Instant Insights: Economics of Agriculture

Professor James Lowenberg-DeBoer holds the Elizabeth Creak Chair in Agri-Tech Applied Economics at Harper Adams University (HAU), Newport, Shropshire, UK. He is responsible for economics in the Hands Free Farm (HFF) team at HAU. He is also past president of the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) and was co-editor of the journal Precision Agriculture 2016-2022. His research focuses on the economics of agricultural technology, especially precision agriculture and crop robotics. Lowenberg-DeBoer’s research and outreach is founded in hands-on experience in agriculture, including production of maize and soybeans in NW Iowa in the USA. David Pannell is Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia; Director, Co-Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy; ARC Federation Fellow (2007-2012); Distinguished Fellow and past president of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society; Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; and a Director of Natural Decisions Pty Ltd. His research includes the economics of land, water and nature conservation; environmental policy; farmer adoption of conservation practices; risk; and economics of farming systems. David has won awards for his research in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK, including the 2009 Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Research.

• Chapter 1 - Economics of agricultural robotics: James Lowenberg-Deboer, Harper Adams University, UK; 1 Introduction2 History of adoption of agricultural robotics3 Expected benefits of agricultural robotics4 Potential agricultural robotics in low- and middle-income countries5 Broader implications of agricultural robotics for the farm sector6 Social Impact7 Policy, regulatory and institutional issues8 Conclusion9 Where to look for further information?10 Acknowledgements11 References Chapter taken from: van Henten, E. and Edan, Y. (ed.), Advances in agri-food robotics, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 80146 277 8)Chapter 2 - The economics of nitrogen in farming systems and beyond: David J. Pannell and Asjad Tariq Sheikh, University of Western Australia, Australia; 1 Introduction2 Economics of nitrogen as an input to production3 Nitrogen and economic risk4 Economics of nitrogen fixation from legumes5 Flat pay-off functions6 Over-application of nitrogen fertilisers7 Nitrogen pollution8 Nitrogen research, development and extension9 The market for nitrogen fertiliser10 Conclusion11 References Ladha, J. K. (ed.), Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop production, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 80146 470 3)Chapter 3 - Evaluating the economics of integrated weed management: Pieter de Wolf, Saskia Houben, William Bijker and Koen Klompe, Wageningen Plant Research, The Netherlands; 1 Introduction2 Approaches to economic evaluation3 The case study in IWMPRAISE4 Comparing the economics of different integrated weed management strategies5 Different approaches in assessing the economics of integrated weed management strategies6 Comparing different approaches in the economic evaluation of integrated weed management strategies7 Where to look for further information8 References Chapter taken from: Kudsk, P. (ed.), Advances in integrated weed management, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2022, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 745 5)Chapter 4 - The economics of groundwater development and governance: T. Shah, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), India; 1 Introduction2 Textbook economics of aquifer development3 Alternative approaches to groundwater governance4 The possibility of collective action5 Conclusion6 Future trends7 References Knox, J. W. (ed.), Improving water management in agriculture: Irrigation and food production, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 80146 274 7)