Challenges In Implementing A Small Scale Farmers Capacity Building Program
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Challenges In Implementing A Small Scale Farmers Capacity Building Program
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Author : Ragasa, Catherine
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-01-20
Challenges In Implementing A Small Scale Farmers Capacity Building Program written by Ragasa, Catherine and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-01-20 with Social Science categories.
In 2011, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government launched the Food Production, Processing, and Marketing project—which aimed to raise incomes and improve food security in the target areas by improving agricultural productivity, market efficiency, and the capacity of producers to respond to market signals. In August–October 2013 and February–March 2014, halfway through the project’s implementation, a midline survey was conducted to assess progress with respect to intermediate outcomes. The present paper highlights the results of that assessment survey. We pay close attention to accurate attribution of observed changes to the project and employ a double-difference method that compares the changes in indicators before the project and at the time of the survey (project midline) between the beneficiaries and comparable control groups. Overall, the survey results suggest weak impact on most of the outcome indicators, and they highlight challenges in implementing small-scale farmers’ capacity building within the context of weak institutions and a fragile political context.
Agriculture Nutrition Linkages And Child Health In The Presence Of Conflict In Nepal
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Author : Bageant, Elizabeth
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-03-18
Agriculture Nutrition Linkages And Child Health In The Presence Of Conflict In Nepal written by Bageant, Elizabeth and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-03-18 with Social Science categories.
Much policy and research attention has focused on the relationship between agriculture and nutrition. We extend this analysis to the context of Nepal’s decade-long civil conflict. Understanding how conflict or similar stress mitigates the agriculture-nutrition linkage is essential to developing impactful agriculture and nutrition policy in potential conflict zones. To our knowledge, there is no prior empirical work on the link between agriculture and nutrition in the context of conflict. We find a robust relationship between milk consumption and anthropometric outcomes. We also show a positive link between milk production and milk consumption at the household level. We find significant negative relationships between conflict and milk consumption for households owning few livestock while such relationships do not exist for larger holders. We attribute these heterogeneous effects to conflict-related productivity declines and milk price increases, both of which disproportionately affect households with fewer livestock and lower milk-production capacity. Among rural households in Nepal, milk production could serve as a nutritional buffer in times of conflict or other stress, and thus, policies that promote households’ livestock production could be effective measures in improving resilience of the rural poor against shocks that negatively affect child health outcomes.
Can Information Help Reduce Imbalanced Application Of Fertilizers In India
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Author : Fishman, Ram
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-04-01
Can Information Help Reduce Imbalanced Application Of Fertilizers In India written by Fishman, Ram and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-04-01 with Political Science categories.
The imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers in India is widely blamed for low yields, poor soil health, pollution of water resources, and large public expenditures on subsidies. To address the issue, the government of India is investing in a large-scale, expensive program of individualizedsoil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations, with the hope that scientific information will lead farmers to optimize the fertilizer mix. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the Indian state of Bihar in what we believe to be the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the program as currently implemented. We found no evidence of any impact of soil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations on actual fertilizer use or the willingness to pay for lacking nutrients (elicited using aBecker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism). Several factors could be driving these results, including a lack of understanding, lack of confidence in the information’s reliability, or the costs of the recommended fertilizer mixes. We provide evidence that suggestslack of confidence is the main factor inhibiting farmers’ response
Agricultural Extension Global Status And Performance In Selected Countries
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Author : Davis, Kristin E., ed.
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2020-09-02
Agricultural Extension Global Status And Performance In Selected Countries written by Davis, Kristin E., ed. and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-09-02 with Political Science categories.
Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries provides a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compares extension systems at the national and regional levels, examines the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the book contributes to the literature on extension by applying a common and comprehensive framework — the “best-fit” approach — to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms — in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods — to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.
Varietal Integrity Damage Abatement And Productivity
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Author : Ma, Xingliang
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-04-07
Varietal Integrity Damage Abatement And Productivity written by Ma, Xingliang and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-04-07 with Political Science categories.
Bt cotton remains one of the most widely grown biotech crops among smallholder farmers. Numerous studies, including those previously conducted in Pakistan, attest to its yield and cost advantages. However, the effectiveness of Bt toxin, which depends on many technical constraints, is heterogeneous. Furthermore, in Pakistan, the diffusion of Bt cotton varieties occurred despite a weak regulatory system and without seed quality control; evidence demonstrates that varieties sold as Bt may not contain the genes or express them effectively. We use data collected from a sample that is statistically representative of the nation’s cotton growers to test the effects of Bt cotton use on productivity in a damage control framework. Unlike previous studies, we employ five measures of Bt identity: name, official approval status, farmer belief, laboratory tests of Bt presence in plant tissue, and biophysical assays measuring Bt effectiveness. Only farmers’ belief that a variety is Bt affects cotton productivity. Although all measures reduce damage from pests, the biophysical indicators have the largest effect, and official approval has the weakest. For applied economists, findings highlight the importance of getting the data right concerning Bt. For policy makers, they suggest the need, on ethical if not productivity grounds, to monitor variety integrity closer to point of sale.
Institutional Arrangements To Make Public Spending Responsive To The Poor Where Have They Worked
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Author : Mogues, Tewodaj
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-04-06
Institutional Arrangements To Make Public Spending Responsive To The Poor Where Have They Worked written by Mogues, Tewodaj and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-04-06 with Social Science categories.
There has been some recognition in the development community that building technical capacity of public service providers and increasing resources is not enough to bring about development outcomes. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly appreciating that accounting for the stated needs of communities supports the process of pro-poor public resource allocation. We examine four institutional arrangements that explicitly endeavor to make public spending responsive to the needs of the poor by moving decision-making procedures closer to the population—participatory budgeting, community-driven development (CDD) programs, decentralization, and delegated targeting of transfers. Using the existing literature, we compare experiences across the four arrangements and countries. Regarding responsiveness to needs of the poor, evidence is cautiously optimistic for participatory budgeting, CDD, and decentralization. As for delegating the targeting of transfers to subnational authorities and communities, evidence suggests that the effect may be regressive. However, there are important mediating effects of public spending responsiveness under the various institutional arrangements. Local elite capture is a key factor dampening pro-poor spending where either exogenous circumstances such as prevailing inequality, or inadequate program design, enable capture to materialize. Politics is an important determinant of the success of these arrangements.
A Poverty Sensitive Scorecard To Prioritize Lending And Grant Allocation
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Author : Hernandez, Manuel A.
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-04-01
A Poverty Sensitive Scorecard To Prioritize Lending And Grant Allocation written by Hernandez, Manuel A. and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-04-01 with Political Science categories.
Development projects are generally subject to a potential tradeoff between sustainability and poverty reduction. Grants are also commonly assigned without a standardized criterion. This paper proposes an innovative scoring tool that combines both a risk and poverty scorecard to prioritize lending and grant allocation. We implement and test the instrument through a competitive fund for demand-driven projects in Central America intended to better link smallholder farmers to markets and improve their welfare. The evaluation results show that the highest-ranked projects generally have a larger economic impact on their beneficiaries than lower-ranked projects. We observe a larger effect on income, access to credit,and access to local markets, and the relative differences are stronger over time. The proposed scorecard tool is intended to better ensure the accountability and sustainability of development funds and can be easily adapted to different contexts
Pakistan S Fertilizer Sector
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Author : Ali, Mubarik
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-04-01
Pakistan S Fertilizer Sector written by Ali, Mubarik and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-04-01 with Political Science categories.
The fertilizer industry in Pakistan, with US$3.74 billion per year in sales, now stands at a crossroads where, after an initial substantial contribution in boosting crop productivity, its future potential is being challenged. Fertilizer-responsive crop varieties, supplementary irrigation water, and a favorable policy environment in Pakistan have induced fast growth in fertilizer demand. On the supply side, the availability of gas at low prices along with a favorable investment environment resulted in the buildup of excessive manufacturing capacity. But recently, a shortage of gas and monopolistic behavior has led to underutilization and greater imports. Restrictive laws put fertilizer processing and marketing in a few hands, which has also affected its efficiency. Moreover, the yield response of fertilizer has tapered off and per hectare use is fast reaching its optimal level. The existing policy environment leads to higher costs, inefficient use, and a heavy burden on the government as it charges one-fourth of the market price for feedstock gas used in fertilizer manufacturing. In addition, the government imports urea and absorbs the difference in international and domestic prices.
Formal Versus Informal
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Author : Birthal, Pratap S.
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-03-04
Formal Versus Informal written by Birthal, Pratap S. and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-03-04 with categories.
Despite a growing dairy industry in India, farmers’ lack of access to organized markets and institutional credit remains one of the major hindrances in improving the scale and productivity of dairying. Using data from a survey of 612 households from the state of Punjab, India, this paper evaluates farmers’ choices of dairy value chains and their financing mechanisms. The study finds that 62 percent of the sample farmers representing 69 percent of the total milk sales are connected with formal value chains driven by cooperatives, multinational companies and private domestic processors. Small dairy farmers are associated more with informal value chains but they are not excluded from the formal value chains. The performance of different value chains in terms of productivity and profitability of dairying is almost on par. Also, there is hardly any difference in the milk price offered by formal and informal buyers pointing towards milk market being competitive. More than half of the farmers borrow credit both from within and outside the chain for dairying related activities. Chain-based financing is restricted to only one-fourth of the borrowers and mostly to those associated with informal value chains. Financing by commercial banks and other financial institutions is limited to only 9 percent of the borrowers, mainly larger farmers. The socially-disadvantaged and smallholder farmers are often neglected in institutional lending because of their lack of physical assets to use as collateral against loans. Value chain approach, due to its product market orientation, can serve as an entry point for financial institutions to improve their outreach to smallholders. The innovative financial products, such as ‘dairy credit card’ and ‘contract as collateral’ would enable them to adopt yield-enhancing technology and inputs and also to scale up their dairy activity.
As A Husband I Will Love Lead And Provide
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Author : Lambrecht, Isabel
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-03-11
As A Husband I Will Love Lead And Provide written by Lambrecht, Isabel and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-03-11 with Social Science categories.
Improving women’s access to land is high on the agricultural policy agenda of both governmental and non-governmental agencies. Yet, the determinants and rationale of gendered access to land are not well understood. This paper argues that gender relations are more than the outcomes of negotiations within households. It explains the importance of social norms, perceptions, and formal and informal rules shaping access to land for male and female farmers at four levels: (1) the household/family, (2) the community, (3) the state, and (4) the market. The framework is applied to Ghana. Norms on household and family organization and on men’s and women’s responsibilities and capabilities play a key role in gendered allocation of resources. However, these norms and perceptions are dynamic and evolve jointly with the development of markets and changes in values of inputs such as labor and land. Theoretical models that represent the gendered distribution of assets as the result of intrahousehold bargaining should be revised, and extrahousehold factors should be included. From a policy perspective, laws that ensure gender equality in terms of inheritance and a more gender-equitable distribution of property upon divorce can play a key role in improving women’s property rights. Yet, their impact may be limited where customary rights dominate and social norms and rules continue to discriminate according to gender.