Using a combination of an ordered logit and Heckman selection models and a case study from an out-scaling program for a barley technology package in Ethiopia, this study provided evidence that a newly introduced farmer-to-farmer extension approach offers a viable option for tackling this development challenge. Model results showed that unlike the conventional approach, the new extension approach was effective in creating better access to seeds of the improved varieties and positively influencing farmers’ perceptions, ultimately leading to favorable adoption decisions.
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals.
Structural transformation of agriculture typically involves a gradual increase of mean farm sizes and a reallocation of labor from agriculture to other sectors. Such structural transformation is often fostered through innovations in agriculture and newly emerging opportunities in manufacturing and services. Here, we use panel data from farm households in Indonesia to test and support the hypothesis that the recent oil palm boom contributes to structural transformation. Oil palm is capital-intensive but requires much less labor per hectare than traditional crops.
We analyse the impact of intensity of tillage on wheat productivity and risk exposure using panel household-plot level data from Ethiopia. In order to control for selection bias, we estimate a flexible moment-based production function using an endogenous switching regression treatment effects model. We find that tillage has a complementary impact on productivity and risk exposure. As the intensity of tillage increases, productivity increases and farmers’ exposure to risk declines. Our results suggest that smallholder farmers use tillage as an ex-ante risk management strategy.
La sécurité alimentaire de l’Algérie est en grande partie dépendante de deux facteurs fortement impactés par la pandémie de la covid-19 : les finances publiques et le marché mondial des produits alimentaires. Le poids des importations dans la satisfaction des besoins alimentaires du pays témoigne de cette sensibilité aux perturbations du fonctionnement de ce marché mondial.
Les processus naturels et de l’action anthropique ont des conséquences sur la baisse de la productivité des terres agricoles. C’est ainsi que les agriculteurs dans les localités qui sont affectées, mettent en œuvre diverses technologies de gestion des terres en vue d’améliorer la productivité. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer l’effet des composantes de la technologie ‘Microdose’ sur la performance économique et financière des exploitations agricoles dans les localités de Kouritenga et Zondoma au Burkina Faso.
The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice draws on four decades of documented experience provided by both bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as academic specialists, to help policy makers and practitioners think through effective approaches to capacity development and what challenges remain in the drive to boost country capacity. The analysis is underpinned by a conceptual framework which guides practitioners to view capacity development at three interrelated levels: individual, organisational and enabling environment levels.
The Sourcebook is the outcome of joint planning, continued interest in gender and agriculture, and concerted efforts by the World Bank, FAO, and IFAD. The purpose of the Sourcebook is to act as a guide for practitioners and technical staff inaddressing gender issues and integrating gender-responsive actions in the design and implementation of agricultural projects and programs. It speaks not with gender specialists on how to improve their skills but rather reaches out to technical experts to guide them in thinking through how to integrate gender dimensions into their operations.
This paper comparatively analyzes the structure of agricultural policy development networks that connect organizations working on agricultural development, climate change and food security in fourteen smallholder farming communities across East Africa, West Africa and South Asia.
In the context of an exponential rise in access to information in the last two decades, this special issue explores when and how information might be harnessed to improve governance and public service delivery in rural areas. Information is a critical component of government and citizens’ decision-making; therefore, improvements in its availability and reliability stand to benefit many dimensions of governance, including service delivery.