Understanding Compliance In Programs Promoting Conservation Agriculture

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Understanding compliance in programs promoting conservation agriculture

Ward, Patrick S.,Bell, Andrew R.,Droppelmann, Klaus,Benton, Tim
Understanding compliance in programs promoting conservation agriculture Book PDF

Author : Ward, Patrick S.,Bell, Andrew R.,Droppelmann, Klaus,Benton, Tim
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 28 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2016-05-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Understanding compliance in programs promoting conservation agriculture by Ward, Patrick S.,Bell, Andrew R.,Droppelmann, Klaus,Benton, Tim Pdf

Land degradation and soil erosion have emerged as serious challenges to smallholder farmers throughout southern Africa. To combat these challenges, conservation agriculture (CA) is widely promoted as a sustainable package of agricultural practices. Despite the many potential benefits of CA, however, adoption remains low. Yet relatively little is known about the decision-making process in choosing to adopt CA. This article attempts to fill this important knowledge gap by studying CA adoption in southern Malawi. Unlike what is implicitly assumed when these packages of practices are introduced, farmers view adoption as a series of independent decisions rather than a single decision. Yet the adoption decisions are not wholly independent. We find strong evidence of interrelated decisions, particularly among mulching crop residues and practicing zero tillage, suggesting that mulching residues and intercropping or rotating with legumes introduces a multiplier effect on the adoption of zero tillage.

Relative roles and limits of extension approaches in promoting sustainable agricultural management practices: Analysis of nationally representative panel data from Malawi

Ragasa, Catherine,Mzungu, Diston,Kalagho, Kenan,Kazembe, Cynthia
Relative roles and limits of extension approaches in promoting sustainable agricultural management practices Analysis of nationally representative panel data from Malawi Book PDF

Author : Ragasa, Catherine,Mzungu, Diston,Kalagho, Kenan,Kazembe, Cynthia
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2021-12-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Relative roles and limits of extension approaches in promoting sustainable agricultural management practices: Analysis of nationally representative panel data from Malawi by Ragasa, Catherine,Mzungu, Diston,Kalagho, Kenan,Kazembe, Cynthia Pdf

Low-cost and sustainable agricultural management practices are being promoted in many countries but continue to face low adoption among farmers. We tracked the awareness and adoption among farmers of a number of practices―soil cover, minimum tillage, crop rotation, intercropping, crop diversification, crop residue incorporation, pit planting, water harvesting, and organic fertilizer―in two rounds of a nationally representative rural household survey in Malawi. Survey data and focus group discussions are used to understand the factors explaining the variations in farmers’ awareness and adoption of these practices. Results show a strong positive effect of extension services receipt on farmers’ awareness of these practices but no effect on farmers’ adoption of most of the practices being promoted, except for crop residue incorporation and organic fertilizer use. Receipt of input subsidy does not influence the adoption of these practices. Both survey data and focus group discussions highlight the need for intensive and iterative engagement between service providers and farmers to fully communicate, learn, and adapt to these management practices.

Does female labor scarcity encourage innovation?

Tan, Zhibo,Zhang, Xiaobo
Does female labor scarcity encourage innovation Book PDF

Author : Tan, Zhibo,Zhang, Xiaobo
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2016-07-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Does female labor scarcity encourage innovation? by Tan, Zhibo,Zhang, Xiaobo Pdf

Facing scarcity of a production factor, a firm can develop technologies to either substitute the scarce factor (price effect) or complement the more abundant factors (market size effect). Whether the market size effect or the price effect dominates largely depends on the elasticity of substitution among factors according to the theory of directed technical change. However, it is a great challenge to empirically test the theory because factor prices are often endogenously determined. In this paper, we use imbalanced sex ratios across Chinese provinces as a source of identification strategy to test how female labor scarcity affects corporate innovation based on the matched dataset of annual surveys of industrial firms in China and the national patent database. In regions with a large male population, female-intensive industries face more serious problems finding female workers than their male-intensive counterparts. We find that such female shortages have spurred firms in female-intensive industries to innovate more. The pattern is much more evident in industries with low substitution between female and male workers than in those with high substitution, consistent with the predictions of directed technical change theory.

United States agricultural policy

Glauber, Joseph W.,Effland, Anne
United States agricultural policy Book PDF

Author : Glauber, Joseph W.,Effland, Anne
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2016-07-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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United States agricultural policy by Glauber, Joseph W.,Effland, Anne Pdf

This paper examines the development of US agricultural policy and considers how it has affected US consumers and producers, as well as how US programs affect foreign producers and consumers within the context of the United States’ obligations under the World Trade Organization. Throughout its history, the United States has supported the farm sector through a myriad of policies affecting prices, production, and farm incomes. Although many of the policies put in place during the New Deal legislation in the 1930s were seen as temporary at the time, most have persisted in one form or another to the present day. And while many would argue that the form and function of today’s agricultural programs are less distortionary than before, the level of support provided to the sector is several billion dollars annually.

