Economic development has brought about,
the decline in contribution of the agricultural sector to
the economy of Sri Lanka, and, consistent with this economic
transformation, the structure of employment also changed.
Thus, as labor migrates away from agriculture, the
productivity, for those who remain in the land, needs to
increase significantly. This report examines the constraints
to promoting more rapid agricultural, and rural non-farm

The Philippines regained a modest growth
rate of 3.5 percent per annum for 1999-2001, but has not yet
managed to reduce the incidence of poverty from its 1996
level. The Medium Term Philippine Development (MTPDP) growth
targets of over 5 percent per year are attainable, but only
if the key building blocks for sustained growth - an
environment conducive to increased investment and
productivity within both private and public sectors - are

The world's worst nuclear accident
occurred in Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, releasing at least
100 times as much radiation as the atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most affected country was
Belarus, for which the environmental, health, and other
consequences of the Chernobyl accident were disastrous. The
present report reveals that notable differences exist
between zones with relatively mild levels of contamination

This report examines the effect of
gender on socio-economic outcomes in three Caribbean
countries: the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
Organized in three separate country notes, it covers:
demographics, health and reproductive health, violence,
education, labor and agriculture. The report is part of a
large effort aimed at establishing a strategic social agenda
in the region. Many of the key economic issues that

After almost a decade of high-level
effort to bring the charges (tariffs) that farmers pay for
electricity more nearly into line with the costs of supply,
India has barely made a dent in the longstanding and
increasingly uneconomical practice of subsidizing power to
agricultural consumers for irrigation. Progress has been
slowed by the understandable but misplaced concern that
higher tariffs would harm farmers--and that the injured

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important form of sustainable land management, provided that the three basic principles - no tillage, permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotation or intercropping - are always observed.

More than three times as much carbon is stored in soils across the world as it is in the atmosphere, making them one of the most important global carbon sinks. Therefore, processes impacting on the soil in which carbon is released, such as deforestation or agricultural activities, significantly contribute to climate change. The debate on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities and their consideration in the international climate negotiations has brought soils as carbon reservoirs more to the public eye.

Specific objectives of the study included reviewing the state of implementation of CAADP in Tanzania in the context of on-going multiple development initiatives; identifying and analyse gaps on policies and frameworks related to CAADP implementation; making objective analysis of commitment of the Government of Tanzania to 2003 Maputo Declaration; and assessing engagement of small scale farmers in CAADP process in Tanzania

Agriculture is considered to be “climate-smart” when it contributes to increasing food security, adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable way. This new concept now dominates current discussions in agricultural development because of its capacity to unite the agendas of the agriculture, development and climate change communities under one brand.

Reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives Land Act. The root of the land question today arises out of the pervasive process of land alienation that dispossessed the majority of South Africans of their land over the past few centuries. 2013 is the centenary f the 1913 Natives Land Act, which was the first of number of discriminatory laws that reinforced the massive dispossession of land from black South AFricans

Soybean production in Paraguay now takes up 80 per cent of cultivated land, displacing agricultural production by family farmers and indigenous populations and deepening inequality in access to land.

This handbook is intended for agro-commodity companies that want to better manage supply chain environmental and social risks. The Handbook focuses on five major agro-commodity supply chains—palm oil, soy, sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee—but many of the tools, resources, and case studies can be used as guidance for other agro-commodities.