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This paper attempts to understand how the interaction of natural disasters and human behaviour during wartime led to famines in three regions under imperial control around the Indian Ocean. The socio-economic structure of these regions had been increasingly differentiated over the period of imperial rule, with large proportions of their populations relying on agricultural labour for their subsistence.

Before the war, food crises in each of the regions had been met by the private importation of grain from national or overseas surplus regions: the grain had been made available through a range of systems, the most complex of which was the Bengal Famine Code in which the able-bodied had to work before receiving money to buy food in the market.

During the Second World War, the loss of control of normal sources of imported grain, the destruction of shipping in the Indian Ocean (by both sides) and the military demands on internal transport systems prevented the use of traditional famine responses when natural events affected grain supply in each of the regions. These circumstances drew the governments into attempts to control their own grain markets.

The food crises raised complex ethical and practical issues for the governments charged with their solution. The most significant of these was that the British Government could have attempted to ship wheat to Bengal but, having lost naval control of the Indian Ocean in 1942 and needing warships in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1943 chose to ignore the needs of the people of Bengal, focussing instead on winning the war.

In each of the regions governments allowed/encouraged the balkanisation of the grain supply – at times down to the sub-district level – which at times served to produce waste and corruption, and opened the way for black markets as various groups (inside and outside government ranks) manipulated the local supply.

People were affected in different ways by the changes brought about by the war: some benefitted if their role was important to the war-effort; others suffered. The effect of this was multiplied by the way each government ‘solved’ its financial problems by – in essence – printing money.

Because of the natural events of the period, there would have been food crises in these regions without World War II, but decisions made in the light of wartime exigencies and opportunities turned crises into famines, causing the loss of millions of lives.

The authors assess the development potential of cowpea beyond grain in local markets in Mali by: (1) identifying trader types and types of cowpea products sold; (2) examining trader roles; (3) estimating gross margins and their determinants; and (4) discussing policy opportunities to further develop the value chain.

The authors analyze data collected through observation and semi-structured questionnaires from 487 sellers in 26 markets, including market, seller, and product characteristics. The authors also calculate gross margins and conduct a regression analysis to identify influential factors.

The authors identify several types of cowpea sellers in local markets, including processor-retailers, retailers of fresh leaves and fodder, and grain retailers, collectors and wholesalers. Women dominate the marketing of processed products and fresh leaves. The marketing of boiled cowpeas offers retailers higher margin rates compared to fritters and pancakes. Grain sellers, who are mostly men, have lower margins but sell larger quantities. Processor-retailers bring more value to the cowpea value chain. Specialization of the seller in cowpea, regional location of the market and day of the market fair all influence gross margins.

Future work should explore consumer preferences for different types of cowpea products.

This study of the cowpea value chain in Mali has revealed the multidimensional character of the cowpea plant, which goes far beyond its grain and highlight the important roles played by women.

This paper explores the contested notion of what constitutes a fair price in the context of grain exchanges in a subsistence farming village in the highlands of Matagalpa. Using ethnographic data, I show how Nicaraguan campesinos’ economic behavior plays out within a local moral universe of fairness: how much to produce and how much to sell in the market (or to give away); how prices and obligations vary depending on the social relation that binds the seller and the buyer (kinship, friendship, community, and so on); in what ways these notions of fair price are articulated and contested by different classes within a rural community; and lastly, what is expected of the State in terms of regulating food prices. Price emerges as the dialectic between the market in its abstract form and the specific social relationships and everyday politics that shape exchanges. What constitutes help (ayuda) and what constitutes exploitation in market exchanges and the determination of price is constantly contested, the moral economy is a discursive battlefield.

The paper aims to examine Karl Polanyi's view of market evolution in the context of the emergence of a national grain market in China's transition economy.

The dataset used includes information about inter‐provincial grain trade on China's grain market from November 1999 to October 2000. A priori blockmodelling method is used for hypothesis testing.

This paper finds that a partially integrated national grain market had emerged at the beginning of the twenty‐first century in China in spite of local protectionism. Additionally, the emergence of this market is found to be partly a result of the reform‐oriented state's attempt to create national wholesale grain markets.

The findings of the paper might have implications for market development in both China and other transition economies.

This study examines the heterogeneous correlations between rural farmers' land renting behavior and their grain production when they experienced a significant price decline.

We used well-timed panel data obtained from a two-round survey held in 2013 and 2017 among 621 households in the North China Plain. The empirical analyses were conducted by using the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed effects models.

Rural tenants were having heterogeneous responses in land renting behavior and agricultural production when there was a price decline. A group of optimistic tenants (as professional farmers) were more likely to enlarge the farm scale for grain production through land rental markets but decrease variable investment levels (and subsequently decreased productivity) to cope with price decline. In contrast, nonprofessional farmers (the other rural tenants) were rather pessimistic about market performance, and they significantly decreased their grain production area to cope the price decline, but there was no decrease in grain productivity through reducing variable inputs.

This study contributes to the extant literature on the relationship between farmers' land renting-in behavior and agricultural production. By dividing the tenants into professional and nonprofessional farmers, we argue that there is a significant heterogeneous correlation between rural tenants' land renting behavior and grain production when farmers experience a price decline.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the market structure and value chain of pearl millet grain and fodder in India. There is a decline in demand for human consumption, with an increase in demand for non-food uses like cattle and poultry feed, raw material for starch and breweries industry. This paper explores alternative channels, uses and value chains of pearl millet grain and fodder. The paper examines in what ways small farmers can benefit from the evolving alternative uses for pearl millet grain in cattle and poultry feed industry, breweries and starch industry. The paper also analyses the impact of aggregators in increasing the efficiency of the value chain.

