, retail distribution Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 367-377 Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/318/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/318/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201808-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:64:y:2018:i:8:id:318-2016-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Naveed IQBAL Author-Workplace-Name: University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan Author-Name: Maqbool Hussain SIAL Author-Workplace-Name: University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan Title: Semi-parametric analysis of agricultural production under dichotomy of inputs Abstract: Inputs used in agriculture play asymmetric roles during the production process. Growth inputs, i.e. water, nutrients, seed and soil environment, become a part of the biological growth of plants, whereas facilitating inputs, i.e. labour, capital and pesticides, help regulate the functions of growth inputs from outside of the plants. This insight about the asymmetric role of agricultural inputs has been incorporated into agricultural economics on the basis of agronomic principles of crop production. The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of facilitating inputs on the technical efficiency of growth inputs. This analysis has been carried out semi-parametrically by employing the double bootstrap procedure on farm household level data from Pakistan. The results indicate that pesticides, capital and family labour scale up the technical efficiency of the growth inputs, whereas hired labour significantly scales down this efficiency. We recommend the creation of alternative employment opportunities for the rural labour force, provision of effective agricultural extension services to farm families, a minimisation of trade barriers to the import agricultural machinery and an enhancement of the extent of farm mechanisation. Keywords: damage control, data envelopment analysis, double bootstrap procedure, facilitating inputs, growth inputs, technical efficiency Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 378-388 Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/327/2016-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/327/2016-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-201808-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:64:y:2018:i:8:id:327-2016-AGRICECON