Smallholder dairy sheep production and market channel development: an institutional perspective of rural Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The rural economy of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has been adapting to new economic and political realities. Especially important for rural areas has been the breakdown of the socialist market structure in agriculture, which meant the demise of cooperative structures and farmers gaining access to new market outlets. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential of dairy sheep farmers to enter into new contracts with buyers and to analyze why some farmers continue selling to traditional market outlets. Using survey data of dairy sheep farmers we studied the choice they make between 3 market outlets: (1) selling milk to a recently established large dairy processor, (2) selling milk to traditional small local processors, or (3) transforming milk on-farm into cheese and selling it at the farm gate or at local markets. The significance of determinants of choice for these markets were tested in a multinomial logit model, which showed that distance to the collection point of the large dairy processor was the most important determinant of whether farmers sold milk or made cheese, with those at a greater distance selling cheese. Furthermore, we analyzed the main sources of transaction costs in developing new market channels. Overcoming transport and transaction costs may contribute to higher income for the farmers and hence to improving their livelihoods.

Efficiency in milk production on Reunion Island: dealing with land scarcity.

This paper aims to analyze efficiency on dairy farms in Reunion Island, a French overseas district located in the Indian Ocean. On this island, dairy farming is promoted with financial and technical support from the European Union, with the French and local governments aiming at reducing dependency on imports of milk powder and dairy products and creating employment. A critical factor for increasing the local milk production is the limited availability of arable land because of the small size and the volcanic nature of the island. In this paper, we study the efficiency levels of dairy production on 34 farms by using a data envelopment analysis approach. The average technical efficiency score of farms, assuming constant returns to scale, was 0.927, with 19 out of 34 farms not being efficient. The technical efficiency with a variable returns to scale specification was 0.951. The efficiency with which farmers used their land (subvector efficiencies) was estimated in a second model. The average subvector efficiencies calculated with constant returns to scale and variable returns to scale models were lower than the technical efficiencies. The farmers on the efficiency frontier had a relatively higher milk production, milk production per cow, and land surface than those who were less efficient. A policy promoting better use of the land on inefficient farms should increase the milk production-to-land ratio. Possible on-farm strategies are improved feeding systems, farms having their own heifer breeding, and improved genetics.

The laser microprobe mass analysis technique in the studies of the inner ear.

Laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA) has been used to investigate cation and anion concentration in shock frozen, freeze-dried and plastic embedded inner ear tissue. Dissected inner ear specimens were prepared in various media of known ionic compositions and the influence on the K/Na ratio was measured in the lateral cochlea wall (spiral ligament, stria vascularis). For control purposes of the various procedures employed, muscle specimens (external standard) were processed in parallel. It was found that there is a good correlation between the K/Na ratio and the preservation of the tissue fine structure by comparing the results in tissues with different degrees of freezing damage.