The study collected primary data from farmers, traders, commission agents and exporters and importers with innovative marketing channels with aggregators (Self-Help Groups) and without aggregators to analyze the prospects for improvements in marketing channels and value chain.

Given that the production of pearl millet is scattered and thin, there is a lot of scope for market aggregators to increase scale economies to reduce market costs to supply in bulk to food and industrial uses. Although there was some demand for human consumption high-quality grain, most of the future demand will come from cattle and poultry feed industry, breweries and starch industry. To tap these larger potentials, farmers need to aggregate their produce and ensure regular supply in bulk quantity at least to compete the cost with alternative grains like maize and broken rice.

The research is based on the field-level data collection and observations obtained from Western India. This paper provides insights how the value chain of pearl millet is working and what improvements are needed to make value chain more efficient and inclusive. Although the results are applicable to similar neglected crops and area, more caution is needed.

Through the formation of farmer aggregators, farmers can enhance their bargaining power vis-a-vis industry.

Till now, there is no study that explored the pearl millet value chain in detail in India, and the paper tries to fill this literature gap.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existence of disposition effect among Canadian wheat farmers when marketing their grain. This study examines the question of whether farmers wait too long to price their grain or whether they price it too soon.

The disposition effect is a common behavior documented in financial markets, and reflects the notion that investors tend to hold losing positions too long and close winning positions too fast. This idea can also be applied to grain marketing, exploring whether farmers sell their grain more readily when prices are “high” and wait longer when prices are “low.” Based on the approach by Odean (1998), marketing strategies of 15,564 farmers between 2003/2004 and 2008/2009 are examined.

Results support the existence of disposition effect in marketing decisions. Farmers seem to be eager to sell when prices offered by contracts are above their reference price and wait longer to sell when prices offered by contracts are below their reference price. There is no clear evidence that farmers might consistently benefit from this behavior. On the other hand, it is not clear whether this behavior can be costly to farmers.

Exploring the existence of disposition effect is relevant because this behavior can affect performance. If grain is sold too early, farmers can miss opportunities to sell at higher prices later. If grain is held too long, prices can go down and farmers will end up selling at lower prices. This study uses unique data to perform the first analysis of the disposition effect in the agricultural industry, and its findings can provide new insights and move us toward a more complete understanding of decision making in this industry.

This study aims to explore the grain chain in Kosovo. This study also aims to analyse the role of actors involved in the supply, production, processing, marketing and distribution of the grain value chain.

The study uses qualitative methods. A total of 60 semi-structured interviews are conducted with actors involved in the entire grain value chain.

Findings reveal that the country depends on grain imports and lacks an organised grain market, which is often distorted by the present political situation. Stakeholders are partly integrated in the grain value chain, and they are not very efficient in production. The existence of an informal market influences the decision-making of actors involved in the grain chain. The grain value chain displays mixed governance types, and the relationships among actors are based on the trust mechanism.

The research draws the importance of agriculture’s public policies to sustain domestic grain production. Public–private partnerships should be created to restore the grain market. Trading policies should be revised because they play a crucial role in enhancing fair competition between domestic and foreign traders.

This study revisits the Great Canadian Grain Logistics Crisis of 2013-14 to explore the competitiveness of the country's grain exports. An approach to comprehending the dilemmas of the international grain supply chain and trade, and national logistics policy in an era of multinational corporations, draws upon the literature on global value chain analysis. This analysis identifies both the grain industry's global and local dimensions. An important literature on the 'politics’ of the supply chain is also called into play to discuss who controls what aspects. This task of interpreting the various steps in Canada's grain logistics chain recognizes the key economic actors - producers, grain companies, railway companies, port terminal operators and export buyers - and political struggles between them as they each seek to maximize their self-interest. Policy implications for streamlining logistics operations are drawn from identifying where changes in the supply chain arrangements have gained or lost opportunities in export markets, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the meaning and content of the term “orderly marketing” as it was adopted by Western Canadian farm leaders in the 1920s, and to determine whether the expected results of “orderly marketing”, as they were enunciated by farm leaders, were met.

The paper examines the critique that farm leaders and Wheat Pool officials levelled against the open market, and the way they posited “orderly marketing” as a solution to their perceived problems. Using contemporary data on wheat prices and movements, it analyzes the content of orderly marketing, and the results of its implementation by the Pools.

The paper finds that “orderly marketing” was primarily a campaign slogan, that the problems it was alleged to address did not exist, and that its implementation by the Wheat Pools did not yield the results that the farm leaders had promised. The paper acknowledges however, the significant accomplishments of these organizations, and postulates that the concept of orderly marketing resonates with aspects of Canadian culture and helps to explain why grain marketing in the USA and Canada evolved so differently.

The agricultural cooperative movement in Western Canada has been the subject of a great deal of historical research, most of it positive. However, there are no recently published qualitative studies of the history of the term, nor in‐depth quantitative analyses of the economic results achieved by the Wheat Pools during the 1920s that compare with the contents of this paper.