Agricultural and Rural Development Notes
59 items available
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This series on commodity risk management aims to disseminate the results of World Bank research that describes the feasibility of developing countries’ ability to utilize market-based tools to mitigate risks associated with commodity price volatility and weather.
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Publication
Empowerment and Poverty Reduction through Infrastructure and Service Provision in Rural Pakistan
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010-01)Poverty in Pakistan is overwhelmingly rural. Some two-thirds of Pakistan's population, and over 60 percent of the country's poor, live in rural areas. In 2005, average per capita expenditures in rural areas were 31 percent lower than in urban areas. This inequality between urban and rural areas is re-enforced by inequality within and between rural areas. Owing to uneven access to land and useable water, most of the increased income that results from agricultural production accrues to higher income farmers-who typically spend a disproportionate amount of their income on urban goods and services. This inequality seriously limits the impacts of agricultural growth on rural poverty, and is a major cause of sustained poverty and low productivity among small farmers and rural nonfarm households. It also points to the importance of effectively targeting the poor in contexts in which resources intended for them are likely to be captured by more privileged groups. -
Publication
Bioenergy Development : Issues and Impacts for Poverty and Natural Resource Management
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-08)The last five to ten years have seen a strong resurgence of interest in bioenergy along with the gradual development of more modern and efficient bioenergy production systems. This has been driven by several factors including instability in oil producing regions, financial market shift of investments in 2007-2008 to commodities and oil, extreme weather events, and surging energy demand from developing countries. Bioenergy developments present both opportunities and challenges for socioeconomic development and the environment and have a number of potential impacts on forests and the rural poor who depend on forests for their livelihoods. In developing countries, the impact of bioenergy on poverty alleviation will depend on the opportunities that are presented for agricultural development, including income and employment generation and the potential to increase poor peoples' access to improved types of bioenergy. There are significant concerns surrounding the efficiency of different bioenergy options to combat climate change, the impact on agriculture, food security and sustainable forest management and the social impacts of bioenergy development, particularly related to land use changes, land tenure, and land rights. Food insecurity may result if staple crops are used for energy production or land conflicts and if production displaces local communities or restricts access to land. The environmental impacts of these developments are uncertain and will vary considerably from case to case. The development of bioenergy is likely to have significant impacts on the forest sector directly, through the use of wood for energy production, and indirectly, as a result of land use changes. It is expected that energy production from solid biomass will have both direct and indirect impacts on the sector, whereas liquid biofuels will mainly have indirect effects. -
Publication
Tracking Results in Agriculture and Rural Development in Less-Than-Ideal Conditions : A Sourcebook of Indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-03)The demand for verifiable evidence of results and impacts of development agricultural programs and projects is growing. However, most of the indicators that development practitioners have traditionally used in tracking progress toward achieving projects' objectives focus on the workings of the development operation itself. These performance indicators relate mainly to lower-level inputs and outputs and are used to populate management information systems. Higher-level indicators are used to measure progress in achieving the ultimate objectives of projects, and in bringing about larger outcomes and impacts. The ability to measure and demonstrate outcomes and impacts relies on the use of indicators that are based on reliable data and on the capacity to systematically collect and analyze that information. The conditions in which monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are carried out vary widely, depending on the demand for information, the extent to which it is used to inform decision-making, and the reliability of the systems that are in place to capture and convey that information. Throughout much of the developing world these conditions are "less-than-ideal," and information is irregular and often lacking altogether. In these conditions there is a lack of effective demand for information on the part of policy makers. The conditions are often especially pronounced for data related to rural areas, where the costs of data collection are high and the quality of existing data is particularly low. Building data systems and developing and supporting capacity for M&E in these conditions is, therefore, a pressing imperative for interventions in the agriculture and rural development sector. Strengthening capacity for M&E begins at the national and sub-national levels, where addressing the weaknesses of national statistical systems is a common priority. The data collected and reported within countries must not only be of sufficient quality to inform planning and policy formulation but must also be consistent between countries. -
Publication
Foreign Investment in Agricultural Production : Opportunities and Challenges
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-01)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 locality of the investment. To ensure that investments provide broad benefits and effectively contribute to larger development outcomes, enforceable property rights and contractual agreements in many developing countries need to be strengthened. This note considers how development partners can help countries create the pre-conditions for investment and proposes a governance framework to establish minimum standards for it. -
Publication
Financial Services for Developing Small-Scale Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)Food insecurity and income poverty are rampant in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-one percent of children under the age of five are malnourished and some 72 percent of the population lives on less than US$2 day. Forty-one percent lives on less than US$1 day. The impoverished and hungry are concentrated disproportionately in rural areas and rely mainly on the consumption and sale of agricultural produce for their food and income. Africa has experienced increasing dependency on food imports that its countries cannot afford. Yet an estimated 700,000 hectares of arable land in Africa remains uncultivated. It is land that could become productive through small-scale irrigation using basic technology to draw on small-water resources, such as tube wells, and dambos. The technologies can be applied to cultivate smallholder plots of up to five hectares. Employing them will enable up to 4 million low-income households to intensify agricultural production and increase productivity. Small-scale irrigation can increase agricultural productivity and production, thus contributing to economic growth in rural areas and increased well-being among small holder farmers. Its potential to increase and stabilize food supply is especially important in light of the ongoing food crisis, and especially in Africa. Expanding the use of small-scale irrigation requires farmers to have access to financial services. The many constraints and obstacles that rural financial institutions in Africa confront must be purposefully navigated if financial services are to fulfill this role. Effectively tailoring financial services and products to support irrigation in different settings and among different client groups will be essential to success. Carefully targeting grant funding to the very poorest subsistence farmers and clearly separating it from lending will be likewise be critical to the sustainability of these financial services. -
