Sunil Saroj

Foreign direct investment, globalized agri-food value chains and transformation

We examine the determinants of participation and positioning in the Agriculture Globalized Value Chains (AGVC) with focus on role of foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agriculture. Among the determinants, trade policies that are reflected in cost to trade play a significant role in AGVC engagement. FDI in agriculture affects AGVC structure correlating significantly with forward participation. FDI holds potential for enhancing value addition, technology diffusion, and market access. We then assess the effect of AGVC on production diversification in agriculture i.e., manifested in crop choices. A priori is unclear whether AGVC participation and positioning leads to greater specialization or diversification as there are forces in either direction. Our findings show that AGVC participation is associated with diversified agriculture. Moreover, the effect varies by positioning (backward and forward). The estimates using panel regression, Lewbel instrumental variable method and continuous treatment matching yielding dose response functions show these results to be robust. Results also vary regionally. East and Southeast Asia show the strongest association between AGVC and product diversification.

Impact of India’s Farm Science Centers (Krishi Vigyan Kendras) on farm households’ economic welfare: An evidence from a national farmer survey

This study examines the impact of access to India’s farm science centers (Krishi Vigyan Kendras, or KVKs) on agricultural households’ welfare using household data from the nationally representative Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households conducted by India’s National Sample Survey Office in 2013. Employing different matching techniques and endogenous switching regression models, it was observed that the KVKs have a positive and statistically significant impact on agricultural households’ economic welfare, although, that impact is heterogeneous. Further, the investments made in expansion of India’s network of KVKs have been quite remunerative, as the benefit- to-cost ratio of expenditure on KVKs ranges from 8–12. Moreover, present findings suggest that expanding rural formal credit markets and promoting literacy can maximize the potential impact of KVKs on agricultural households’ economic welfare.

Impact of dairy cooperatives on milk productivity: Evidence from rural Bihar