Other Agriculture Study

313 items available

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

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Increasing Agricultural Production and Resilience Through Improved Agrometeorological Services

(Washington, DC, 2015-03) World Bank

This study was undertaken in support of the World Bank project, Agroweather Tools for Adapting to Climate Change. The overall goal of this pilot project is to establish community-based agro-weather risk management tools. These tools are to be supported by a flow of weather and climate information via information and communication technology (ICT) delivery systems. While some advice is provided on how farmers can use meteorological and climatological information in their operations, this is not the main thrust of the report. It focuses instead on the generation and provision of such information in a timely manner and in formats that inform decision making by farmers and by ministerial staff .
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Agricultural Sector Review: Revitalizing Agriculture for Economic Growth, Job Creation and Food Security

(Washington, DC, 2014-06) World Bank

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 that increases in agricultural productivity and market access for smallholders are critical for rural development, job creation, and food security in Afghanistan. Sections two and three of this report describe the agricultural sector and its current and potential roles in the Afghan economy, and present the rationale for choosing certain areas and subsectors for a selective 'first mover' strategy to achieve early gains. Section four outlines the constraints and potential in each of the three value chains proposed for the selective strategy, irrigated wheat, intensive livestock production, and horticulture. Section five describes cross-cutting constraints and how best to address them, and Section six proposes measures to help the rural poor who will not benefit much from the first-mover strategy. Section seven summarizes the recommendations of the review and their expected results for jobs and incomes.
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.
Business and Livelihoods in African Livestock : Investments to Overcome Information Gaps

(Washington, DC, 2014-02) World Bank

This paper investigates how the development of the livestock sector can contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in the continent, with the ultimate objective of identifying major information gaps critical to designing and implementing successful livestock sector policies and investments. As a first step, the paper presents an analysis of African consumption of animal-source foods. This is rapidly growing and is forecast to continue doing so. It therefore provides opportunities for demand-led growth. This focus is distinct from the more traditional, production-oriented entry point. To understand opportunities for poverty reduction, this paper reviews both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of African markets for livestock products, in this case animal-source foods. Second, rather than exploring production and productivity constraints, which are known to a large extent, the paper focuses on the incentives that rural households have to invest in their livestock to overcome those constraints. Indeed, farmers often fail to adopt readily available technologies. To analyze incentives, the paper reviews two intertwined dimensions of households' livestock activities, namely herd and flock size and livestock-derived income. The paper concludes by identifying investment priorities for improving the quantity and quality of livestock information so that decision makers will be better able to formulate and implement investments in the livestock sector that effectively contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.
Investing in the Livestock Sector : Why Good Numbers Matter, A Sourcebook for Decision Makers on How to Improve Livestock Data

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014) Pica-Ciamarra, Ugo ; Baker, Derek ; Morgan, Nancy ; Zezza, Alberto ; Azzarri, Carlo ; Ly, Cheikh ; Nsiima, Longin ; Nouala, Simplice ; Okello, Patrick ; Sserugga, Joseph

This sourcebook summarizes the outputs and lessons of the Livestock in Africa: improving data for better policies project. It aims to present the challenges facing professionals collecting and analyzing livestock data and statistics and possible solutions. While the Sourcebook does not address all conceivable issues related to enhancing livestock data and underlining statistical issues, it does represent a unique document for a number of reasons. To begin with, it is possibly the first document which specifically addresses the broad complexity of livestock data collection, taking into consideration the unique characteristics of the sector. Indeed, in most cases livestock data are dealt with, if ever, within the context of major agricultural initiatives. Second, the sourcebook is a joint product of users and suppliers of livestock data, with its overarching objective being to respond to the information needs of data users, and primarily the Ministries responsible for livestock in African countries and the National Statistical Authorities. Finally, the sourcebook represents a unique experiment of inter-institutional collaboration, which jointly places the World Bank, the FAO Animal Production and Health Division, the ILRI and the Africa Union, Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources as well as national governments in Niger, Tanzania and Uganda at the forefront of data and statistical innovation for evidence-based livestock sector policies and investments. This sourcebook represents a first step towards a demand-driven and sustainable approach to enhance the livestock information available to decision makers. It is hoped it will provide a useable framework for significantly improving the quantity and quality of livestock data and statistics available to the public and private sector, and also increase the efficacy of investments that country governments and the international community allocate to generate information for livestock sector policies and investments.
Agribusiness Indicators: Nigeria

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014) World Bank Group

The purpose of this Agriculture Business Indicators Study was to isolate the success factors and construct indicators that reflect the performance of the agriculture sector in Nigeria and that benchmark it in terms directly comparable to agriculture sectors in other developing countries. Providing policy makers and public officials with access to this type of empirical information is seen as way to stimulate and inform policy dialogue about what reforms are needed and about how scarce public resources can be most effectively invested. The indicators can be used to identify specifically where this investment can be used to leverage commercialization through value addition, increasing the competitiveness of a country’s agricultural products domestically, regionally, and in international markets. They can also inform decision makers and investors about which policy measures are likely to be the most effective in enhancing food security, reducing poverty, and encouraging sustainable forms of environmental management. To accelerate agricultural development capable of spurring competitiveness of agricultural products in the domestic, regional, and international markets and could enhance food security; poverty reduction and sustainable environmental management. The study entailed a review of existing literature and the use of informal surveys to obtain information from a variety of stakeholders and actors. The focus was on the key success factors that the Agribusiness Indicators (ABI) team determined to be the most critical factors influencing agribusiness development in Sub-Saharan African countries. The Nigeria study was informed by the outcomes of scoping missions which had been conducted in three initial pilot countries: Ghana, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of : Analysis of the Agricultural Support Programs

