Economic researchers will gather in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss how agricultural productivity differs by farm size, drawing on new evidence from around the world.
The conference--Farm Size and Productivity: A Global Look--will examine the relationship between agrarian structure and agricultural productivity growth. A collaboration of USDA's Economic Research Service and Farm Foundation, NFP, the conference will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 2 and 3, at the First Floor Auditorium of Patriot's Plaza III, 355 E. Street SW, Washington, D.C. Sessions will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 3.
Several of the papers to be presented go beyond comparisons of land productivity to total factor productivity (TFP). Data from newly available panels of farms will be used to compare differences in productivity levels, as well as productivity growth by farm size. Other studies examine how specific policies, institutions and behaviors may explain observed productivity differences across farms.
"Agricultural productivity growth is a key factor in the ability of global agriculture to feed the world's increasing population," says conference organizer Keith Fuglie, an economist in the Resource and Rural Economics Division of ERS. "This conference is an opportunity to expand our understanding of the relationship between the size and structure of farm operations and agricultural productivity in different locations and farming systems worldwide."
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