The publication presents updated and new analyses of land, labor, and total productivity trends in African agriculture. It brings together analyses of a unique mix of data sources and evaluations of public policies and development projects to recommend ways to increase agricultural productivity in Africa.
Unless countries can manage to mobilize millions of land users to invest their scarce resources in protecting regenerating trees, the battle against land degradation cannot be won. These experiences from Niger show that hundreds of thousands of smallholder farm families have substantially increased tree cover on their farm land by investing in the management of on-farm trees. This has improved their production systems and their livelihoods. There is no reason to believe that similar success cannot be achieved in many more countries throughout African drylands and sub-humid area.
The adoption of FMNR increased by 50% over 20 years; about 90% of all farmers now encourage natural regeneration on the land that they manage. The key to success is having local institutions that are respected and effective. The experience in Bankass shows that reforestation rates of at least 250 trees per hectare can be achieved by farmer managed natural regeneration on Sahelian agricultural lands, recreating an agroforestry parkland at a fraction of the cost of establishing conventional plantations.
Being one of the oldest civilisations in the world, Ethiopia has an agricultural tradition that is over 2,500 years old. However the land has brought into cultivation at different times in history. Generally the Northern part of the country has experienced intensive agriculture for a long time, whereas the southwestern highlands, which show relatively less soil degradation were brought into agriculture in the last couple of centuries.
Investment in land administration projects is often considered key for agricultural productivity and rural development in developing countries. But the evidence on such interventions is remarkably mixed. This paper reviews the literature and discusses a number of challenges related to the analysis of the impacts of land administration programs, focusing on developing countries where the starting position is one of land administration systems based on the Napoleonic code, with existing individual rights that may be imperfect and insecure.
This paper updates an analysis of returns from major productive land uses in New Zealand carried out in 2008. Trends in profitability over time are shown, and a preliminary investigation of the relationship between land-use change towards forestry (new land planting) and forestry profitability is described.
agricultural productivity, total factor productivity (TFP), land productivity, labor productivity, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,
Land is a natural resource that is valued for many reasons. Farmers utilize land to earn their livelihood and as a store of wealth for future retirement. Rural residents have increasingly sought open space for home sites and pursuit of a lifestyle. Developers seek financial opportunities to invest in and develop land for non-farm uses. For some, land is viewed as an investment and a hedge against inflation. This myriad of demands for land combined with its fixed supply continually alters its market price.
Two-thirds of rural Ghanaians are farmers, and farming is almost the only income source for Ghana’s forest-fringe communities. Some farmers adopt some agricultural practices to augment their operations while others do not. We examined the factors that influence farmers’ adoption and intensity of adoption of agricultural practices, namely, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, improved seeds, animal manure, and crop rotation.
Smallholder farmers are an important piece in the country’s agriculture puzzle and attainment of food security.
With the globe facing looming food security issues, the smallholder farmers are and have always been stakeholders not be left behind.
Yes, we cannot talk food security without inputs from the small scale farmers. They need to be incorporated in every step, as the country takes baby steps initiatives towards being self sufficient.
Land degradation, particularly soil erosion, is currently a major challenge for Nepal. With a high rate of population growth, subsistence-based rural economy, and increasingly intense rainfall events in the monsoon season, Nepal is prone to several forms of land degradation, such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion.
As per the provisions of rule 10 of the rules of procedures of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties (COP), the second intersessional meeting of the Bureau of the thirteenth session of the COP (COP 13) held in Guiyang, China, on 26 February 2019, endorsed the inclusion of a new agenda item on land tenure, under new and emerging issues, for consideration at COP 14. The Bureau further requested the secretariat to submit a background document in that respect.