About Book

Agricultural economics plays a key role in the economics of development, for a continuous level of farm surplus is one of the wellsprings of technological and commercial growth. Agricultural economics or agronomics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber – a discipline known as agronomics. Agricultural economics is an applied area as well as a hybrid discipline. The field of agricultural economics includes application of economic science tools to the agricultural sector. It is a branch of applied economics that takes the tools of both micro and macroeconomics and uses them to solve problems in a specific area. Agricultural economics influences food policy, agricultural policy, and environmental policy. The book studies, analyses and upholds the pillars of agricultural economics and its utmost significance in modern times. It explores various aspects of emerging trends, potential assessment, economic development, economic models, evaluation in forestry, forestry entrepreneurs, sustainable agroforestry, economy of globalization and analytic principles. In the book, constant effort has been made to make the understanding of the difficult concepts of this field as easy and informative as possible for the readers. Different approaches, evaluations and methodologies have been included in this book. It aims to serve as a resource guide for students and facilitate the study of this discipline.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Social Entrepreneurship in an Inclusive Business Model: A New Business Model for Sustainable Agroforestry.....................................1

Abstract ..................................................................................................1

1. Challenges for developing an inclusive business model .............2

2. Approach: a holistic view on a case bound case study ..............3

3. A conceptual framework ....................................................................4

4. Empirics: “Rethink”, Stora Enso’s inclusive business model in

Laos..........................................................................................................7

5. Critical factors for an inclusive business model .........................11

6. Research contributions ......................................................................13

Acknowledgements ...........................................................................14

Chapter 2 Forestry Entrepreneurs — Research on High Performance Business Model .........................................................................................................18

Abstract ................................................................................................18

1. Introduction ........................................................................................19

2. Methodology .......................................................................................23

3. Results ..................................................................................................25

4. Discussion ...........................................................................................28

5. Limitations ..........................................................................................29

6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................30

Chapter 3 Nonparametric Model for Business Performance Evaluation

in Forestry...................................................................................................33

1. Introduction ........................................................................................33

2. Material and methods .......................................................................36

3. Results ..................................................................................................47

4. Discussion and conclusions .............................................................56

Chapter 4 Economy of Globalization and Market Crisis: What Solution for

the Agricultural Sector.............................................................................61

1. Introduction..........................................................................................61

2. On the concept of globalization.......................................................62

3. Economy of globalization and market crisis.................................65

4. The dark side of globalization and its negative effects on the

international food system..................................................................70

5. Globalization, global agribusiness and improving the quality of

life...........................................................................................................73

6. Globalization and European agri-food system.............................79

7. Strategic actions of farmer to address the globalization era.....82

8. The district as a tool for small farms to address the crisis of

international markets..........................................................................84

9. Conclusions..........................................................................................89

Acknowledgement...............................................................................91

Chapter 5 Intellectual Property Rights and Endogenous Economic Growth –

Uncovering the Main Gaps in the Research Agenda .....................93

1. Introduction ........................................................................................93

2. The economics of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and

innovation: An overview ..................................................................95

3. The bridge between IPR and Endogenous Economic Growth:

Main theoretical contributions4 .....................................................100

4. IPR and Endogenous Economic Growth: Where do we stand?

Insights from the empirical literature .........................................107

5. Conclusion .........................................................................................112

Chapter 6 Economic Models of Shifting Cultivation: A Review...................118

1. Introduction ......................................................................................118

2. Deforestation models ......................................................................124

3. Soil-conservation models ................................................................126

4. Shifting cultivation models ............................................................128

5. Discussion .........................................................................................132

6. Conclusion .........................................................................................136

7. Acknowledgment .............................................................................136

Chapter 7 Urban Horticulture and Community Economic Development of Lagging Regions ....................................................................................146

1. Introduction ......................................................................................146

2. The literature ....................................................................................148

3. Research methodology adopted ...................................................153

4. Results and discussion ...................................................................153

5. Concluding remarks ........................................................................157

6. Acknowledgment .............................................................................158

Chapter 8 Economic and Ecological Potential Assessment for Biogas Production Based on Intercrops .........................................................162

1. Introduction ......................................................................................162

2. Methodologies ..................................................................................163

3. Intercrops ...........................................................................................165

4. PNS optimization..............................................................................170

5. SPI evaluation ...................................................................................179

6. Conclusion .........................................................................................181

Acknowledgment .............................................................................182

Chapter 9 The Veterinary Business Landscape: Contemporary Issues and

Emerging Trends ...................................................................................185

1. Introduction ......................................................................................185

2. The agricultural sector ....................................................................187

3. The gender shift ...............................................................................188

4. Veterinary education .......................................................................191

5. Discussion and implications ..........................................................193

6. Conclusions .......................................................................................197

Citation......................................................................................................205

Index...........................................................................................................207

About Author

Joe Lewis is associated with the Agriculture Research Unit at Technical Institute, Seattle. He obtained his Ph.D. in Agriculture Science from Public University of Science, Minas Gerais. His specialized area of working is the agronomics, crop physiology, soil sciences, international agriculture and rural development. Lewis has written dozens of articles and research papers related to horticulture, plant science, crop production and phosphorus management. He has also attended numerous educational conferences and symposiums and has presented 8 papers.