Spillovers from high‐value agriculture for exports on land use in developing countries: evidence from Madagascar
研究马达加斯加蔬菜出口合同农业对水稻产量的溢出效应，发现合同地块的水稻产量提高三分之二，源于肥料和堆肥的使用，对研究农业贸易与土地利用关系的学者有参考价值。
Abstract High‐value agriculture for exports is increasingly important in developing countries. In a case study of contract farming for exports of vegetables from Madagascar, strong spillover effects of these trade opportunities on land use are found to exist. Using a matched plot sampling design, the productivity of rice—the main domestically consumed staple—is shown to be two‐thirds higher on fields that were contracted during the off‐season for the production of vegetables. This increase in yields is linked to an increase of soil fertility due to the application of fertilizer and compost, which farmers did not use prior to the contracts. Although agricultural output goes up significantly, labor productivity stays the same, suggesting that there is greater labor absorption on existing land and the diffusion of this type of technology at a larger scale throughout Madagascar would be expected to substantially decrease incentives to deforest by increasing wages and to boost productivity of existing lands relative to newly deforested ones.