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Youth engagement in agriculture and food systems transformation in Kenya
No full textFood systems incorporate many actors at different intersecting levels and spaces. Young people1 constitute one of the most significant groups of these actors and contribute significantly to food systems in a variety of ways, from agricultural production and processing to food-related retail services, through formal and informal employment, paid and unpaid labor, and self employment. In addition to engaging through work and livelihoods, young people are involved in research, conservation, and knowledge acquisition and transmission. They also participate in consumer pressure groups and social movements raising awareness on the need for food system transformation and demanding climate change action. Through all these contributions, young people support achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal targets such as those on food security, economic growth, poverty reduction, and environ mental sustainability (HLPE 2021; FAO and AUC 2022)PRIFPRI4; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Agricultural productivity in Kenya: 2000-2020
No full textAgriculture is key to economic growth and poverty reduction in Kenya as it plays a pivotal role in employment creation, food security, exports, and sustainable development. In 2019, it directly contributed 22.7 percent of GDP, accounted for 20.9 percent of total exports, and generated 43.3 percent of employment (Chapter 2). The sector is thus not only an important driver of Kenya’s economy but also the means of livelihood for many Kenyan people. Given the economic and social importance of agriculture in Kenya, policies have revolved around the main goal of increasing productivity and incomes, especially for smallholders, to enhance food security and equity, with an emphasis on production intensification, commercialization, and environmental sustainability (Alila and Atieno 2006). In this context, the declining perfor mance of the sector measured in terms of its growth has been a major concern for policymakers.PRIFPRI4; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
An enabling environment for the national flour blending policy: A food systems analysis
No full textA national flour blending policy is about to be implemented in Kenya. This requires maize flour (the country’s main staple) to be blended with at least 10 percent of either one or a composite of traditional crops, such as sorghum and millet.1 The blending ratio is expected to increase gradually, with the goal of ultimately reaching 30 percent. The policy envisages achieving several goals. The first is to improve the nutritional quality of maize flour: sorghum and millet (and other candidate blending crops) have micronutrient characteristics that are absent in maize. The second is to promote more climate-tolerant crops and technologies: sorghum and millet can be grown in less favorable arid and semiarid lands (ASALs), in the very conditions that many farmers face in Kenya. This is particularly important given that maize is more susceptible than other staple crops to climate change. The third is to reduce the country’s overreliance on imported maize and concerns about its food sovereignty.PRIFPRI4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for allDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Political and economic drivers of Sudan's armed conflict: Implications for the agri-food system
No full textThis study assesses the political economy of the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that brought out in April 2023, resulting in massive violence, displacement, and threats to food security. Based on a series of key informant interviews and other secondary materials, this study identifies that the primary underlying driver of the conflict relates to the rise of competition between the SAF and RSF over productive resources, including within the agri-food system. This scenario has been facilitated by a longstanding lack of scrutiny, accountability, and transparency over the distribution of economic rents and commercial holdings between the two factions. Additionally, the capture of rents from different industries and resources has been a key contributor to the geographic expansion of the conflict. As the conflict continues to rage between the two groups and their associates, it continues to impose considerable impacts on different actors within the agri-food system, posing significant challenges to the planting season and crop production, introducing blockades of trade routes, and a near cessation of agro-processing. We discuss these aspects of the ensuing conflict in view of the uncertainty about political and economic developments and propose policy recommendations for rebuilding Sudan’s agri-food system holistically under different scenarios.Non-PRIFPRI1; SSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and GovernanceDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Local governance in anticipatory action and crisis response: A new study in Mali
No full textHow best to deliver aid programs in fragile contexts and whether donors can support resilience in these contexts are long-standing questions among development practitioners and scholars. While there is widespread agreement that “local context” matters and should be taken into account when designing and delivering aid programs, it is difficult to know what aspects of local context matter and when, who to involve in locally driven decision-making (when there are myriad social and political forces), and how potential tradeoffs between competing preferences, needs, and priorities of local actors differ across space. Even when local context is beyond the influence of donors, a better understanding of local politi cal economy dynamics can help donors make better decisions and avoid unintended consequences.Non-PRIFPRI1; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; DCAPoverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI); Food and Nutrition Polic
Ecosystem services may provide large economic values in Kenya and Vietnam: A value transfer application based on results from a systematic literature review