A systematic review of cross-country data initiatives on agricultural public expenditures in developing countries

Anson, Richard,Mogues, Tewodaj
A systematic review of cross country data initiatives on agricultural public expenditures in developing countries Book PDF

Author : Anson, Richard,Mogues, Tewodaj
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2016-07-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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A systematic review of cross-country data initiatives on agricultural public expenditures in developing countries by Anson, Richard,Mogues, Tewodaj Pdf

This study reviews all of the relevant data and analytical initiatives or activities that focus on or include agricultural public expenditure (AgPE) in developing and transitioning countries. In addition to taking stock of such initiatives, we carry out a comparison of relevant features, describe differences and similarities, and identify possible avenues for greater collaboration and complementarity, including the use of selected empirical examples arising from the comparative review.

Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development

Rubin, Deborah
Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development Book PDF

Author : Rubin, Deborah
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2016-05-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development by Rubin, Deborah Pdf

The rise of mixed methods approaches to development-oriented research has brought new attention to qualitative research methods. This paper describes the use of qualitative approaches to illuminate gender relations in agricultural development research and project implementation. For gender research, qualitative methods can be particularly helpful in illuminating how men and women view their lives. Drawing on literature about social science methods and linking it to recent examples of qualitative methods employed in research and development projects, the paper argues for greater precision in key concepts of gender research, starting with sex and gender. From the many possible qualitative methods used in development work, the paper focuses on several common observational (both direct and participatory) and interview techniques, the latter including key informant and group interviews and focus group discussions. Researchers use various techniques to gather different types of information, for example, mapping techniques to understand men’s and women’s different types of knowledge about their environment and eliciting in-depth information on a single topic with key informants. In a brief discussion of the analysis of qualitative data, the paper notes that informant responses are not “the truth” but need to be assessed against other sources of data. Finally, there is a short discussion of how qualitative data have been used in comparative work. The paper concludes that the results of good qualitative research on gender relations can help identify the locally specific pathways needed to achieve gender-transformative development approaches.

Rent Dispersion in the US Agricultural Insurance Industry

Smith, Vincent H.,Glauber, Joseph,Dismukes, Robert
Rent Dispersion in the US Agricultural Insurance Industry Book PDF

Author : Smith, Vincent H.,Glauber, Joseph,Dismukes, Robert
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2016-05-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Rent Dispersion in the US Agricultural Insurance Industry by Smith, Vincent H.,Glauber, Joseph,Dismukes, Robert Pdf

A central, but inadequately explored issue with respect to subsidized crop insurance programs concerns the costs of delivering insurance coverage to farmers. This study examines that issue in the context of the heavily subsidized US crop insurance program which has often been put forward as a model for agricultural insurance programs in other countries. US Government programs often rely on private firms to deliver income transfers or services, which then establish their own rent-seeking lobbies, which are shared with input suppliers. This rent dispersion process is examined in the context of the U.S. agricultural insurance industry, which receives as much as one third of the annual subsidies that support the federal crop insurance program. We find that as total payments to insurance companies increased between 2001 and 2009, an increasingly large share of the agricultural insurance industry’s rents accrued to insurance agents, although in markets where insurance companies possessed some oligopsony power, agent payments are smaller. The findings also suggest that the insurance industry (companies and independent agents) would almost surely provide the same service for substantially less than the gross revenues from the subsidies and underwriting gains they received.

Agricultural Inputs Policy Under Macroeconomic Uncertainty

Resnick, Danielle,Mather, David
Agricultural Inputs Policy Under Macroeconomic Uncertainty Book PDF

Author : Resnick, Danielle,Mather, David
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 45 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2016-08-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Agricultural Inputs Policy Under Macroeconomic Uncertainty by Resnick, Danielle,Mather, David Pdf

Ghana’s Fertilizer Subsidy Programme (GFSP) was initiated in 2008 in response to the global food and fuel price crisis. Although initially intended to be a temporary measure that became increasingly expensive as Ghana’s macroeconomy deteriorated, farmers, civil society organizations, and politicians began to expect the subsidy on an annual basis. This paper applies the kaleidoscope model for agricultur and food security policy change to the case of GFSP. In doing so, it uses a variety of analytical tools to highlight how many of the weak outcomes of GFSP can be attributed to the nature of the broader policy process that has surrounded GFSP as well as the underlying political and institutional context in which policy making occurs in Ghana. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with knowledgeable stakeholders spanning the government, donor, civil society, and research communities, the paper identifies the bottlenecks that need to be addressed if the program is to be more effective in the future.

