Other Agriculture Study
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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
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
The Practice of Responsible Investment Principles in Larger-Scale Agricultural Investments : Implications for Corporate Performance and Impact on Local Communities
(Washington, DC, 2014-04)This report presents findings from a field-based survey on the conduct of agricultural operations at 39 large-scale, mature agribusiness investments in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The objective of the report is to provide first-hand, practical knowledge of the approach, behavior, and experience of these investments, their relationships with surrounding communities and the consequent positive and/or negative outcomes for these communities, host countries, other stakeholders, and the investors themselves. More than 550 community stakeholders were interviewed about the impacts the investments had on those they represented. These impressions and ideas of local communities enriched this study and provided unique insights into what factors are at play, and their impact on those most directly affected by outside investments. The lessons learned and good practices identified are intended to inform the work of government bodies, investors, non-governmental organizations, development agencies, and other institutions that promote responsible investment in agriculture. -
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
Agribusiness Indicators : Kenya
(Washington, DC, 2013-01)The importance of agriculture in the economies of sub-Saharan African countries cannot be overemphasized. With agriculture accounting for about 65 percent of the region's employment and 75 percent of its domestic trade, significant progress in reducing hunger and poverty across the region depends on the development and transformation of the agricultural sector. Transforming agriculture from largely a subsistence enterprise to a profitable commercial venture is the prerequisite and driving force for accelerated development and sustainable economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The rationale behind the development of agribusiness indicators (ABIs) is to construct indicators for specific factors to support successful, effective private sector involvement in agriculture. The indicators can be used to benchmark and monitor performance in the agricultural sector over time and across countries. The resulting information can provoke knowledge flows and meaningful dialogue among policy makers, government officials, donors, private sector actors, as well as other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. This study is predicated on the fact that agriculture is the backbone of the economies of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya. The ultimate aim is to stimulate debate and dialogue among policy makers in specific African countries to engender change and reform in areas where investment is needed to leverage agribusiness and economic development. This study relied heavily on an extensive secondary data collection and literature review, supplemented by informal surveys to solicit information from a broad spectrum of stakeholders and actors in Kenya's agricultural sector. The review and interviews focused on the factors that the agribusiness indicators team determined to be the most critical for agribusiness development across sub-Saharan Africa, based on extensive scoping missions in three pilot countries (Ghana, Ethiopia, and Mozambique). This report is organized into following chapters: chapter one gives introduction; chapter two presents ABI methodology; chapter three presents findings on the success factors and indicators; and chapter four gives concluding remarks. -
Publication
El Salvador Country Land Assessment
(Washington, DC, 2012-06)This study assesses the alignment of land use, land tenure, and land market outcomes in El Salvador with public policy aspirations in recent decades for efficient, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable development in both urban and rural spaces. In doing so the study indirectly gauges the effectiveness of land sector institutions in facilitating such developmental outcomes in agricultural production, urbanization, and forest management. Chapter 1 briefly reviews some of the prominent struggles over land in El Salvador and outlines the salient features of today's institutional framework for land governance. Chapter 2 asks the question, "How effective have public policy interventions, including the Agrarian Reform, been in reducing rural inequality and tenure insecurity?". Chapter 3 explores what has happened to the lands transferred to Agrarian Reform cooperatives under the last iterations of the Agrarian Reform. Chapter 4 asks the question, "How has land governance in El Salvador responded to the challenges of urban land supply in the last decade?". In Chapter 5 the extent to which urban spatial expansion in El Salvador has been occurring in an inclusive way is explored. Chapter 6 presents the findings of the original analyses of land use in relation to deforestation. Chapter 7 analyzes available land market data in three Departments, Ahuachapan, Santa Ana, and Sonsonate, to identify trends and land use dynamism in the first decade of this century. Chapter 8 looks at the study's empirical findings from a more integrated, cross-sectoral perspective so that their implications for public policy are better understood. The final Chapter of the study presents policy options for consideration by the Government of El Salvador and the country's civil society organizations in order to address the key challenges related to land tenure, land use, and territorial planning. -
Publication
Agribusiness Indicators : Ghana
