By Cat Holmes
University of Georgia
John Baffes, a senior economist in the Development Prospects
Group of the World Bank, will present the University of Georgia
Rod Ziemer lecture, “Experience with decoupling agricultural
support,” April 14 in Athens, Ga.
The lecture is part of the University of Georgia department of
agricultural and applied economics celebration of its 75th
anniversary, which includes the lecture, banquet and golf
tournament April 14-16.
“To celebrate our 75th anniversary, we wanted to bring back
alumni who have really distinguished themselves in the field of
agricultural and applied economics,” said department head Fred
White.
“John Baffes is a well-known expert in global economic
analysis,” White said. “His lecture should be of great interest
to anyone following agricultural economics today.”
Baffes received his Master’s degree from the UGA agricultural
and applied economics department in 1986. He will speak on two
recent economic trends in agriculture: decoupling agricultural
support and one-time buyouts.
Agricultural support, until the mid-1990s, meant farmers
received payments from the government directly related to their
current production. Unfortunately, this could encourage farmers
to over- or underproduce.
In the ’90s, many governments agreed to stop these payments and
decoupled agricultural support from current production. Baffes
will provide an overview of the current situation in various
countries.
One-time buyouts were implemented after the government did away
with quotas for commodities such as peanuts. Because these
quotas had value, the government reimburses quota holders for
the loss. Baffes will speak directly about peanut buyouts,
which should be of particular interest to Georgia farmers.
The lecture will be at 2:30 p.m. April 14 in Room K of the
Georgia Center for Continuing Education. A reception will
follow.
The department’s annual spring banquet, “Conner Connects – A
75th Anniversary Celebration” will be the following evening,
April 15. It will begin at 7 p.m. at the Georgia State
Botanical Gardens in Athens. The cost is $17 per person.
Reservations should be made by April 7.
The Friday, April 16, finale of the three-day celebration is
the Tom Frazier Golf Tournament. The tournament is named in
honor of a former faculty member who, at 87, still plays golf
five days a week.
The Lauderdale-style tournament’s first tee time is 8:30 a.m.
The $45 entry fee covers green fee, cart fee and range balls.
Reservations should be made by April 7.
For reservations for the banquet or golf tournament, call (706)
542-2481 by April 7.
(Cat Holmes is a news editor with the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