A dynamic spatial model of agricultural price transmission

Goundan, Anatole,Tankari, Mahamadou Roufahi
A dynamic spatial model of agricultural price transmission Book PDF

Author : Goundan, Anatole,Tankari, Mahamadou Roufahi
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 28 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2016-06-09
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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A dynamic spatial model of agricultural price transmission by Goundan, Anatole,Tankari, Mahamadou Roufahi Pdf

Spatial interactions are essential drivers of price transmission mechanisms and may significantly affect any food’s policy outcomes. However, spatial aspects seem to be generally overlooked when analyzing price transmission. This paper attempts to fill this gap by highlighting the usefulness of spatial interaction and models for market integration analysis. A spatial dynamic panel datamodel is presented and applied to Niger’s millet market. Empirical results show that (1) the millet market is partly integrated, (2) locally traded commodities (millet and sorghum) are linked by a cross-commodity price transmission, (3) most imported cereals prices, which for Niger is maize and rice, did not affect the millet market, and (4) no cross-regions price transmissionoccurred for the millet market.

Global and regional pulse economies

Joshi, Pramod Kumar,Rao, P. Parthasarathy
Global and regional pulse economies Book PDF

Author : Joshi, Pramod Kumar,Rao, P. Parthasarathy
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 149 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2016-07-22
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Global and regional pulse economies by Joshi, Pramod Kumar,Rao, P. Parthasarathy Pdf

The pulse sector is undergoing dynamic changes globally and in several regions and countries to meet the challenge of growing demand in the face of sluggish production growth. Realizing the importance of pulses in the human diet, 2016 has been declared the International Year of Pulses (IYP). This report captures the dynamics of the pulse sector during the last three decades. The examination of pulse supply, demand, uses, trade, prices, and outlook would help researchers and policy makers make more informed decisions related to the sector. Pulse-based food is an important source of dietary protein and essential minerals, particularly for the vegetarian population. At the global level, the average share of pulses is only 5 percent of the total protein consumption but their contribution in several developing countries range between 10 and 40 percent. To meet the growing demand and raise their per capita availability, countries made efforts to increase production and explore trade opportunities to augment domestic supply. Overall between 1980 and 2013, pulses production at the global level grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent but there were, however, two phases of pulses production at the global level. While there was almost a period of stagnation in production of pulses during the1990s, production has sharply increased since 2005. The bulk of the increase in production came from developing countries where both area and yield growth (from a low base) contributed to the production. For developed countries—where production also grew—the center of production shifted from Europe to North America and Oceania. For developing countries, two new centers of production emerged in Eastern Africa and Southeastern Asia (Myanmar).

A farm-level perspective of the policy challenges for export diversification in Malawi

Johnson, Michael E.,Edelman, Brent,Kazembe, Cynthia
A farm level perspective of the policy challenges for export diversification in Malawi Book PDF

Author : Johnson, Michael E.,Edelman, Brent,Kazembe, Cynthia
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2016-08-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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A farm-level perspective of the policy challenges for export diversification in Malawi by Johnson, Michael E.,Edelman, Brent,Kazembe, Cynthia Pdf

The primary goal of the study is to investigate the potential to expand oilseeds, specifically soybeans,as an alternative commercialcrop to tobacco among Malawian farmers. A principal motivation for undertaking the study at the microeconomic level is to determine, in a theoretically consistent fashion, the type of policy and economic environment under which farmers begin to shift more of their scarce resources to oilseed production.The study aims to provide recommendations to a growing demand among policy makers and development partners for a greater diversification of exports and crop production systems of the majority smallholder farmers in Malawi. Using representative farm models, the study examinesthe potential for expanding production of soybeans among typical smallholder farming systems in Malawi. The results will help guide future policies and investments targeted at promoting greater crop diversification and incomes, in order to reduce poverty and malnutrition in Malawi. Given the amount of labor and land resources allocated to maize production for food security purposes, we also consider the policy challenges that emerge for crop diversification as a result

Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size-productivity relationship ?

