Economic evaluation of bean-research investment in Mexico.

摘要

In Mexico, dry beans are the second most important crop after maize, both in terms of production and consumption. Approximately 85% of the country's bean crop is grown under rainfed conditions. During the 1990s, the total harvested bean area decreased by 2.0%, average yield decreased by 2.5%, and production declined by 4.5%. As a result, there has been an increasing trend in requiring bean imports to meet domestic demand, especially after Mexico joined NAFTA in 1994. During the 1990s the Mexican government, through the Secretariat of Agriculture (SAGAR), started two programs---PROCAMPO and Alliance for the Countryside---to support farmers and promote the adoption of improved varieties through the Kilo per Kilo program.; In 1982, the Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) signed an agreement with Mexico's National Research Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock (INIFAP) to collaborate in developing improved bean varieties for the semiarid highlands of Mexico's North-Central region. During 1990--2000, INIFAP released several improved bean varieties that were distributed via the Kilo per Kilo program and adopted by farmers in the semiarid region.; The economic impact assessment of bean research is essential to provide decision-makers with information to improve the allocation of research resources.; The objectives of the study are to describe Mexico's bean subsector, analyze the factors associated with adoption of the improved bean varieties released by INIFAP in the 1990s, identify factors that contributed to explaining the participation of farmers in the government's seed distribution program (Kilo per Kilo), and estimate the net social gains generated by public investment in agricultural research and extension to develop and distribute improved bean varieties in northern Mexico.; The study area includes the states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Zacatecas, which account for 62% of the Mexico's rainfed bean production area. The results reported in this study include a rapid appraisal assessment of the bean subsector, an evaluation of government support policies affecting the bean subsector, a statistical and econometric analysis of improved bean seed adoption and farmer participation in the Kilo per Kilo program (based on survey data), and an estimation of the economic returns to public investment in bean research and extension (using the economic surplus method).; The adoption analysis indicates that the improved bean varieties Pinto Villa and Pinto Mestizo have been widely adopted in Chihuahua and Durango, that these varieties have yields that are 20.6% higher that traditional pinto bean varieties and that the yield difference is statistically significant. The economic analysis indicates that if a closed economy model is assumed, the financial and economic NPVs are positive and the IRRs are 17.5 and 21.4%, respectively. If an open economy model is assumed, the financial and economic NPVs are positive and the IRRs are 21.3 and 20.7%, respectively. The results from both models are consistent and suggest that public investment in bean research and extension is profitable (opportunity cost of capital = 10%). Thus, the government should continue investing in bean research in northern Mexico.