No full textThis study focuses on the valuation of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam, two countries that have received much attention from the international development community for their biodiversity significance, opportunities for scaling, climate and poverty challenges, and political will. Using The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework and the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), this study estimates per hectare values of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam based on a systematic literature review of studies on the values of ecosystem services in both countries. Provisioning services, such as medicines, timber, and non-timber forest products were better studied than regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services, underscoring the need for further research to better estimate the values of non-tangible services which would improve the estimation of total value of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam. To complement the national level analysis, we selected forest biomes to conduct a value transfer analysis. Forests provide ecosystem service benefits worth 35.6 billion in Vietnam in 2022 USD. In comparison, the agricultural sector contributed 24.10 billon to Kenya’s GDP in 2021. The per hectare values for ecosystem services are used in a value transfer analysis to estimate the total value of forest ecosystem services in Vietnam and Kenya. The average per hectare value of ecosystem services provided by forests in Kenya is 1,609.44 to 3,650.20 ha−1 yr−1 , with a range of 8,978.16 ha−1 yr−1 . We project the loss of forests into 2050 and estimate the annual economic loss of ecosystem services at 76.29 million for Vietnam, respectively, if deforestation and forest degradation continue at the current rates. Our approach presents a comprehensive overview of diverse ecosystem services, equipping policymakers with a nuanced comprehension of ecosystems’ inherent value. By consolidating values from the literature into a national-level estimate, we provide compelling evidence at a broader scale for informed decision-making. Despite the well-known limitations of value transfer method and with caveats, the values presented in our paper can provide a guiding reference for incorporating these estimations into broader policymaking endeavors.Non-PRIFPRI1; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 5 Strengthening Institutions and GovernanceNatural Resources and Resilience (NRR); Transformation Strategie
Needs and opportunities for measuring rural women’s empowerment in Guatemala: Possible applications of a Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS)
No full textGender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is reflected across policy priorities at global and national levels. Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) seeks to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Moreover, the Government of Guatemala, through the Presi dential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM), has supported these priorities through the National Policy for the Promotion and Comprehensive Development of Women and the Equality of Opportunities Plan 2008-2023, particularly under its Equitable Economic and Productive Development policy line, which gives the agenda a thematic focus on women’s economic empowerment. Both policy instruments are designed to guide public institutions in achieving the goals that have been set by the Council of Minis ters of Women of Central America and the Dominican Republic (COMMCA). Economic empowerment is one of the main lines of policy action under the Regional Policy on Gender Equality and Equity of SICA (PRIEG/SICA). As such, women’s economic empowerment is being prioritized at the national level in Guatemala, and also at the regional level across Central America and the Dominican Republic.Non-PRIFPRI1; DCA; CRP4; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Capacity Strengthening; GAAPPoverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI); Food and Nutrition PolicyCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
Reaching smallholder women with information services and resilience strategies to respond to climate change
No full textThe project Reaching Smallholder Women with Information Services and Resilience Strategies to Respond to Climate Change aimed to increase the climate resilience of poor women and men farmers in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia — especially those in Kenya, Uganda, and India — by overcoming the gendered information gap on accessing climate-smart agricultural (CSA) approaches. The project did this through piloting participatory video-based extension on CSA approaches with more than 30,000 farmers in the three countries. The notes in this collection summarize the key methods and findings from the study. It is hoped that they will inspire similar projects and programs that together will help eliminate the gap between rural men and women in resources, agency, and achievement once and for all.Non-PRIFPRI4; Reaching Smallholder Women; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; G Cross-cutting gender theme; CRP2Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR); Transformation Strategies; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Sino-Asia agricultural trade and development cooperation: Progress, challenges, and outlook
No full textThis book includes twelve chapters on agricultural trade and cooperation in Asia, which cover both the review of agricultural development in selected countries and analyses of their development linkages through trade and cooperation. Specific attention has been given to agricultural trade between China and the rest of developing Asia, as China has become the second largest country in agricultural trade, and the unique importance remains for trade partners in Asia due to geographic proximity. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we also reveal how the global regime of agricultural trade and the Sino-Asia agricultural trade, in particular, has been affected. Overall, the book aims to enhance understanding of the progress, challenges, and outlooks of the Sino-Asia agricultural trade and highlight the room for further cross-country collaborations in agricultural development.PRIFPRI5; DCA; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategies340 page
Income aspirations, migration, and investments on and off the farm: Evidence from rural Tajikistan
No full textIn places with few casual or salaried employment opportunities, investments in farm or non-farm assets may offer the main pathway to increased incomes locally, whereas others may seek alternative investment options elsewhere—as migrants. What factors, then, explain these investment choices? One theory suggests that aspirations that are ahead, but not too far ahead, of current levels provide the best incentive for promoting investment. If this theory holds, then estimates of the relationship between the aspirations gap and investment choices should take the form of a non-monotonic inverted U-shape. We test for such a relationship between the income aspirations gap and investments in migration, farm assets, and non-farm assets using data from a household survey in rural Tajikistan. We find evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between the income aspirations gap and measures of migration, with the strongest relationship found with international migration. Strikingly, we do not observe any association between the income aspirations gap and measures of investment in farm or non-farm assets. Exploring heterogeneity, we find that these results can vary by household poverty status and by the respondent’s gender. Investigating a possible mechanism, we find that the relationship between the income aspirations gap and migration seems to be driven by remittances, which outweigh migration costs and increase household income.Non-PRIFPRI1; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; G Cross-cutting gender theme; TEAAMarkets, Trade, and Institutions (MTI); Food and Nutrition Policy; Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie