21112 research outputs found
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Brief review of Ghana’s food system transformation pathways
No full textDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG
Farm subsidies and global agricultural productivity
No full textMarkets, Trade, and Institutions (MTI
Review of global agricultural emission databases
No full textSince the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) has consistently risen, leading to a 1.15°C increase in global mean temperatures by 2022. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms human activities as the primary cause of global warming, with emissions continuing to rise. Climate change has resulted in adverse impacts on various fronts, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities. International efforts, including the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, aimed at stabilizing green-house gas concentrations. These efforts were followed by the Paris Agreement in 2015, focusing on limiting global temperature increases and relying on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) from countries.LAC; Markets, Trade, and Institutions (MTI); Food and Nutrition Polic
Regional developments [in 2024 Global Food Policy Report]
No full textThe regional section of the 2024 Global Food Policy Report examines the evolving problem of malnutrition—including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity—in low- and middle-income countries across the world’s major regions. Policy interventions are highlighted that address the particular challenges and opportunities in each region, with recommendations that aim to transform food systems to make healthier, more diverse, and more sustainable diets available, affordable, accessible, and desirable for everyone, including the most vulnerable.EgyptSSPNutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH); Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); AFR; Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI); LAC; DG
Impacts of Africa RISING in Ghana
No full textSustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of Africa RISING, an SI program in Ghana implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2020), propensity score matching, and difference-indifferences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with those of two different control groups—one residing in program villages (within village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison) on several indicators across five SI domains—environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two control groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find a positive impact on use of conservation practices (fallowing, disc/moldboard ploughing, manure), groundnut yield, livestock, net crop income, and women’s likelihood of becoming members of farmers groups relative to non-beneficiaries. We do not find a statistically significant effect on consumption- and asset-based poverty rates, household dietary diversity, and several indicators of maternal and child nutrition. For both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, the share of monetary-based non-poor, dietary diversity, and food security have declined between baseline (2014) and follow-up (2020) likely due COVID-19. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.Africa RisingInnovation Policy and Scaling (IPS
Quality upgrading in dairy value chains: Mixed methods evidence from southwestern Uganda
No full textQuality upgrading may be lagging in value chains where the assessment and traceability of the quality of the underlying commodity is challenging. In Uganda's southwestern milk shed, a variety of initiatives are trying to increase the quality of raw milk in dairy value chains. These initiatives generally involve the introduction of technologies that enable measurement of key quality parameters at strategic nodes in the value chain, in conjunction with a system that allows for tracking of these parameters throughout the supply chain. In this paper, we use a combination of focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and quantitative data that is generated by these initiatives to document outputs, describe emerging outcomes, and reflect on the potential impact. We find clear evidence that milk quality improved, but the effects on milk prices are more subtle.Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS
Impact of dairy cooperatives on milk productivity: Evidence from rural Bihar
No full textDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Intrahousehold preference heterogeneity and demand for labor-saving agricultural technology
No full textEvaluations of agricultural technologies rarely consider the implications of how adoption may alter the labor allocation of different individuals within a household. We examine intrahousehold decision-making dynamics that shape smallholder households' decision to use mechanical rice transplanting (MRT), a technology that disproportionately influences demand for women's labor. To study the adoption decision, we experimentally estimate the willingness to pay for MRT services both at the individual and household level. We find that women value MRT more than men, especially when they participate in transplanting on their own farms. This preference heterogeneity is evident in the unconditional differences between women's and men's valuation and differences conditional on their individual observable characteristics. Despite having stronger preferences for MRT, women have less influence on the household's technology adoption decision than men. This differential influence over the MRT adoption decision reflects the intrahousehold power structure: in households where women have less control over assets, they also have less influence over the MRT adoption decision. Our results highlight how technological changes interact with unobserved, gender-based intrahousehold power relations to influence agricultural production decisions and, by extension, the gendered allocation of labor and welfare of women.Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS); Transformation Strategie
“It doesn’t matter at all—we are family”: Titling and joint property rights in Myanmar
No full textMany policy makers and academics striving for more gender equality consider joint property rights as preferable over sole rights, since the latter often discriminate against women. Several governments in low-, middle- and high-income countries have therefore imposed joint rights through modifications of statutory law or mandatory joint property registration. We first discuss a general theoretical framework of determinants of property rights with a focus on jointness and the interplay between statutory law, customary law and religious norms, as well as the importance of gendered customs, norms and perceptions around household, family and community arrangements. We then also relate this specifically to the case of Myanmar—based on literature and original qualitative data collected with men and women across all four agro-ecological zones in rural Myanmar. We find equal customary and statutory joint property rights regime upon marriage where inheritance rights are not different for men and women, but only one name is generally recorded on land use certificates. A strong sense of “togetherness”, including a custom of income pooling and rare occurrence of divorce, limits the rationale of marital partners to exercise rights solely rather than jointly. Nevertheless, which household members’ name is on a document is important for accessing credit or engaging with officials and government authorities, and strong patriarchal norms guide official and administrative procedures. Whereas short-term impacts of sole land titling seem limited, the extent to which sole or joint titling might affect gender equality in the longer term remains a topic of future research.MyanmarSSPDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Growth patterns of preterm and small for gestational age children during the first 10 years of life
No full textBackground: Preterm and small for gestational age (SGA) remain significant public health concerns worldwide. Yet limited evidence exists on their growth patterns during childhood from low-or middle-income countries. Objectives: We investigated the postnatal growth patterns of preterm and SGA compared to term appropriate for gestational age (AGA) children from birth to 10–11y, and examined the impact of birth status on child nutritional status during the school age years. Methods: Children born to women who participated in a double-blinded randomized controlled trial of preconception micronutrient supplementation in Vietnam were classified into three groups: preterm AGA (n = 130), full-term SGA (n = 165) and full-term AGA (n = 1,072). Anthropometric data (weight and height) were collected prospectively at birth, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months and at 6–7 and 10–11y. We used ANOVA and multiple regression models to examine the differences in growth patterns from birth to 10–11y as well as child undernutrition and overnutrition by birth status. Results: Children who were born preterm exhibited rapid postnatal growth, but still had lower HAZ at 1y and 2y and showed catch up to the AGA group at 6y. Compared to those born AGA, SGA infants had higher risk of thinness (BMIZ < −2) at 2y and 6y (adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR [95% CI] 2.5 [1.0, 6.1] and 2.6 [1.4, 4.6], respectively); this risk reduced at 10–11y (1.6 [0.9, 2.8]). The risk of stunting (HAZ < −2) was also 2.4 [1.5, 3.8] and 2.3 times [1.2, 4.1] higher in SGA than AGA group at ages 2y and 6–7y, respectively, with no differences at 10y. Although preterm children had higher rates of thinness and stunting at 2y compared to AGA children, these differences were not statistically significant. No associations were found between preterm or SGA and overweight /obesity at age 10–11y. Conclusion: Children who were born term-SGA continued to demonstrate deficits in weight and height during childhood whereas those born preterm showed catch-up growth by age 6–7y. Additional efforts to reduce the burden of these conditions are needed, particularly during school-age and early adolescents when children are exposed to challenging environments and have higher demands for nutritionNutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH); Food and Nutrition Polic