Person:
Morris, Michael

Global Practice on Agriculture
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Agricultural development, Agricultural policy, Agricultural innovation systems
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Global Practice on Agriculture
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Last updated: January 31, 2023
Biography
Michael Morris is a Lead Agricultural Economist with the World Bank, where he manages lending operations, conducts research, and provides technical assistance. He has co-authored World Bank flagship publications on fertilizer policy, agricultural commercialization, and drylands development, and he contributed to the 2008 World Development Report Agriculture for Development. His areas of expertise include agricultural policy, farm-level productivity enhancement, marketing systems and value chain development, agricultural research and technology transfer, institutional strengthening, and capacity building. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2004, he served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone; conducted dissertation research for two years in Senegal; and spent 16 years in Mexico, Thailand, and Washington with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Fertilizer Use in African Agriculture : Lessons Learned and Good Practice Guidelines
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) Kelly, Valerie A.; Morris, Michael; Kopicki, Ron J.; Byerlee, Derek
    In every region of the world, the intensification of crop-based agriculture has been associated with a sharp increase in the use of chemical fertilizer. Given the generally low levels of fertilizer use in Africa, there can be little doubt that fertilizer use must increase in Africa if the region is to meet its agricultural growth targets, poverty reduction goals, and environmental sustainability objectives. For this reason, policies and programs are needed to encourage fertilizer use in ways that are technically efficient, economically rational, and market-friendly. Including this introduction, this report contains eight chapters. Chapter 2 sets the stage by discussing agriculture's role in the overall economic development process and explaining why agricultural development often leads to patterns of growth that are strongly pro-poor. Chapter 3 briefly recounts the history of fertilizer promotion efforts in Africa. Chapter 4 outlines the reasons for low fertilizer use in Africa. Chapter 5 examines factors that influence fertilizer demand and identifies entry points at which public interventions can strengthen effective demand at the farm level. Chapter 6 examines the factors that determine the supply of fertilizer and identifies entry points for public interventions to improve fertilizer supply. Chapter 7 identifies potential entry points at which public investments may be effective for fostering desirable change in a country's fertilizer sector. Chapter 8 summarizes the main points made in the report and concludes the discussion.
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    Awakening Africa’s Sleeping Giant : Prospects for Commercial Agriculture in the Guinea Savannah Zone and Beyond
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06) Larson, Gunnar; Morris, Michael
    Stimulating agricultural growth is critical to reducing poverty in Africa. Commercial agriculture, potentially a powerful driver of agricultural growth, can develop along a number of pathways. Yet many developing regions have failed to progress very far along any of these pathways. Particularly in Africa, agriculture continues to lag. During the past 30 years the competitiveness of many African export crops has declined, and Africa's dependence on imported food crops has increased. While the poor performance of African agriculture can be attributed partly to adverse agroecological conditions, experience from elsewhere in the developing world suggests that significant progress is possible. The Guinea Savannah covers some 600 million hectares in Africa, of which about 400 million can be used for agriculture. Less than ten percent of this area is currently cropped, making it one of the largest underused agricultural land reserves in the world.
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    Africa’s Growing Soil Fertility Crisis : What Role For Fertilizer?
    (2007-05) Agwe, Jonathan; Morris, Michael; Fernabdes, Erick
    Reversing Africa's decades-long decline in soil productivity levels poses a major challenge, and one that cannot be addressed without increased use of appropriate fertilizer nutrients. The 2006 World Bank Africa Fertilizer Strategy Assessment was undertaken to inform policy makers, providing them with guidelines on measures to effectively raise fertilizer use. This Note draws upon the material prepared for the above fertilizer strategy assessment, summarizes the information on the approaches to enhancing fertilizer supply and use in Africa, and identifies some future steps.