(Washington, DC, 2013-10) World Bank

The report is structured to allow readers familiar with Macedonia s agriculture sector to quickly grasp the essentials needed to improve the sector, as well as to inform a general audience on how to address the challenges of a modern European Union (EU)-aspiring state. Chapter two provides an in-depth analysis of the sectoral background, illustrating the main characteristics and challenges of Macedonia s agriculture sector. The illustration takes an integrated approach to the sector, covering a vast range of inter-related topics including the prominence of the sector not only in terms of its economic and social contribution but also its implications for trade, the urban-rural poverty gap and shared prosperity, farm structure, climate adaptation, and capacity building. Chapter three draws on lessons from the European Union (EU) and provides a framework to analyze Macedonia s agricultural support programs. Further, the chapter provides a primer on the EU s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its measures to support agriculture. Chapter four presents concise empirical evidence of the coverage and institutional capacity of the agricultural programs in Macedonia under both pillar one and pillar two measures. Chapter five then builds on the primary diagnostic set out in the previous chapters and critically examines the alignment of Macedonia s agricultural programs with the government s stated objectives of poverty reduction, competitiveness, and sustainable development. The results are at best mixed, suggesting substantial pathways for scaling up and exploiting untapped opportunities. Finally, chapter six synthesizes the overall evidence and presents policy implications and recommendations.
Support for Agricultural Restructuring Project : The Financial and Economic Competitiveness of Rice and Selected Feed Crops in Northern and Southern Vietnam

(Washington, DC, 2013-01) World Bank

One area of weakness in current agricultural policy work in Vietnam is the lack of a clear understanding of both the private profitability of farmers for different crop activities and the social profitability of such activities. Agricultural performance is thus gauged in physical terms (i.e. yields and the volume of aggregate output) rather than in financial or economic terms. This has hampered efforts to compare and contrast the impacts and effectiveness of alternative policy and program measures. Comparative metrics for different crops and farm management systems have been lacking. The main objectives of this paper are: (i) to describe the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) methodology and how to interpret key financial and economic indicators; (ii) to document the underlying assumptions used for the analysis; and (iii) to provide a summary and brief interpretation of the main quantitative results and outcome of selected sensitivity tests. As a step towards improved sector planning, this paper utilizes the PAM to analyze various farm management systems for rice, maize, and cassava in different parts of Vietnam. Tradeoffs are involved in all production decisions and the PAM provides a systematic way of comparing the private and underlying social costs and returns from different agriculture enterprises together with the effects of government policy. The paper is presented in following five sections: section one is introduction; section two describes the methodology and main assumptions used for the analysis; section three presents the main quantitative results for different kinds of rice grown for export in An Giang province in the Mekong delta of southern Vietnam and for domestic rice and alternative stock feed crops grown in northern Vietnam; section four presents the results of various sensitivity tests that looked at the impact of changes in crop yields, commodity prices, fertilizer costs, and labor costs; and section five concludes with a summary of key findings and policy recommendations.
Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment in Niger : Moving from Crisis Response to Long-Term Risk Management

(Washington, DC, 2013) World Bank

Niger, owing to its climatic, institutional, livelihood, economic, and environmental context, is one of the most vulnerable countries of the world. Poverty is pervasive in Niger and it ranks low on almost all the human development indicators. Agriculture is the most important sector of Niger's economy and accounts for over 40 percent of national gross domestic product (GDP) and is the principle source of livelihood for over 80 percent of the country's population. The performance of the agricultural sector, however, due to its high exposure to risks, is very volatile. Niger has experienced multiple shocks, largely induced by agricultural risks over the past 30 years, which impose high welfare cost in terms of food availability, food affordability, and malnutrition. It also adversely affects household incomes, performance of the agricultural sector, the government's fiscal balance, and the growth rate of Niger's economy. Niger is a case of living perpetually with risk, thus more emphasis on long-term structural solutions, rather than short-term quick fixes, is required to improve the resilience of the agricultural sector. Designing and implementing a comprehensive agricultural risk management strategy will require sustained and substantial financial investments, shifting the focus from short-term crisis response to long-term risk management, streamlining disparate donor investments and isolated interventions toward the core problem, supporting decentralized community, and farm-level decision making, integrating agricultural risk management into the existing development frameworks, prioritizing agricultural risks into government and donor strategies, and focusing on implementation.
What are Livestock Indicators?

(Washington, DC, 2012-10) World Bank

In the development community indicator is a term more frequently used than 'statistic', as it attracts more attention from potential users, including decision-makers and the media. Indicators transform and communicate data. Data are pieces of information that are either directly observed and collected (primary data) or retrieved from other sources (secondary data), and then processed through appropriate methodologies to produce indicators. Simple indicators are aggregations of data standardized by some time, space, and or other dimensions. Examples for livestock include the number of cattle in a country on a given day; the average number of animals affected by a disease in a given country each year; or the value of live animals exported from a country in a given year. Livestock-related indicators are used for a range of purposes, including analyses of sectors' or value chains' performance, monitoring and evaluation of interventions in the form of policies, programs and projects, and comparisons between countries and sectors. Decision-makers look at indicators from three main perspectives: level of the indicator, showing its status; dispersion or concentration of the indicator, which represents the variability of its status; and trends in the indicator over time, space, or other progressions relevant to the decision being made.