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Abstract

This paper estimates that the expected returns to improved pasture research (IPR) in the Latin American tropics are very high and suggests that current research on IPR is significantly underfunded. Although increased competition from poultry may reduce future regional beef consumption, regional beef consump­tion and production decisions can be divorced, provided that beef surpluses can be exported. Current international beef prices are in fact biased downward due to developed-country protection. Shadow international prices, adjusted for the probability of elim­inating current distortions in the long run, should be used when setting research priorities for investments that have such a long pay-out period. Such shadow international prices call for even higher expenditures on IPR. The estimates of IPR are further increased when their impact on milk as well as beef production is considered. Equity concerns suggest the need for a special effort to develop pasture technologies for areas where small farms engage in joint milk-beef production.

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