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Current and Potential Comparative Advantage: The Case of Sub-optimal Application of Technologies by Smallholder Farmers
Dr Jose Ma. Luis P. Montesclaros Research Fellow
Dr Jose Ma. Luis P. Montesclaros
1
This is a planned journal article.
Ensuring that technology is fully applied to the production of crops is a key factor that affects productivity levels for any crop, allowing farmers to reach the “potential yield” of crops in the absence of nutrient and environmental stressors. Higher use of technology enables for a greater quantity of output for every unit of input applied, including variable and fixed/capital factors. However, farmers have a unique “demand curve” for their uptake of technology, in that it hinges on the profits that they will get from selling their food, and in turn, on food prices. Data shows that ASEAN farmers are presently producing below the optimal level of yields, because of market barriers faced by smallholder farmers that dominate the region’s farmers. Given that a country’s productivity levels determine its comparative advantage, a laissez faire approach would tend to reinforce the status quo level of technology adoption among the region’s farmers.
Ensuring that technology is fully applied to the production of crops is a key factor that affects productivity levels for any crop, allowing farmers to reach the “potential yield” of crops in the absence of nutrient and environmental stressors. Higher use of technology enables for a greater quantity of output for every unit of input applied, including variable and fixed/capital factors. However, farmers have a unique “demand curve” for their uptake of technology, in that it hinges on the profits that they will get from selling their food, and in turn, on food prices. Data shows that ASEAN farmers are presently producing below the optimal level of yields, because of market barriers faced by smallholder farmers that dominate the region’s farmers. Given that a country’s productivity levels determine its comparative advantage, a laissez faire approach would tend to reinforce the status quo level of technology adoption among the region’s farmers.
| Theme: | International Political Economy / Non-Traditional Security |
| Region: | Southeast Asia and ASEAN |
| Entity: | NTS Centre |
