Agriculture - IFs

Note: The documentation of IFs is 'under review' and is not yet 'published'!

Model Documentation - IFs
Model scope and methods - IFs Model concept, solver and details - IFs Temporal dimension - IFs Spatial dimension - IFs Policy - IFs Socio-economic drivers - IFs Population - IFs Economic activity - IFs Macro-economy - IFs Energy - IFs Energy resource endowments - IFs Fossil energy resources - IFs Uranium and other fissile resources - IFs Bioenergy - IFs Non-biomass renewables - IFs Energy conversion - IFs Electricity - IFs Heat - IFs Gaseous fuels - IFs Liquid fuels - IFs Solid fuels - IFs Grid, pipelines and other infrastructure - IFs Energy end-use - IFs Transport - IFs Residential and commercial sectors - IFs Industrial sector - IFs Other end-use - IFs Energy demand - IFs Technological change in energy - IFs Land-use - IFs Agriculture - IFs Emissions - IFs GHGs - IFs Pollutants and non-GHG forcing agents - IFs Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) options - IFs Climate - IFs Non-climate sustainability dimension - IFs Water - IFs Other materials - IFs References - IFs
Corresponding documentation
AIM-Hub BLUES C3IAM COFFEE-TEA DNE21+ GCAM GRACE IFs IMAGE PROMETHEUS REMIND-MAgPIE WITCH
Previous versions
Archive of IFs version 7.36
Model information
Model link	https://pardee.du.edu/access-ifs
Institution	Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, University of Denver (Pardee Center), Colorado, USA, https://pardee.du.edu/.
Solution concept
Solution method	Dynamic recursive with annual time steps through 2100.
Anticipation	Myopic

The agriculture/food model represents crops, meat, and fish production, consumption, and trade in the aggregate, Agricultural production is a function of the availability of resources, e.g. land, livestock, capital, and labor, as well as climate factors and technology. Crop yield is a function of technology, capital, and labor. It is differentiated between irrigated and non-irrigated land. It is posited to have upper limits and to be responsive to stocks/inventories.

The model also accounts for lost production (such as spoilage in the fields or in the first stages of the food supply chain), distribution and transformation losses, and consumption losses, which are responsive to average income. Income levels are the primary drivers of caloric demand, which then determines food demand taking into account country-specific differences than can reflect income and cultural differences. The model distinguishes crop demand for food, animal feed, and industrial usage. Stocks or inventories (or relative prices in different model versions) provide feedback to supply and demand sides of the model.

Stocks and stock changes also play a role in driving the model’s demand for agricultural investment. The actual levels of investment are finalized in the economic model of IFs and subject to constraints there. The investment can be of two types – investment for expanding and maintaining cropland (extensification) and investment for increasing crop yields per unit area (intensification). The expected relative rates of return determine the split.

The final key dynamics addressed in the agriculture model relate to land, livestock, and water. The latter of these is very straightforward, driven only by crop production. Changes in livestock herd size are influenced by changes in the demand for meat, but also by changes in available grazing land, and the ability of countries to import.