Agricultural investments made by developing countries and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have declined in recent decades. This decline is associated with a slowdown in the growth of agriculture productivity. Most development institutions have recognized the damage caused by this past neglect, in part evident in rising food prices, and renewed attention to agriculture and agribusiness is emerging. But this renewed interest will need to deliver results, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the MDBs have had the least success but where the needs and opportunities are enormous.
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Showing items 1 through 9 of 15.-
Library ResourceReports & ResearchJanuary, 2011
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Library Resource
A Critical Review
Reports & ResearchPolicy Papers & BriefsMay, 2012South Africa, Southern Africa, AfricaThis paper provides an overview of land reform in South Africa from 1994 to 2011, with the focus on the land redistribution. The government policies and associated implementation since 1994 have not generated expected social and economic results for a number of reasons. Even where land has been transferred, it appears to have had minimal impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries, largely because of inappropriate project design, a lack of necessary support services and shortages of working capital, leading to widespread underutilization of land.
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Library ResourceAugust, 2012
The recent surge in food and fuel prices
has prompted countries with high dependence on food imports
to try and lock in future food supplies through direct
investment in agricultural production in other countries.
The price surges also led to a wave of proposals to invest
in biofuels investments in agricultural land. While such
investment can provide large benefits, it also carries
considerable risks both to investors and citizens in the -
Library ResourceJune, 2012Africa
The objective of this paper is to
determine the ability of farmers in Africa to detect climate
change, and to ascertain how they have adapted to whatever
climate change they believe has occurred. The paper also
asks farmers whether they perceive any barriers to
adaptation and attempts to determine the characteristics of
those farmers who, despite claiming to have witnessed
climate change, have not yet responded to it. The study is -
Library ResourceApril, 2013Bosnia and Herzegovina
The agricultural season in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BH) begins earlier than in most European
countries, shipping costs are relatively low, and land and
labor prices are more favorable than in other southern
European countries. As a result, the country's
agriculture sector should be well positioned to compete on
the export markets. With 20.6 percent of all employed in BH,
agriculture remains an important sector for employment, -
Library ResourceMarch, 2012Global
Interest in farmland is rising. And,
given commodity price volatility, growing human and
environmental pressures, and worries about food security,
this interest will increase, especially in the developing
world. One of the highest development priorities in the
world must be to improve smallholder agricultural
productivity, especially in Africa. Smallholder productivity
is essential for reducing poverty and hunger, and more and -
Library ResourceJune, 2014Latin America and the Caribbean
Yet the current situation differs from
2007-2008 in critical respects. First, recent international
price increases are more widespread across agricultural
commodities than in 2008, when price spikes were led by few
grains such as wheat and rice. Second, natural resources are
affecting food production: land and water constraints are
more binding than in the past and weather induced production
shortfalls are more of a factor now than it was 2008. -
Library ResourceJanuary, 2015
This paper uses farm panel data from
China to examine the dynamics of land transactions, machine
investments, and the demand for machine services. Recently,
China's agriculture has experienced a large expansion
of machine rentals and machine services provided by
specialized agents, which has contributed to mechanization
of agricultural production. The empirical results show that
an increase in nonagricultural wage rates leads to expansion -
Library ResourceMarch, 2012Malawi
This paper uses a rural household survey
dataset collected in 2006 and 2008 to investigate the impact
of a market-based land resettlement project in southern
Malawi. The program provided a conditional cash and land
transfer to poor families to relocate to larger plots of
farm land. The average treatment effect of the program is
estimated using a difference-in-difference matching
technique based on propensity score matching; qualitative -
Library ResourceMarch, 2012China
Agriculture has made major contributions
to China's economic growth and poverty reduction, but
the literature has rarely focused on the institutional
factors that might underpin such structural transformation
and productivity. This paper aims to fill that gap. Drawing
on an 8-year panel of 1,200 households in six key provinces,
it explores the impact of government land reallocations and
formal land-use certificates on agricultural productivity
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