The author surveys the empirical literature on the political economy of agricultural protection. He uses a detailed data set of agricultural Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions over five U.S. congressional election cycles over the 1991-2000 period to investigate the relationship between lobbying spending and agricultural protection. A detailed graphical analysis of campaign contributions by the agricultural PACs indicates that although there are very many PACs, in most sectors the majority of contributions are made by very few PACs.

As pesticide traders are important sources of information about the health impacts of pesticides, a crucial understanding of their perception is necessary to guide further pesticide information dissemination efforts through this channel. To this end, a 2003 survey of 110 Bangladeshi pesticide traders was conducted with questions on the pesticides in stock, knowledge and training in pesticide use and handling, sources of information, protective measures, and health effects.

This paper uses a duration analysis
based on adoption data spanning more than 25 years from six
communities in the Central Highlands of Guatemala. The
analysis explores how household characteristics and external
trends play into both the adoption and diffusion processes
of non-traditional exports among smallholders. Adoption was
initially widespread and rapid, which led nontraditional
exports to be hailed as a pro-poor success, reaching all but

Recent trends in Albania suggest that it
has the potential for a modern and competitive agricultural
sector, provided there is sufficient private investment and
the right policy environment. This chapter looks at the role
of agriculture in the economy and the current status of the
sector, and outlines the implications of modernization and
transformation of agriculture for rural areas. It also
identifies trends and sources of growth for agriculture, and

This report is intended to inform the
discussions of the Sri Lanka Development Forum.
Specifically, section One reviews recent economic
performance, the status of macroeconomic management and the
strategic directions outlined in Mahinda Chintana. It notes
that the recent acceleration in Sri Lanka's growth can
be partly attributed to large aid flows for tsunami
reconstruction and to rapid growth in domestic demand. While

Stakeholders' perceptions of
opportunities and constraints to sustainable land management
in Ethiopia was assessed through interviews and a review of
secondary data. Stakeholders included farmers as well as
representatives of development agencies, agricultural
organizations, donors, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
and agricultural research systems. Stakeholders generally
perceive that the numerous, well-intentioned but piecemeal

China's success in addressing food problems after adopting the reforms in 1978 has been nothing less than remarkable. Grain output (rice, wheat and maize) has almost doubled and most hunger has been eliminated. Ever since China embarked on its reform agenda more than 30 years ago, its economic growth and poverty reduction have been nothing less than remarkable. Agriculture has been an important contributor to these developments.

This paper provides an overview of land reform in South Africa from 1994 to 2011, with the focus on the land redistribution. The government policies and associated implementation since 1994 have not generated expected social and economic results for a number of reasons. Even where land has been transferred, it appears to have had minimal impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries, largely because of inappropriate project design, a lack of necessary support services and shortages of working capital, leading to widespread underutilization of land.

This sourcebook is intended to be a
ready reference for practitioners (including World Bank
stakeholders, clients in borrowing countries, and World Bank
project leaders) seeking state-of-the-art information about
good land management approaches, innovations for
investments, and close monitoring for potential scaling up.
This sourcebook is divided into three parts: the first part
identifies the need and scope for sustainable land

When government officials are involved in land transactions the scope for arbitrary decision making and corruption is large, and the land issue can turn into a political football among rival political parties.

In every region of the world, the
intensification of crop-based agriculture has been
associated with a sharp increase in the use of chemical
fertilizer. Given the generally low levels of fertilizer use
in Africa, there can be little doubt that fertilizer use
must increase in Africa if the region is to meet its
agricultural growth targets, poverty reduction goals, and
environmental sustainability objectives. For this reason,

There is increasing interest in climate
change issues in Indonesia particularly in the lead-up to
the COP13 or Copenhagen meeting in Bali in December 2007
when there was renewed focus on Indonesia as the third
largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world due
to deforestation, peat-land degradation, and forest fires.
In Indonesia, the agriculture sector employs the largest
share, 45 percent, of Indonesia's labor and contributes