Category: Research, Publications and Conferences

Lists and links to relevant work.

Training Environmental Leaders in Nepal, Sandee Style

I had always wanted to visit Nepal and between the 9th and 14th of December I finally made the voyage. I participated in a seminar of Sandee (the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economists) and spent some time with my colleague and friend Biswo Poudel.           The flight to Kathmandu… Continue reading Training Environmental Leaders in Nepal, Sandee Style

Searching for Coexistence of GMO and Organics in Amsterdam

I recently returned from a conference on the co-existence of genetically modified food (GMO) with other food, such as organic. The meeting was on November 17-20 in Amsterdam, which was rainy, cold and windy, an unpleasant departure from the sunny and dry climate of drought-stricken Berkeley that I have grown accustomed to. Fortunately we were… Continue reading Searching for Coexistence of GMO and Organics in Amsterdam

Smart adaptation to climate change in agriculture: A recipe from Milan

I returned from a ten day stay in Milan where I attended both the International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) triennial meeting as well as a workshop on climate smart agriculture sponsored by FAO.[1] Milan is known as the “city that works” in Italy, and indeed I marveled at its modernized public transportation, cleanliness, and… Continue reading Smart adaptation to climate change in agriculture: A recipe from Milan

Is 2015 the year for a carbon tax?

Last year, during the holiday season the price of gasoline was at $3.57/gallon, which restricted the financial choices of everyday Americans. Actually from 2005 we consumers gradually adjusted to higher prices of oil. The adjustment wasn’t easy. Many lower-income individuals who purchased new homes far from work realized that they could not pay their mortgages,… Continue reading Is 2015 the year for a carbon tax?

AgBiotech and Climate Change

http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2011/08/14/agbiotech-and-combating-climate-change/ There is a growing concern about climate change and much of the worry pertains to the implications of climate change for food and agriculture. There is emerging evidence that increased heat beyond a certain threshold is likely to reduce yields and that climate change will require adaptation and change in land use patterns across… Continue reading AgBiotech and Climate Change

We did well at the Annual AAEA Meeting in Pittsburgh

[nggallery id=9] I returned from Pittsburgh where we had the annual meeting of the AAEA (Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). I had never been to Pittsburgh before; the city is not so exciting but it is efficient and pleasant and the highlight of the city are the three rivers. There were some impressive bridges and… Continue reading We did well at the Annual AAEA Meeting in Pittsburgh

Irrigation Production Functions with Water-Capital Substitution

Abstract The dynamics of biomass growth implies that the yield of irrigated crops depends, in addition to the total amount of water applied, on irrigation scheduling during the growing period. Advanced irrigation technologies relax constraints on irrigation rates and timing, allowing us to better adjust irrigation scheduling to the varying needs of the plants along the growing… Continue reading Irrigation Production Functions with Water-Capital Substitution