Other Agriculture Study

313 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2199

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Grow Solar, Save Water, Double Farmer Income: An Innovative Approach to Addressing Water-Energy-Agriculture Nexus in Rajasthan

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01) Gulati, Mohinder P. ; Priya, Satya ; Bresnyan, Edward W.

The key objective of this study is to explore practical, politically feasible, scalable, and sustainable approaches to address the challenge of adverse water-energy-agriculture nexus in Rajasthan. Advancements in solar and communication technologies have opened new possibilities to take a fresh look at the nexus and realign the incentives and interests of the farmers, power utilities, the government, and other stakeholders to create win-win opportunities. This study presents alternatives that have the potential to achieve the trifecta of increased irrigation energy efficiency, water conservation, and doubling farmer income. The study is in five chapters. Chapter one lays out the objectives of the study. Chapter two presents the sectoral and nexus context and an approach to review sectoral policies in a nexus framework. Chapter three presents alternatives for addressing the challenges posed by adverse nexus, and potential business models. Chapter four examines the comparative advantages and disadvantages of three institutional models for implementation. Chapter five presents the study’s conclusions and recommendations.
India - Unlocking Agribusiness for Inclusive Growth, Jobs, and More: Policy and Investment Priorities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-07-01) World Bank Group

Major changes are occurring in the Indian economy that should inform public policy and investments in the food sector. The main drivers of changes occurring in the Indian economy include rising per capita incomes and urbanization. These patterns have led to increased demand for food and food services, including postharvest management activities, food retailing, and restaurants. Aggregate demand for food has increased, and consumption patterns are shifting toward fresh fruits and vegetables, processed foods, and ready-to-eat foods and meals. To meet the emerging demand, farmers need to respond by not only diversifying production toward foods with increasing demand but also with postharvest management. The objective of this report is to identify policy and investment priorities in agribusiness to stimulate inclusive growth and jobs. The study ultimately seeks to inform strategic dialogue between the government of India and the World Bank Group toward investments in postharvest management and other segments of agribusiness. The report provides building blocks to identify priorities for policy and investment. After a brief introduction (chapter 1), chapter 2 presents a framework to understand the role of agribusiness in development. Chapter 3 provides estimates of productivity and capital investment gaps in various subsectors of agribusiness and simulates the effects of bridging those gaps on macroeconomic indicators, sectoral growth, and jobs. Chapter 4 provides lessons on using agribusiness to improve nutrition. Chapter 5 provides lessons on promoting cold chain development. Chapter 6 provides lessons on promoting agroprocessing. Chapter 7 provides lessons on promoting inclusive value chains for modern food retailing. Finally, chapter 8 provides policy and investment priorities in agribusiness based on the main findings of the report.
Improved Nutrition through Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services: Case Studies of Curriculum Review and Operational Lessons from India

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02) Babu, Suresh Chandra ; Singh, Meera ; Hymavathi, T. V. ; Rani, K. Uma ; Kavitha, G. G. ; Karthik, Shree

Even after several decades of green revolution, malnutrition continues to be a major development challenge in much of South Asia, and India has a major share of the malnourished people in the region. For nutrition goals to be integrated into extension the curricula provided to current and future agricultural extension agents must be revisited. As part of the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI), this paper focuses on approaches to incorporating such nutrition content into the agricultural extension curriculum. Three state agricultural universities in Tamil Nadu, united Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar were used as case studies for the curriculum review. Through these case studies, face-to-face consultations at the national level down to program implementation at the village level have been developed. These include consultative workshops, and a conceptual framework and strategy for incorporating nutrition into extension curriculum development to improve nutrition outcomes. This strategy, detailed in this report, includes opportunities for collaboration from the national level to the community level. Specific lessons and follow-up actions are outlined that may be useful for other South Asian countries. The paper is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two reviews current literature on agriculture-nutrition linkages to develop a conceptual framework for integrating nutrition into agricultural extension programs. Research methods and approaches are given in chapter three. Results and discussions are given in chapter four. Lessons from the case studies are presented in chapter five, and chapter six consists of concluding remarks.
Republic of India : Accelerating Agricultural Productivity Growth

