The latest turmoil of production and price volatility in the global food sector has put agriculture back to the top of the development agenda. Population growth, changing consumer preferences, bioenergy demand and climate change are some of the huge challenges for agricultural production today and in the future. In the last decades, productivity has been constantly improved through the introduction of improved crop varieties and the greater use of mechanization, irrigation, chemical fertilizer and pesticides.
Classical innovation adoption models implicitly assume homogenous information flow across farmers, which is often not realistic. As a result, selection bias in adoption parameters may occur. We focus on tissue culture (TC) banana technology that was introduced in Kenya more than 10 years ago. Up till now, adoption rates have remained relatively low.
While several studies have shown that genetically modified Bt cotton can benefit smallholder farmers economically, the sustainability of these effects is still unclear and debated controversially between biotechnology proponents and critics. We use unique panel data of 533 cotton farmers, collected in India between 2002 and 2008, to analyze Bt impacts on cotton yield, profit, and household living standards. Results from fixed effects models show that the adoption of Bt cotton is associated with a net yield gain of 24% and a profit increase of 50%.
This report is organized into nine chapters. Chapter one provides the introduction to the report. Chapter two presents alternative approaches to agribusiness development and chapter three discusses the role of agribusiness incubators. Chapter four discusses the challenges of agribusiness incubators and chapter five presents a typology of agribusiness incubators. Chapter six elaborates on the evolution of incubators over time. Chapter seven presents the analysis of impact and cost-benefits. Chapter eight summarizes good practices and lessons learned.
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the challenges and the practical successes that a selected number of countries are experiencing in moving towards 'climate-smart' agriculture while also meeting the food requirements of a growing population, broader economic development and green growth objectives. It complements papers prepared in 2010 on technologies and policy instruments, research, and farmers' perspectives.
Improved irrigation water pricing sufficient to cover Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and management costs for end-canal irrigation or tertiary facilities is a vital requirement for efficient irrigation service delivery and for sustainability of Water User Associations (WUAs). This study investigates the key aspects of end canal water pricing for irrigation, including the composition of the water fee, water price determination, water fee collection, and water fee management.
El papel de la migración en la reestructuración de los sistemas de innovación y tecnologías avanzadas en países destino u origen ha dado lugar a diferentes debates, porque siempre hay dos lados de la moneda; en este caso, norte y sur.
China is at a critical stage of transformation from traditional to modern agriculture and its agriculture and rural economic sector faces severe challenges of shortage of natural resources, environmental degradation, agricultural disasters, sluggish income growth of farmers and widening disparity between urban and rural areas. The fundamental solution to these problems lies with the advancement of agricultural science and technology.
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals.
This report, drawing on a rapid desk-based review, seeks to outline the potential role of Afican Advisory Services (AAS) in addressing climate change and explores how far AAS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are able to respond to climatic and other pressures. Recommendations are outlined, indicating how AFAAS can help AAS to understand climate change better and become more ‘adaptive’ in their responses