Other Agriculture Study
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Publication
Improved Nutrition through Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services: Case Studies of Curriculum Review and Operational Lessons from India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02)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. -
Publication
Linking Farmers and Agro-processors to the Tourism Industry in the Eastern Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10)The main objective of this Economic and Sector Work (ESW) is to identify opportunities for stronger linkages between domestic agricultural supply chains and the tourism sector in the OECS, and to outline priority interventions with potential to strengthen these linkages. Since this topic has been analyzed in a number of studies, the approach for this ESW is not to conduct yet another comprehensive study. Instead, the goal is to validate and build on previous work through detailed field interviews with a selected sample of ‘game changers in the private and public sectors, and to come up with priority areas of focus and investments. The continued focus on strengthening the agriculture-tourism linkages is appropriate given the unexploited possibilities for increasing the share of locally sourced food purchased by the tourism sector and reducing the growing food import bill. The studies also identified specific types of food with potential to satisfy demand from the tourism sector. Both studies caution, however, that the potential for local production to replace imports is limited, given the regions agro-climatic conditions and price competitiveness. The World Bank, FAO study estimated that the scope to substitute tourism import demand by local produce is limited to around 11 percent of hotel food imports, equivalent to approximately 2 percent of the total food import bill. The study estimated that the annual ‘leakage of the tourism sector in fresh products could be reduced by about US$10 million, arguing that local and regional markets have greater potential to lower the food import bill. -
Publication
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Agricultural Sector Review: Revitalizing Agriculture for Economic Growth, Job Creation and Food Security
(Washington, DC, 2014-06)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. -
Publication
Republic of India : Accelerating Agricultural Productivity Growth
(Washington, DC, 2014-05-21)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. -
Publication
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)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. -
Publication
Agribusiness Indicators: Nigeria
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014)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. -
Publication
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of : Analysis of the Agricultural Support Programs
(Washington, DC, 2013-10)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. -
Publication
What are Livestock Indicators?
(Washington, DC, 2012-10)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. -
Publication
Collecting Livestock Data : A Snapshot of Survey Methods
(Washington, DC, 2012-09)The design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of livestock sector public and private sector investments are based on evidence and information generated by a multitude of data collection systems, including regular and one-off, or ad-hoc, surveys. This note reviews the major survey methods that are regularly implemented by developing country governments, including: the agricultural and livestock census; agricultural and livestock sample surveys; household budget surveys; living standards measurement studies; administrative records or routine data; and others, such as the population and housing census and labor surveys. It identifies the major livestock-related indicators that the various surveys for which the prime target rarely is livestock are likely to generate. Understanding these data sources is critical for decision makers to make appropriate use of available data and indicators, and is the first step in designing and setting up a comprehensive livestock data collection system. The note concludes by highlighting that a system of livestock statistics must be seen as part of a broader framework of statistical collection on a national level and that the effective integration of livestock data, whether derived through broader agricultural surveys, administrative records, or one-off surveys, is essential for ensuring quality data which can feed into policy formulation or designing effective investments in the livestock sector. -
Publication
Strengthening Quality, Growth, and Performance in Agriculture Finance : Lessons from India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-02)This report presents the key message, lessons, and insights from agrifin's first knowledge exchange event, held in Hyderabad, India, March 7-12, 2011. Agrifin is a special initiative aimed at building capacity in agriculture finance for commercially-oriented smallholders and small and medium enterprise (SME) agribusiness market segments. The initiative, managed by the World Bank, through generous support from the bill and Melinda gates foundation, provides matching grant funding to financial institutions and regulated microfinance institutions that have a demonstrated potential for scaling up sustainable business models in agriculture finance. in complement to the grant funding, agrifin fosters learning in the agriculture finance space by facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges, such as this event, as well as by documenting and sharing lessons learned with the broader public, based but not exclusively on agrifin grant recipients' experiences. This event provided an opportunity for agrifin's partner financial institutions in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, together with senior World Bank experts, to learn about sustainable practices in agricultural lending. Participants had the opportunity to engage with senior officials from three prominent financial institutions in India (Andhra Bank, BASIX, and HDFC Bank).