Deininger, Klaus,Jin, Songqing,Liu, Yanyan,Singh, Sudhir K.
Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size productivity relationship Book PDF

Author : Deininger, Klaus,Jin, Songqing,Liu, Yanyan,Singh, Sudhir K.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2016-06-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size-productivity relationship ? by Deininger, Klaus,Jin, Songqing,Liu, Yanyan,Singh, Sudhir K. Pdf

To understand whether and how inverse relationship between farm size and productivity changes when labor market performance improves, we use large national farm panel from India covering a quarter-century (1982, 1999, 2008) to show that the inverserelationship weakened significantly over time, despite an increase in the dispersion of farm sizes. A key reason was the substitution of capital for labor in response to nonagricultural labor demand. In addition, family labor wasmore efficient than hired labor in the 1982–1999 period, but not during the 1999–2008period.In line with labor market imperfections as a key factor, separability of labor supply and demand decisions cannot be rejected in the second period,except in villages with very low nonagricultural labor demand.

Roads to innovation

Wang, Xu,Zhang, Xiaobo,Xie, Zhuan,Huang, Yiping
Roads to innovation Book PDF

Author : Wang, Xu,Zhang, Xiaobo,Xie, Zhuan,Huang, Yiping
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2016-07-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Roads to innovation by Wang, Xu,Zhang, Xiaobo,Xie, Zhuan,Huang, Yiping Pdf

Although both infrastructure and innovation play an important role in fostering a country’s economic growth, discussion in the literature about how the two are connected is limited. This paper examines the impact of road density on firm innovation in China using a matched patent database at the firm level and road information at the city level. Regional variation in the difficulty of constructing roads is used as an instrumental variable to address the potential endogeneity problem of the road variable. The empirical results show that a 10 percent improvement in road density increases the average number of approved patents per firm by 0.71 percent. Road development spurs innovation by enlarging market size and facilitating knowledge spillover.

Long-term drivers of food and nutrition security

Laborde Debucquet, David,Majeed, Fahd,Tokgoz, Simla,Torero, Máximo
Long term drivers of food and nutrition security Book PDF

Author : Laborde Debucquet, David,Majeed, Fahd,Tokgoz, Simla,Torero, Máximo
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2016-05-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Long-term drivers of food and nutrition security by Laborde Debucquet, David,Majeed, Fahd,Tokgoz, Simla,Torero, Máximo Pdf

The 2015 Global Hunger Index suggests that despite progress in reducing hunger worldwide, hunger levels in 52 of 117 countries in the 2015 Global Hunger Index remain “serious” or “alarming.” Since achieving and maintaining food and nutrition security (FNS) remains a goal for all countries, it is important to understand the individual, national, and global factors that affect FNS. This paper proposes an analytical framework to identify and analyze the respective roles of key long-term drivers of FNS. We start by identifying what the key variables affecting FNS are at the household and country level, and then we continue by defining what the main exogenous or endogenous drivers affecting these variables are. We discuss the key drivers of both aggregated food supply and demand and therefore their impact on prices. Specifically, for aggregated food demand, we discuss demographic factors, income growth, changes in dietary preferences, aggregated domestic distortions, and overall quality of the food system. With respect to the drivers of aggregated food supply, we discuss land available for food products and the drivers behind land availability, the share of waste/losses generated by the food system, and the normalized average yield. We define yield as the amount of nutrients produced by unit of land. It depends both on the physical yield of the crop or the livestock and on the quality of the food produced. It also can be affected by the changes in production patterns linked to the different dietary patterns of the consumers and by climate change. We emphasize the fact that in many cases, key drivers may have ambiguous effects on the FNS situation of different agents. For instance, more liberal trade policies will affect real income, terms of trade, demand and supply, returns of factors, foreign direct investments, and food prices and thus may lead to the improvement of the global-level FNS, that is, the FNS of the majority of the population. At the same time, more liberal trade policies may bring food insecurity to some households. Therefore, careful quantitative assessment is needed for each policy option. Finally, we propose a typology of variables that will help modelers adapt their models to study the different drivers through both direct and indirect effects.

Perceived land tenure security and rural transformation

Ghebru, Hosaena,Khan, Huma,Lambrecht, Isabel
Perceived land tenure security and rural transformation Book PDF

Author : Ghebru, Hosaena,Khan, Huma,Lambrecht, Isabel
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2016-07-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Perceived land tenure security and rural transformation by Ghebru, Hosaena,Khan, Huma,Lambrecht, Isabel Pdf

Tenure security is believed to be critical in spurring agricultural investment and productivity. Yet what improves or impedes tenure security is still poorly understood. Using household- and plot-level data from Ghana, this study analyzes the main factors associated with farmers’ perceived tenure security. Individually, farmers perceive greater tenure security on plots acquired via purchase or inheritance than on land allocated by traditional authorities. Collectively, however, perceived tenure security lessens in communities with more active land markets and economic vibrancy. Migrant households and women in polygamous households feel less secure about their tenure, while farmers with political connections are more confident about their tenure security.