(Washington, DC, 2014-05-21) World Bank

In the past 50 years, Indian agriculture has undergone a major transformation, from dependence on food aid to becoming a consistent net food exporter. The gradual reforms in the agricultural sector (following the broader macro-reforms of the early 1990s) spurred some unprecedented innovations and changes in the food sector driven by private investment. These impressive achievements must now be viewed in light of the policy and investment imperatives that lie ahead. Agricultural growth has improved in recent years (averaging about 3.5 percent since 2004-05), but at a long-term trend rate of growth of 3 percent, agriculture has underperformed relative to its potential. The pockets of post-reform dynamism that have emerged evidently have not reached a sufficiently large scale to influence the sector's performance. For the vast population that still derives a living directly or indirectly from agriculture, achieving "faster, more inclusive, and sustainable growth', the objectives at the heart of the Twelfth five year plan, depends critically on simultaneous efforts to improve agriculture's performance and develop new sources of employment for the disproportionately large share of the labor force still on the farm. The scope of this study is broad in the sense that it marshals considerable empirical evidence and analyses to address those issues. Yet the scope is restricted in the sense that the study does not address all of the issues. A wealth of knowledge exists (and continuing analytical work proceeds) on other major strategic issues, water and irrigation management, food grain management, and public expenditures on agriculture, for example, and the findings of this study must be seen in that context. The lack of sufficient quality data, and often the lack of access to such data, also prevents some issues from being explored in greater depth. Finally, some important issues require more focused and dedicated analysis, such as food safety and quality standards, agricultural trade, and food price increases. This relationship between longer-term strategic issues and contemporary concerns, such as water resource management and food prices, are highlighted in this study through the prism of productivity, but they too require further analysis to fully address the underlying issues.
Republic of India : Accelerating Agricultural Productivity Growth

(Washington, DC, 2014-05-21) World Bank Group

In the past 50 years, Indian agriculture has undergone a major transformation, from dependence on food aid to becoming a consistent net food exporter. The gradual reforms in the agricultural sector (following the broader macro-reforms of the early 1990s) spurred some unprecedented innovations and changes in the food sector driven by private investment. These impressive achievements must now be viewed in light of the policy and investment imperatives that lie ahead. Agricultural growth has improved in recent years (averaging about 3.5 percent since 2004-05), but at a long-term trend rate of growth of 3 percent, agriculture has underperformed relative to its potential. The pockets of post-reform dynamism that have emerged evidently have not reached a sufficiently large scale to influence the sector's performance. For the vast population that still derives a living directly or indirectly from agriculture, achieving "faster, more inclusive, and sustainable growth', the objectives at the heart of the Twelfth five year plan, depends critically on simultaneous efforts to improve agriculture's performance and develop new sources of employment for the disproportionately large share of the labor force still on the farm. The scope of this study is broad in the sense that it marshals considerable empirical evidence and analyses to address those issues. Yet the scope is restricted in the sense that the study does not address all of the issues. A wealth of knowledge exists (and continuing analytical work proceeds) on other major strategic issues, water and irrigation management, food grain management, and public expenditures on agriculture, for example, and the findings of this study must be seen in that context. The lack of sufficient quality data, and often the lack of access to such data, also prevents some issues from being explored in greater depth. Finally, some important issues require more focused and dedicated analysis, such as food safety and quality standards, agricultural trade, and food price increases. This relationship between longer-term strategic issues and contemporary concerns, such as water resource management and food prices, are highlighted in this study through the prism of productivity, but they too require further analysis to fully address the underlying issues.
India - Crop Insurance Non-Lending Technical Assistance : Summary of Policy Suggestions

(World Bank, 2011-04-01) World Bank

At the request of Government of India (GOI), the World Bank has provided technical assistance to the public insurance company, Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AICI) to develop an actuarially sound rating methodology and improve the contract design of the area-yield based National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) to reduce delays in claim settlement; to design and ratemaking of new weather index insurance products under the weather based crop insurance scheme; and to perform a risk assessment of AICI's insurance portfolio and to suggest cost-effective risk financing solutions (including reinsurance). Crop insurance can contribute to increasing access to rural finance and is required to ensure a more viable agriculture credit business. An improved crop insurance program supports and complements other critical agriculture sector related measures, including the reform of rural credit cooperatives, agriculture marketing reforms and efforts to improve agriculture extension and productivity. A better understanding of risks entailed in particular crops in particular areas which can be ascertained through assessing the actuarially sound insurance premium rates for the crop can also be a significant input to agriculture policy at sub-national and national levels. Similarly, crop insurance is vital for creditors, such as banks and rural cooperatives, which otherwise face significant risks in agriculture lending that are otherwise difficult to price given political economy factors and the underlying fragile economics of agriculture. The inherent risks in agriculture in India with its high degree of dependence on rain-fed cultivation, a well developed and widely used agriculture insurance program is critical from a farmer perspective. Without this, farmers run the risk of crop failures, which in turn, lead to inability to service their debts. Since crop cycles often follow seamlessly from one season to the next, delinquency on account of one crop could mean being ruled out of the formal banking system for the next crop cycle.
Enhancing Crop Insurance in India