Publication
From Agriculture to Nutrition : Pathways, Synergies and Outcomes
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-07)This note discusses the direct pathways through which agricultural production can contribute to improved nutrition. It then reviews recent changes in the global environment which affect the ways in which agriculture and nutrition are linked. It concludes with a discussion of how nutrition-related objectives can be effectively incorporated into the design of agriculture programs for maximum impact on the poor. -
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Assessing the Investment Climate for Rural Enterprises
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-05)The 2008 World Development Report identifies competition as an important variable of the rural investment climate. Competition triggers innovation and the productivity gains that drive economic growth, and with it the creation of jobs. Employment is generally the principal pathway that people have out of poverty. Fostering such competitive environments entails inducing the entry of local, mainly small-and-medium enterprises as well as the development of agribusinesses that enable small farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors to participate in expanding markets. The barriers to entry confronting prospective small rural enterprises include all the risks and costs and market failures characteristic of many rural economies, in addition to poor access to financial and public services, weak business skills, and extremely limited or non-existent information about what demand consists of in the non-local markets they hope to sell to. Improving the opportunities and incentives for rural firms to invest productively, expand, and bring on new workers should be a policy priority for governments, particularly given the prominence of policy, regulations, and enforcement in rural investors' perception of risk. Providing a sound, enabling policy environment is a vital role of the government and public sector and includes setting food quality and safety grades and standards and reliable contract enforcement. Such stable policy environments go very far in relieving investors' uncertainty over what governments will do next, what policies will be formulated, and how policies and regulations will be interpreted and enforced. This is a pressing concern among investors. Making policy formulation and enforcement more predictable can dramatically encourage investment (World Bank 2005). -
Publication
China : Integrated Land Policy Reform in a Context of Rapid Urbanization
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-02)This report is about integrated land policy reform in context of rapid urbanization in China. Over the past thirty years, China has undergone a profound economic and social transformation as it moves towards a market-oriented economy. Land issues are implicated in this ongoing transformation in numerous ways. The allocation and security of land rights are key factors in China's quest for economic growth and social stability. Land use choices influence the shape and sustainability of China's rapidly growing cities, as well as the future prospects of its agriculture. Revenue generated from land plays a critical role in local government finances and affects the relationship between different levels of government. And increasingly, the growth and stability of the financial sector are linked to land-based transactions and financing arrangements. For the last four years, the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) and the World Bank have been working together to develop a deeper understanding of the role of land policy in China, and to identify options for moving forward on key land-related problems and opportunities. The spectacular growth of cities has been one of the most prominent features of China's recent history. From 1980 to 2005, the urban population grew from 19.4 percent to 43.0 percent. Urban growth has also been spatially dramatic, with the accelerating lateral expansion of cities resulting in the rapid conversion of agricultural land. The urban-rural interface defines an arena that is ideal for examining the complex interplay of all of China's most pressing land issues, including those of special relevance to the agricultural sector. -
Publication
Armenia : Title Registration Project
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-02)This approach resulted in the fragmentation of agricultural holdings, with families owning noncontiguous plots. Land use was inefficient, owing in part to the low rate of use of agricultural machinery. Making land use and farming more efficient will require the establishment of a functioning land market. Granting farmers the right to sell, exchange, and lease their land will enable them to use it as collateral and to consolidate family plots. The overall aim of the Armenia Title Registration Project was to promote private sector development by implementing a transparent, parcel-based, easily accessible, and reliable registration system for land and other immovable property. The system was to provide a chronological record of property owners and their rights and obligations. The availability of this information was expected to reduce the transaction costs of title transfers and mortgage financing and lead to more secure property rights for parcels registered in the system. This in turn was expected to lead to higher land and real estate value, increased productivity, and the consolidation of fragmented rural land ownership. Increased use of property as collateral was expected to bring about general improvement in the efficiency of rural and urban real estate markets. The project was also intended to promote least-cost registration procedures by building on existing property information databases (adding only market-relevant information to these databases), and by contracting private surveyors. -
Publication
Brazil Land - Brazil Land-Based Poverty Alleviation Project
( 2008-02)The Land-Based Poverty Alleviation Project of Brazil is addressing one of the major factors underlying poverty in the countryside: inadequate access to land by the rural poor. Preceded by two highly successful Bank-financed pilots, the project demonstrates the large-scale viability of a community-based approach to land reform. In the project beneficiary groups negotiate directly with willing sellers for the purchase of suitable properties. They obtain financing for the purchase of the land, support for complementary subproject, and technical assistance to establish themselves on or near the land and to improve the productivity of the acquired properties. The project is implemented by civil society through community associations. Participation is also open to local, state, and national civil society organizations, and to governmental organizations, including the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (CONTAG). Associations of poor rural laborers and subsistence farmers select, negotiate, and obtain financing to purchase agricultural properties from willing sellers. Project implementation by community associations has been successful overall. The design of the project places beneficiaries in the driver's seat, and the success of community associations in mobilizing members, selecting land for purchase, designing a productive subproject, and implementing it has been impressive.