The need for countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa to build more productive, modern, and market-oriented
farming sectors is one of our most pressing development
challenges. In coming years, African agriculture will have
to increase food production and expand and intensify value
chains in order to meet changing demand on the part of a
rapidly expanding and urbanizing consumer base. The process
of doing this will enable African countries to begin pushing

Why produce a policy note on
horticulture in Uzbekistan? There are several answers to
this existential question, although they are not necessarily
obvious ones. Agriculture, taken as a whole, constitutes a
small and declining share of Uzbekistan s national income,
and horticulture is a small share of agricultural income.
Even so, it is an important source of income for the 4.7
million households that operate dehkan farms in rural and

African governments and international
development groups see boosting productivity on smallholder
farms as key to reducing rural poverty and safeguarding the
food security of farming and non-farming households.
Prompting smallholder farmers to use more fertilizer has
been a key tactic. Closing the productivity gap between male
and female farmers has been another avenue toward achieving
the same goal. The results in this paper suggest the two are

This Botswana Agriculture Public
Expenditure Review (AgPER) is one of a series of similar
studies undertaken in over a dozen countries in sub-Saharan
Africa under the framework of a program coordinated by
CAADP, supported by the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and
the CAADP Multi-Donor Trust Fund, and implemented by the
World Bank. The AgPER presents data about actual expenditure
for the period 2000 to 2013, with an outlook on the

Mongolia’s ongoing economic transition generates levels of uncertainty that often inhibit investments in
productivity and marketing improvements on the part of producers and processors. This study was undertaken to identify gaps in policies, laws, regulations, and practices from production
to the consumer end point, and to stimulate discussions about how to leverage the agriculture sector’s
potential contributions to national development objectives.

Inorganic fertilizer use across
Sub-Saharan Africa is generally considered to be low. Yet,
this belief is predicated on the assumption that it is
profitable to use rates higher than currently observed.
However, there is little rigorous empirical evidence to
support this notion. Using a nationally representative panel
data set, and with due recognition of the role of risk and
uncertainty, this paper empirically estimates the

Economic growth, job creation, and
development are central to the decade of transformation
(2015-25) and long-term security for the people of
Afghanistan. The Bank and the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) recognize that agriculture
and rural development are a key to inclusive growth, and
hence need renewed vigor and strategic long-term
investments. Further, the Bank and the GoIRA acknowledge

The overall goal of this report is to
assist the World Bank Group (WBG) to achieve greater impact
for women from its current activities in agribusiness in
Papua New Guinea (PNG), and to provide clear recommendations
on additional interventions aimed at improving outcomes for
women. The report focuses on the supply chains for coffee,
cocoa, and horticultural products (fresh produce), as there
is a wealth of knowledge on these supply chains and on

In countries such as Azerbaijan, the
risks of climate change for the agricultural sector are a
particularly immediate and important problem because the
majority of the rural population depends either directly or
indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. The need to
adapt to climate change in all sectors is now on the agenda
of the countries and development partners. International
efforts to limit greenhouse gases and to mitigate climate

According to global spatial data sets in
2000 more than one-third of the rural population in
developing countries was located on less favored
agricultural land and areas. Less favored agricultural lands
are susceptible to low productivity and degradation, because
their agricultural potential is constrained biophysically by
terrain, poor soil quality, or limited rainfall. Less
favored agricultural areas include less favored agricultural

Tanzania is largely an agriculture-based
economy. This sector accounts for over three-quarters of
national employment, and approximately 25 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP). The national agricultural input
voucher scheme (NAIVS) is a market smart input subsidy
program designed in response to the sharp rise in global
grain and fertilizer prices in 2007 and 2008. The main aim
of the program is to raise maize and rice production, and

The World Bank Group (WBG) has a long
experience in engaging in biodiversity with world-class
expertise in the field. It has been the single largest
funder of biodiversity investments since the late 1980s. The
WBG investments have largely been of two kinds: (1)
investments in biodiversity, aimed at the conservation and
sustainable use of species, habitats, and ecosystems that
sustain healthy ecosystems, while enhancing people's