Determinants of profitability of black soldier fly farming enterprise in Kenya

Black soldier fly (BSF) farming is emerging as a new farm enterprise in Kenya poised to provide high-quality and affordable alternative protein sources for animal feed production. Consequently, commercialisation and adoption require farmers to understand if the enterprise is economically viable. This study sought to assess the determinants of profitability of the BSF farm enterprise. A census survey was conducted whereby 34 well-established smallholder BSF farmers were interviewed. A double log regression analysis on the determinants of profitability of the BSF farm enterprise was done. The results revealed that 93.6% of the variation in enterprise gross margin was explained by the independent variables. Feed and household size contributed positively and significantly to the enterprise gross margin. Labour was significantly and negatively correlated to the enterprise gross margin. Farm size, gender, level of education, and age of the farmer did not significantly influence the gross margin of the enterprise. Furthermore, the survey showed that a 1% increase in man-hours spent in the BSF farming enterprise would result in a 0.34% reduction in the gross margin while a 1% increase in the usage of the rearing substrate would lead to a 1.38% increase in the gross margin. There is a need for farmers to reduce the man-hours spent in the BSF farms but at the same time increase significantly the utilisation of more rearing substrate to improve their profitability. However, a long-term socio-economic impact assessment on the BSF farming enterprise would be valuable to attract investors and interest in the insect production sector for animal feed.

Farmers’ perception and economic impact assessment of agromet advisory services in rainfed regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology (AICRPAM) of ICAR has started the micro-level Agromet Advisory Service (AAS) through its 25 cooperative centers across the country. Microlevel advisory based on weather forecast is the newer dimension of the AAS in the country. Studies on economic impact of these micro-level advisories are uncommon. Therefore, the present study was conducted using the field survey to assess the farmer’s perception and economic impact of micro-level AAS in Vijayapura and Anantapur centers on pilot basis. Two groups i.e. AAS and non-AAS farmers, consisting of 40 farmers in each group were selected through multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. The probit regression model was employed to assess the factors influencing willingness to pay (WTP) for AAS. Majority of farmers (65%) rated micro-level AAS as ‘very good’ on scale of ‘very poor’ to ‘very good’. Majority of non-AAS farmers were aware about micro-level AAS but lagged in adopting the service. It needs further detailed investigation of underlying causes of not adopting the service. Farming experience, education, land holding size and income were found to be most important factors influencing the farmer’s willingness for pay-based services. Results of economic impact revealed that there was 12 to 33 per cent increase in profit for AAS farmers as compared to non-AAS farmers.

The RHOMOLO Spatial CGE Model

This chapter provides a description of the RHOMOLO model, a Spatial CGE model, developed and used by the European Commission for the impact assessment of policies at the regional level. Special emphasis is put on the innovation mechanisms underlying the model. Moreover, it discusses the scenarios simulated and the findings from the economic impact assessment of the Horizon Europe Framework Program.

NT - 34 - Dinte - Análise das Propostas do Plano Beps da OCDE/ G20 Sobre Tributação dos Serviços Digitais e a Atual Situação Internacional

Atualmente, a tributação internacional do lucro corporativo enfrenta um crescente desafio com a digitalização da economia. O Plano Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) da Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE)/G20 representa um esforço multilateral para enfrentar o problema da transferência dos lucros para países de baixa tributação. Contudo, muitas questões sobre o direito em tributar esses lucros, principalmente quando a sede física da empresa se localiza em um terceiro país, permanecem ainda não resolvidas. A digitalização e globalização aumentaram as vulnerabilidades existentes no sistema atual, que aloca o direito da tributação dos lucros nos países onde as empresas possuem sua sede física. Além de outros problemas existentes no escopo do Plano BEPS, há um número crescente de países tomando medidas unilaterais e de maneira desordenada para tributar esses lucros. No caso dos serviços digitais, alguns países têm criado o Imposto sobre Serviços Digitais (Digital Services Tax – DST), aumentando as disputas e incertezas no campo da tributação internacional. Nesse cenário, criou-se um grupo inclusivo (inclusive framework – IF) dentro do Plano BEPS, reunindo 137 países-membros, o qual está discutindo propostas para um consenso mundial em torno de uma reforma nas regras tributárias internacionais para tratar das questões decorrentes da digitalização da economia. As propostas se enquadram basicamente em dois pilares que foram descritos em dois relatórios técnicos da OCDE. No último comunicado, os ministros das Finanças do G20 confirmaram seus compromissos com maior progresso nesses dois pilares e pediram a participação do IF para tratar as questões remanescentes, a fim de se chegar a uma solução global multilateral, baseada em um consenso, em meados de 2021 (OECD, 2020b). A pandemia da covid-19 aumentou as tensões entre países devido ao crescimento da economia digital e ao aumento da pressão orçamentária. As atuais estratégias empresariais de planejamento tributário agressivo e elisão fiscal têm se tornado cada vez mais negativas diante da opinião pública, devido ao aumento dos subsídios dirigidos a estas mesmas empresas durante a pandemia. Esta nota técnica está dividida em três seções, além desta introdução. A seção 2 analisa o relatório da OCDE/ G20 chamado Tax Challenges Arising From Digitalisation: economic impact assessment (OECD, 2020a), publicado no segundo semestre de 2020. A seção 3 trata da introdução do DST por diversos países, que entrou em vigor entre 2018 e 2020, bem como das discussões legislativas para sua inserção no Brasil. Por fim, a seção 4 apresenta a conclusão deste texto.