This case study addresses the issues of institutional change and the need for collective action in a commodity, tea, which requires high fixed investment in processing facilities. In the wake of political and economic changes, the case study illustrates how asset specificity and commodity characteristics facilitate vertical integration as discussed in Chapter 5 and how exogenous changes have influenced institutional arrangements and contract enforcement in the Malawian tea industry.

In this section of the book the action domain is the market for goods and services in the context of agriculture and rural markets in developing countries. The focus of the theoretical chapters and the case studies in Part 2 is on addressing a key development problem, namely, the development of coordinated exchange systems in poor rural areas. The core problem relates to the existence of thin markets and low density of economic activity in these areas, resulting in the failure of competitive markets to be effective and efficient mechanisms for coordinated exchange.

Because of their spatial scale, most irrigation systems, forests, rangelands, and fisheries cannot be managed at the individual or household level (Knox McCulloch, Meinzen-Dick, and Hazell 1998). They require some form of coordinated regulation to limit overuse and ensure that there is sufficient investment to sustain the resource base. Even the adoption of “lumpy” technologies (such as equipment) that are not cost effective for a single farm requires some form of coordination.

This is a brief for Policy Makers titled "From Land Degradation to Land Health"

These Guidelines are of guidance to institutions for yearly planning in water resources management.

Forests are essential for human survival and well-being. They harbour two thirds of all terrestrial animal and plant species. They provide us with food, oxygen, shelter, recreation, and spiritual sustenance, and they are the source for over 5,000 commercially-traded products, ranging from pharmaceuticals to timber and clothing. The biodiversity of forests—the variety of genes, species, and forest ecosystems—underpins these goods and services, and is the basis for long-term forest health and stability.

Peacebuilding in conflict-prone or post-conflict countries -- such as East Timor, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone -- aims to prevent the re-emergence or escalation of violent conflict and establish a durable peace. This volume explores and critiquesthe 'liberal' premise of contemporary peacebuilding: the promotion of democracy, market-based economic reforms and a range of other institutions associated with 'modern' states as a driving force for building peace.

Biofuel demand is increasing because of a combination of growing energy needs; rising oil costs; the pursuit of clean, renewable sources of energy; and the desire to boost farm incomes in developed countries. In turn, the need for crops-such as maize and sugarcane-to be used as feedstocks for biofuels has increased dramatically. That demand has had a significant and increasing impact on global food systems. The effects of growing biofuel demand are interwoven with tightening grain markets, which reflect demographic shifts and improved diets.

This study presents an approach to analyzing decentralized forestry and natural resource management and land property rights issues, and catalyzing collective action among villages and district governments. It focuses on understanding the current policies governing local people's access to property rights and decision making processes, and learning how collective action among community groups and interaction among stakeholders can enhance local people's rights over lands, resources, and policy processes for development.

The report includes three essays about Responding to the World Food Crisis: Getting on the Right Track by Joachim von Braun, High Global Food Prices: The Challenges and Opportunities by Josette Sheeran, and Policy Implications of High Food Prices for Africa by Namanga Ngongi.

"African agriculture is at a crossroads. The current high food prices and the instability they have provoked in several countries have added impetus for African countries to review their agricultural policies and programs. New agricultural policies will have to be more focused on staple food crops and on their main producers-smallholders, most of whom are women. The new policies must remove constraints that impede access by smallholder farmers to the knowledge, technology, and financial services they need to increase farm productivity in a profitable and environmentally sustainable manner.