(World Bank, 2011-04-01) World Bank

The broad structure of Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (mNAIS), the main crop insurance program in India, is technically sound and appropriate in the context of India. The NAIS is based on an indexed approach, where average crop yield of an insurance unit, or IU, (i.e., block) is the index used. The insurance is mandatory for all farmers that borrow from financial institutions, though insurance cover is also available to non-borrowers. The actual yield of the insured crop (as measured by crop cutting experiments) in the IU is compared to the threshold yield. If the former is lower than the latter, all insured farmers in the IU are eligible for the same rate of indemnity payout. Individual crop insurance will have been prohibitively expensive, or even impossible, in a country such as India with so many small and marginal farms. Further, the method of using an 'area based approach' has several other merits and, most importantly, it mitigates moral hazard and adverse selection. This report offers detailed analysis of a number of technical and operational issues which should be addressed if mNAIS is to be implemented. GOI is to be complemented on its bold vision of the future of agriculture insurance through modifying NAIS, an action which, if well implemented, has the potential for significant economic and political economy gains. The policy note World Bank (2010) supported this vision and offered specific policy recommendations for mNAIS, with reference to the Joint Group report (2004). This technical report is intended as a complement to World Bank (2010) and also to the previous technical report World Bank (2007a), by offering detailed technical analysis of a number of issues that will be critical to the success of mNAIS.
India Marine Fisheries : Issues, Opportunities and Transitions for Sustainable Development

(World Bank, 2010-08-01) World Bank

This study represents a collaborative initiative by the World Bank and the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, to review the marine fisheries sub-sector, within a broader sector that also includes aquaculture and inland fisheries. The policy note provides a major step forward in understanding current issues and future opportunities facing the marine fisheries sub-sector. The marine fishing sub-sector accounts for approximately one percent of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but forms an important component of the rural coastal economy, generating income, employment, livelihoods, and food security for an estimated 3.52 million people along the 8,118 km Indian coastline, who depend on fishing for their livelihoods. The study represents an initial analytical review of the Indian marine sub-sector with special emphasis on inshore waters, which faces the greatest challenges for management and sustainable development. The main objectives of the study were to: a) appraise the general structure, conduct and performance of the marine fisheries sub-sector in India with particular focus on the role that marine fishery plays in rural livelihoods for coastal communities; b) identify the main constraints in the marine sub-sector that are impacting on biological sustainability and economically healthy fisheries; c) draw on national and international experience to recommend alternative policy approaches and strategies to address these issues; and d) inform the Government of India during subsequent consultations with key stakeholders about long-term transformations towards better sub-sector performance.
Food Price Increases in South Asia : National Responses and Regional Dimensions

(World Bank, 2010-06-01) World Bank

Food price inflation not only threatens macroeconomic stability but also decreases the welfare levels of most households, especially the poorer ones, for whom food consumption constitutes a relatively large share of total expenditures. This report analyzes the causes and effects of food price inflation in South Asia during the period 2007?08 and beyond; simulates the impact of food price increases on household welfare and the potential of adjustments in consumer and producer behavior for mitigating the negative impact on welfare; and assesses the potential impact of regional trade liberalization on food prices. The appendixes describe the policy reactions of individual governments to the increases in food prices against the background of their respective domestic food policies. The focus is on wheat and rice, which are the main food staples in South Asia and together account for an important part of food expenditures of the poor. By analyzing the household?level impacts of the food crisis and taking stock of the policy responses of national governments, including their regional dimensions, the report allows lessons to be drawn regarding the policies that South Asian governments may want to follow to enable them to react appropriately in case another food crisis unfolds, while at the same time helping to prevent such a crisis from occurring.
India : Power Supply to Agriculture, Volume 3. Andhra Pradesh Case Study

(Washington, DC, 2001-06-15) World Bank

After almost a decade of high-level effort to bring the charges (tariffs) that farmers pay for electricity more nearly into line with the costs of supply, India has barely made a dent in the longstanding and increasingly uneconomical practice of subsidizing power to agricultural consumers for irrigation. Progress has been slowed by the understandable but misplaced concern that higher tariffs would harm farmers--and that the injured parties would take political revenge on the reformers. This study seeks to dispel that anxiety. It is the result of a joint effort by the Bank and the states of Haryana and Adhra Pradesh , both of which have begun raising the price of electriicity to agriculture. Its central contribution to policy discussion is the detail in which it documents the costs--ususally neither acknowledged nor clearly defined--to farmers in those states of subsidies that actually harm agricultural operations more than they help as well as the benefits that the farmers would get from improved quality of electricity services. The costs--in power outages, damaged pumping equipment, irrigation foregone because of power losses, distorted investment patterns, among others--exact a heavy toll from ordinary farmers. In the form of deficits, the subsidies also sap state budgets of funds that could otherwise be invested in rural infrastructure, extension services, and advanced agricultural technology. As unrecovered costs, they starve suppliers of funds for maintenance and improved service. On the other side of the coin lie the benefits that reliable flows of power and good quality of other electricity services could deliver to rural India.