21112 research outputs found
Sort by
Brazil: Maintaining the momentum
No full textAfter a period of slow or no growth during the late 1970s and 1980s, public agricultural research investments in Latin America rebounded during the early 1990s.1 These regional trends were heavily influenced by developments in Brazil, which accounted for close to half of the region’s total agricultural research expenditures (Beintema and Pardey 2001). Consequently, developments in Brazilian agricultural R&D are of great significance to the rest of the region and to the developing world more generally.2 But agricultural research investment has grown much more rapidly in Brazil than in many other Latin American countries, reaching intensity ratios close to those found in the developed world.PRIFPRI1; Pro-poor science and technology policies; Public Policy and InvestmentISNA
Adult health in the time of drought
No full textIt is a well-known fact that households in developing countries often undergo weather-related and other shocks that drastically affect incomes. A large and growing literature explores the effectiveness of response to these events. One strand of the literature addresses the strategies that households and governments use to protect against income shocks (Udry 1990; Fafchamps, Udry, and Czukas 1998; Kochar 1999). A second strand looks at the effectiveness of these strategies in reducing fluctuations in consumption. The principal result, summarized in Morduch (1995, 1999a) and Townsend (1995), is that some, but not all, households are able to smooth consumption. Households facing liquidity constraints, in particular, have limited smoothing ability. For these households, income fluctuations lead to a welfare loss.PRIFPRI1; GenderFCN
Public policy to improve women's status
No full textPolicymakers have many options for improving women’s status relative to men’s. The most appropriate set of actions in a given situation will naturally be specific to that context. This chapter outlines some policy actions that have proven successful, as summarized in Table 26.1, and gives some examples of their implementation.PRIFPRI1; GenderFCN
Innovation and research by private agribusiness in India
No full textAgricultural research and innovation has been a major source of agricultural growth in developing countries. Unlike most research on agricultural research and innovation which concentrated on the role of government research institutes and the international agricultural research centers of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, this paper focuses on private sector research and innovation. It measures private research and innovation in India where agribusiness is making major investments in research and producing innovations that are extremely important to farmers. It also reviews Indian policies that influence research and innovation. This new data and policy analysis can provide India policy makers with a basis for policies that can strengthen the direction and impact of agricultural research and innovation in the future.Non-PRIFPRI1; Theme 9; Subtheme 9.2; GRP31EPT
2017 Global food policy report: Synopsis [in Arabic]
No full textImportant signs of progress in food security and nutrition and a commitment to sustainable development marked 2016. Yet challenges arising from dramatically changing political, economic, and demographic landscapes are sure to test the international momentum behind the new sustainable development agenda. As rapid urbanization continues around the world, poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are increasingly becoming urban problems. This rapid shift is changing diets and reshaping food chains—from small farms to modern supermarkets. Going forward, policies and investments to end hunger and malnutrition must take account of the needs of poor urban populations and develop strong links between rural food producers and urban markets to support both rural and urban populations.Non-PRIFPRI1DGO; CPA; WCAO; DSGD; SAO; PHND; LA
Impacts of the 2016/17 food insecurity response program on maize prices in Malawi
No full textIn early 2016, Malawi suffered its second consecutive year of harvest failure. An emergency was declared in April 2016 and the resulting humanitarian response, known as the Food Insecurity Response Program (FIRP), was of unprecedented scale: almost 40 percent of the population received in-kind food or cash transfers (or both) at an estimated cost of US$ 287 million. Yet despite the extensive nature of the response, prices for the main food staple, maize, stayed relatively ‘flat’ throughout most of the year and then declined during the pre-harvest lean season. This paper examines this paradox, focusing on why in-kind food distribution did not depress maize prices while cash transfers did not raise them. Using daily information on maize prices, and food and cash transfers from ten major markets during the height of the FIRP, we employ time series methods to analyze the properties of the series and model the formation of maize prices using autoregressive distributed lag models.Non-PRIFPRI1; MaSSP; CRP2DSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Rural transformation in central Myanmar: Results from the rural economy and agriculture dry zone community survey
No full textPublic infrastructure development since 2011 has been extremely rapid, reflecting changing budgetary priorities at the union level. Sixty-five percent of rural electrification has occurred since this time, as has construction of more than half of secondary schools and 70% of public tubewells. Road infrastructure – already relatively good in comparison to other areas of the country – also improved during this period. Businesses offering transport services for goods and people have proliferated, reducing journey times from rural to urban areas and promoting greater mobility and market access. There has been a similar explosion in numbers of other off-farm enterprises, most notably those offering agricultural mechanization services, which have expanded with extreme rapidity. Brisk growth in numbers of non-farm enterprises providing goods and services for consumption (retailers, food sellers, etc.) has also taken place. The growth of both sets of businesses is associated with rapidly rising real rural wages, which increased by close to 40% between 2012 and 2014. This has created demand for labor saving technology in agriculture, and has increased consumer spending power. Access to credit has improved significantly, driven particularly by the expansion of loans provide by the Department of Cooperatives, and by microfinance institutions. This change has had a very significant impact on rates of interest charged on informal loans, which have fallen almost 5% per month since 2012.Non-PRFeed the Future Innovation Laboratory for Food Security Policy (FSP); IFPRI5DSG
The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop
No full textConsiderable poverty and food insecurity in Ethiopia, combined with the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, make agricultural transformation a crucial development goal for the country. One promising improvement is to increase production of teff, the calorie- and nutrient-rich but low-yielding staple. The Economics of Teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s Biggest Cash Crop examines key aspects of teff production, marketing, and consumption, with a focus on opportunities for and challenges to further growth. The authors identify ways to realize teff’s potential, including improving productivity and resilience, selecting and scaling up new technologies, establishing distribution systems adapted to different areas’ needs, managing labor demand and postharvest operations, and increasing access to larger and more diverse markets. The book’s analysis and policy conclusions should be useful to policy makers, researchers, and others concerned with Ethiopia’s economic development.PRIFPRI1; ESSP; CRP2DSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Country data profile: Burkina Faso
No full textThe purpose of this data profile is: 1) To summarize all available primary data sources and secondary data aggregation platforms for key nutrition indicators representative at the national level in Burkina Faso. 2) To assess the identified data sources for each indicator across four dimensions: (i) validity and comparability, (ii) timeliness, (iii) accessibility, and (iv) representativeness. 3) To identify data gaps in the national data system to effectively track progress on nutrition and/or inform policy and program decisions for improving nutrition in Burkina Faso.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; Transform Nutrition West AfricaPHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
Improving child nutrition and development through preschools in Malawi
No full textSome 12,000 community preschools in Malawi serve 45 percent of the county’s preschool population. Yet because of food insecurity and communities’ difficulties in providing preschoolers with a midmorning meal, these schools may not survive. To address this challenge, Save the Children and the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College designed a preschool-based nutrition and agriculture intervention aimed at helping rural communities to produce and prepare more nutritious foods for preschools and for households year-round. An IFPRI-led cluster-randomized controlled trial in 60 preschools in the southeastern district of Zomba found that after just one year of the intervention, agricultural production, the quality and frequency of preschool meals, and household and child dietary diversity had all improved. The intervention also had an impact on the diets and growth of the preschoolers’ younger siblings. These results suggest that preschools can provide an effective platform for scaling-up nutrition and agriculture interventions, benefiting not only the preschools but also communities, households, and children in their first 1,000 days.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP4; MaSSPPHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH