This paper uses farm panel data from
Indonesia to examine dynamic patterns of land use, capital
investments, and wages in agriculture. The empirical
analysis shows that an increase in real wages has induced
the substitution of labor by machines among relatively large
farmers. Large farmers tend to increase the scale of
operation by renting in more land when real wages increase.
Machines and land are complementary if the scale of

Across the developing world, public
goods exert significant impacts on the local rural economy
in general and agricultural productivity and welfare
outcomes in particular. Economic and social-cultural
heterogeneity have, however, long been documented as
detrimental to collective capacity to provide public goods.
In particular, women are often under-represented in local
leadership and decision-making processes, as are young

Improving agricultural productivity and
promoting exports are top priorities for the Government of
the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Given the centrality
of rice to the rejuvenation of agriculture in Myanmar, the
rice sector is of critical importance, especially rice
exports. The government announced ambitious targets of 2
million metric tons (tons)2 of rice exports by 2014/15 and 4
million tons by 2019/20. Recent actual performance is

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
region has been in many ways successful in increasing
agriculture production and competitiveness, as well as
tackling nutrition. Mainstreaming nutrition considerations
into agriculture operations can increase the availability of
and access to nutritious food, which can improve the
nutrition status of individuals. The challenge is how to
bridge the gap that exists in region between being an

Woodfuels (firewood and charcoal) are
the dominant energy source and the leading forest product
for most developing countries. Representing 60 to 80 percent
of total wood consumption in these nations, woodfuels often
account for 50 to 90 percent of all energy used. Although
woodfuels are widely perceived as cheap and primitive
sources of energy, commercial woodfuel markets are
frequently very large, involve significant levels of

The report begins with definitions of
watersheds and watershed management, a characterization of
the problem of watershed degradation, and a short history of
watershed management operations and policies (Chapter 1).
The following four chapters discuss the findings from
experience with implementing watershed management programs
over the last 20 years based both on the project review and
on the literature. The second chapter discusses the findings

This report is part of a strategy to
promotes trade competitiveness within the East Asia and
Pacific Region. It presents an overview of the logistics
issues facing East Asia countries and proposes a development
agenda for them. Based on the recognition that the
countries have basic differences in their level of
development, extent of openness, and composition of trade,
it begins by discussing the benefits of improved logistics.

Could the simplifying assumptions made
in project appraisal be so far from the truth that the
expected benefits of public investments are not realized?
Using data for Vietnam, commonly used estimates of the
benefits from irrigation investments based on means are
compared with impacts assessed through an econometric
modeling of marginal returns that allows for household and
area heterogeneity using integrated household-level survey

Over the last few decades, the range of agricultural extension and advisory services as well as the notions of which tools and methods are most suitable have seen fundamental changes. Our authors give an overview of old and new approaches, showing what we already know and where there is a need for more information.

As with other countries, agricultural extension and advisory services (EAS) in Malawi are provided by public, private, and non-profit organisations. While it has become commonplace to refer to this collection of actors as a system, this claim is only valid in the loosest of terms, as many of the component parts do not functionally interact with others in an operational sense, tending rather to function as independent sub-networks within larger national, and international spheres of exchange.

Today, it would be difficult to imagine agricultural extension without modern information and communication technologies. What they can do, where they fit in, and where they reach their limits is shown in the following examples.

In many parts of Africa, formal education and training in agriculture is almost nonexistent. Swiss Biovision Foundation supports farmers via its Farmer Communication Programme. While it takes advantage of its close links with research institutions, the ideas and experiences of farmers also flow directly into its course contents.