(Washington, DC, 2012-04)Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of most countries in Africa. However, few African countries have been able to capitalize on the sector's considerable potential to contribute to economic development through commercialization. Few have created an enabling environment for agricultural finance in which lenders and other agents are encouraged to develop innovative financial products that are well tailored to meet the needs of local producers. Few African countries have purposefully set out to encourage the use of modern farm machinery. Some, however, have invested in road infrastructure and transport facilities to reduce transaction costs and improve producers' access to markets. The countries that have undertaken initiatives to expand producers' access to agricultural technologies such as certified or hybrid seeds and fertilizers have generally been the most effective at increasing agricultural productivity. The research described in this volume used a set of agribusiness indicators to collect data that capture the performance of the agriculture sector in the Republic of Ghana, using a list of preliminary indicators covering the following areas: (i) access to and availability of certified seed; (ii) availability of and access to fertilizer; (iii) access to farm machinery, particularly tractor hire services for land preparation; (iv) access to agricultural and agro-enterprise finance; (v) cost and efficiency of transport; (vi) measures of policy certainty and the orientation of the enabling environment as perceived by the private sector; and (vii) various policy, trade, and fiscal measures. Ghana was the first country in which these indicators were tested for ease and consistency. The indicators were then finalized and used for data collection in two other African countries (Ethiopia and Mozambique). -
Publication
Priorities for Sustainable Growth : A Strategy for Agriculture Sector Development in Tajikistan
(Washington, DC, 2012-01)Agriculture sector growth has made a powerful contribution to post-war economic recovery in Tajikistan, accounting for approximately one third of overall economic growth from 1998 to 2004. Sector output increased by 65 percent in real terms during this period, and has now returned to the level extant at independence in 1990. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) has also increased, by 3 percent per year. Despite this progress, there is legitimate concern that this growth is unsustainable. Evidence suggests that it has been driven largely by the external factors noted above, rather than substantive changes to resources, incentives and the behavior of factor and commodity markets. First, an extensive program of policy reform, particularly in the area of land ownership, has yet to make a substantial impact on the incentive structure for agricultural workers cultivating the majority of arable land. Second, sustainable growth requires positive net investment. Third, commodity markets remain weak, with a limited capacity to translate increased demand into improved production incentives. And fourth, growth in crop production has been largely driven by low value food and cereal crops. A sustainable increase in access to rural finance will require much greater emphasis on the development of alternative sources of finance for all of agriculture, in addition to resolution of the cotton debt crisis. The capacity for agricultural loan appraisal and management also needs to be strengthened, new collateral instruments introduced and new loan products developed, which are suited to agriculture in general and small-scale farmers in particular. -
Publication
Mongolia : Improving Feed and Fodder Supply for Dzud Management
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)The paper reports on improving feed and fodder supply for the dzud management in Mongolia study, and aims to identify policy options that could improve the effectiveness and efficiency of dzud emergency management and response. It includes an assessment of the appropriate roles for the private and public sectors, identification of issues, and capacity building requirements. The study will support a policy dialogue and could provide the foundation for a longer-term pilot project in feed and fodder production, storage, and distribution, as part a coherent and effective emergency strategy. -
Publication
Romania - Functional Review : Agriculture and Rural Development Administration
(Washington, DC, 2010-10-15)This report presents the outcomes of the functional review of Romania's agricultural administration. Given the sectoral and territorial relevance of its regulatory domain, Romania s Agricultural and Rural Development Administration is a key administrative body undergoing this Functional Review. The review will examine whether the policy goals and objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and its agencies are clearly defined in measurable and achievable terms; whether the management systems, policies, staffing, and internal organizational structure are appropriate to meet objectives; and whether and to what extent factors external to the institutions impede the ability to meet objectives fully. The review analyzes factors promoting and/or limiting the efficiency and effectiveness of the agricultural and rural policy delivery in Romania. It aims at providing practical recommendations on: enhanced strategic coordination of policies and programs in the agricultural and rural policy domain; improved management and implementation of CAP support measures, to decrease risk of delayed payments to beneficiaries and low, ineffective and inefficient absorption of EU funds; realizing the full potential of MADR and its agencies through, for instance, better delineation of functions and better delegation of responsibilities within and among the relevant institutions; and approaches to improving the quality of public service delivery to beneficiaries of the Government's agricultural and rural programs. The review focuses on assessing both the current situation and future needs. It is broadly based on the following thematic areas: strategic framework, organizational structure and systems, budget and financial management, human resource management.