ADVANCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ECONOMICS | Makerere University Courses

Course Code:

AEC 7203

Course Credit Units:

3

Semester:

Semester 1

Year of Study:

Year 1

Undergraduate or Graduate Level:

Graduate Level

Academic Programs:

Master of Science in Agric Economics

College:

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

School:

School of Agricultural Sciences

Department:

Agribusiness & Natural Resource Economics

Course Discipline:

Agriculture

Course Description & Objectives:

Review/overview of Theory of the Firm; Technology, Production sets and input requirement sets; Cost, Profit, and Supply Functions of the Firm; Cost Minimization and Profit Maximization in the Two-Input Case; Returns to Size and Returns to Scale; Technical Efficiency and Technology Adoption; Using the Profit Function to Estimate Supply and Factor Demand; Linear Programming (LP) and the Theory of Production; Risk and Uncertainty in Production; Household Production Model of Smallholder Agriculture. Objectives:

To enhance students’ understanding of production economics theory and its applications
To expose students to the practical applications of production theory to agricultural problems, rural development and environment;
To enable students understand the challenges and opportunities of achieving agricultural productivity growth in Africa, and
To facilitate students to apply production economics theory and methods in agricultural research and management

Learning Outcomes:

Students in this course are expected to have knowledge and skills in the following topics and acquire the following competencies:

Differentiate between technological, allocative and economic efficiency and applications;
Understand and apply production and cost functions and implications for profit maximization in the short and long run;
Analyze market structure and implications for profit maximization;
Apply production theory to practical problems such as agricultural supply response; and
Understand and apply the household production model.