Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments March 15, 2008 erstellt
Description:
Agricultural exports from developing countries are facing stringent barriers in the form of sanitary and phytosanitary measures as well as technical barriers: the need of the hour, therefore, is to develop robust Agricultural Exporting Zones (AEZs) to promote organic cultivation of exportable produce. Our analysis of the future growth potential of AEZs in India is based on two planks: a theoretical cost benefit analysis and a case study approach. The theoretical cost benefit analysis highlights the trade-off between factors that enhance profitability on the one hand and others that lead to a reduction in profitability. The case study approach complements this theoretical analysis by looking at the ground reality of AEZs in the Indian state of West Bengal. The case study shows that practical considerations such as the lack of marketing alternatives; the monopoly enjoyed by agricultural exporters; lack of market information and institutionalised communication channels between exporters and farmers; the scarcity of suitable variable inputs such as organic manure as well as the absence of storage infrastructure adversely impact the bargaining power of farmers in negotiating prices for their produce. The study therefore implies that the theoretically plausible trade-off often does not exist in reality. From the point of view of profitability, cultivation of organic crops is often clearly unattractive compared to non-organic cultivation, given the institutional ground reality prevalent in India. This important conclusion in turn leads to the policy recommendation that for a take-off in agricultural exports, which are becoming increasingly organic in composition, the following have to be effected - improvement in marketing information channels (computerised information, radio and television bulletins etc.), development of storage infrastructure (cold storages, warehouses etc.) and greater and cheaper availability of inputs needed for organic agriculture