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Risk aversion in low income countries
Production systems in low-income developing countries are generally poorly diversified, focusing on rainfed staple crop production and raising livestock. These activities are inherently risky and investment and production decisions by farm households are therefore made within environments that are affected by risk. Because of poorly developed or absent credit and insurance markets it is difficult to pass any of these risks to a third party.
The Arni studies: Changes in the private sector of a market town, 1973-1983
In a predominantly agrarian region, development of the nonfarm economy is materially affected by the development of the agricultural sector. Agriculture supplies food, raw materials, and surplus labor for agro-industry. Agriculture also supplies the financial resources necessary to the organization of nonfarm firms. These resources can be mobilized through the terms of trade, through the savings and investments of both farmers and agricultural traders, and through direct and indirect taxation. Furthermore, demand from the agricultural sector stimulates nonfarm activity.
Agriculture, food, and water nanotechnologies for the poor
Nanotechnology is research and development that involves measuring and manipulating matter at the atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels at scales measured in approximately 1 to 100 nanometers (nm) in at least one dimension.”Materials at such small scales often exhibit different electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, and other physical properties from their bulk material counterparts, leading to the development of potentially revolutionary technologies in a variety of industries,including agriculture and food.
Policies for improved land management and agricultural market development in the Ethiopian Highlands
The objectives of this workshop are to review and discuss the main findings and policy implications of recent research conducted on these topics by IFPRI, Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Mekelle University (MU), the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) and other Ethiopian collaborators; to discuss options for improving the development of agricultural markets and land management in Ethiopia, considering different stakeholders’ perspectives; and to develop recommendations for priority policy actions and fur
Optimal tariffs with smuggling: A spatial analysis of Nigerian rice policy options
Utilizing a spatial multi-market model for rice in Nigeria that explicitly takes into account the potential for smuggling, in this paper we analyze the welfare implications of alternative rice tariff rates given the government’s goals of spurring domestic production and reducing imports.
Contractual arrangements and commitment in the Indonesian supermarket channel
Working paper
Transaction costs and agricultural productivity
This paper examines the mechanisms that transmit isolation into poverty in Madagascar using household survey data combined with a census of administrative communes. Given the importance of agriculture to the rural poor, where nine out of ten poor persons is engaged in farming, we concentrate on isolation manifesting itself in the form of high transaction costs such as the cost of transporting agricultural commodities to major market centers.
Development Pathways in Medium- to High-Potential Kenya: A Meso-Level Analysis of Agricultural Patterns and Determinants
The highlands of East Africa have been endowed with a combination of moderate temperatures, adequate rainfall (falling in two distinct seasons for much of the highlands), and productive soils that make the region one of the best suited for agricultural development in all of Africa. As a consequence, the area has a long history of human habitation and supports some of the highest rural population densities in Africa (Hoekstra and Corbett 1995; Pender, Place, and Ehui 1999).
Gender-specific approaches, rural institutions and technological innovations
This paper reviews and integrates findings from existing empirical studies and case studies received from 35 organizations in various countries to identify demand- and supply-side constraints and opportunities in access, adoption and impact of agricultural technological innovations. The most common technologies studied are improved seeds, fertilizers, farm mechanization, improved management practices, transporting technologies, and information and communication technologies.
Land lease markets and agricultural efficiency
This paper develops a theoretical model of land leasing that includes transaction costs of enforcing labor effort, risk pooling motives and non-tradable productive inputs. We test the implications of this model compared to those of the “Marshallian” (unenforceable labor effort) and “New School” (costlessly enforceable effort) perspectives using data collected from four villages in Ethiopia. We find that land lease markets operate relatively efficiently in the villages studied, supporting the New School perspective relative to the other two models.