Do the trade credit influence firm performance in agro-industry? Evidence from Thailand

This paper aims to examine the relationship between trade credit and corporate performance. Empirical evidence on the impact of trade credit investment on firm performance remains unclear. For agro firms, the implications of this relationship have not been thoroughly discussed. Using a panel sample consisting of publicly listed agro firms in Thailand for 2001-2020. The sample set consists of 51 Thai-listed firms with 708 firm-year observations. We employ panel ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and GMM regressions to obtain the estimation results. We find that going to invest in trade credit increases operating performance significantly, which is what the commercial, financing, and transaction theories of trade credit predicted would happen. Furthermore, cost-benefit analysis should serve as a guide for firms' trade credit investment decisions. In particular, firms should be aware of the extra cost of trade credit investment and weigh it against the benefits of improved performance.

Impact of CGIAR maize germplasm in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study reports on the adoption and impacts of CGIAR-related maize varieties in 18 major maize-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during 1995-2015. Of the 1345 maize varieties released during this timeframe, approximately 60% had a known CGIAR parentage. About 34% (9.5 million ha) of the total maize area in 2015 was cultivated with 'new' CGIAR-related maize varieties released between 1995 and 2015. In the same year, an additional 13% of the maize area was cultivated with 'old' CGIAR-related maize varieties released before 1995. The aggregate annual economic benefit of using new CGIAR-related maize germplasm for yield increase in SSA was estimated at US$1.1-1.6 billion in 2015, which we attributed equally to co-investments by CGIAR funders, public-sector national research and extension programs, and private sector partners. Given that the annual global investment in CGIAR maize breeding at its maximum was US$30 million, the benefit-cost ratios for the CGIAR investment and CGIAR-attributable portion of economic benefits varied from 12:1-17:1, under the assumption of a 5-year lag in the research investment to yield returns. The study also discusses the methodological challenges involved in large-scale impact assessments. Post-2015 CGIAR tropical maize breeding efforts have had a strong emphasis on stress tolerance.