Cash Crop Production, Food Price Volatility, and Rural Market Integration in the Third World.

Journal article

Large farmers in the third world often devote to cash crops a larger share of their land than do small farmers. This paper suggests a possible explanation: even in the presence of food markets, third world farmers' food security is best assured by food self-sufficiency. A model of crop portfolio choice under multivariate risk is used to show that reasonable assumptions regarding risk and preferences reproduce the observed pattern. Simulations further indicate that food-market integration reduces the need for food self-sufficiency. Policy implications are drawn regarding domestic trade liberalization and agricultural technology.

Authors: Fafchamps, M

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
• Journal: American Journal of Agricultural Economics
• Volume: 74
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 90 - 99
• Publication date: 1992-01-01
• ISSN: 0002-9092
• Language: English