In many developing countries, to sustain the provision of agricultural services to farmers, many have advocated the use of service fees. Successful implementation of such schemes requires understanding of determinants of farmers’ willingness to pay. In this paper we use a multivariate probit approach to investigate farmers’ stated willingness to pay for different agricultural services including soil fertility management, crop protection, farm management, improved produce quality /varieties, on-farm storage (post-harvest), improved individual and group marketing, and disease control.

Addressing the problem of hunger in a world where food production systems, particularly in developing countries, are being eroded and undermined by climate change is one of the most important challenges of our time. Studies by the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO), Oxfam and the Asian Development Bank, among others, underscore the significance of climate change impacts on agriculture and food production (FAO 2007, Oxfam 2009, ADB 2009).

Les conditions de vie des populations pauvres conditionnent leur demande en matière de micro-assurance. Ces personnes sont généralement des travailleurs indépendants du secteur informel, illettrés et peu au fait du concept d’assurance.
Ils vivent souvent dans des zones rurales mal équipées en infrastructures. Les services d’assurance équitable doivent permettre aux populations pauvres des zones rurales et urbaines d’atténuer les impacts des crises qui menacent leurs vies, leur productivité et leurs ressources.

En 2008, le Fonds pour l'innovation en micro-assurance a attribué une subvention à Planet Guarantee (en partenariat avec AGF Afrique et Swiss Re) pour la réalisation d'une étude de faisabilité sur l'assurance indexée destinée aux producteurs de coton du Mali. Trois types d'indices ont été évalués. Étant donné le risque de base élevé que présente l'indice climatique et les ressources techniques importantes requises par l'indice satellitaire, l'indice de rendement est considéré comme l'approche la plus prometteuse.

Alors qu'ils sont tributaires de l'élevage, de nombreux ménages vivant dans les régions arides et semi-arides du Kenya sont régulièrement confrontés à des pertes de bétail importantes en raison des sécheresses chroniques qui affectent la région.

The message in this short, yet stark sentence highlights a phenomenon that farmers, particularly in marginalized dryland areas, have been experiencing for years – the threat of desertification and climate change to their lives. Carbon sequestration, however, serves a dual purpose to remedy this threat. Firstly, global warming can be mitigated significantly by removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and sequestering it in soil. Secondly, increased carbon in the soil has great value as a food-producing asset.

Climate change is set to have a significant impact on climate-sensitive sectors of national economies, such as agriculture. This report, published by the World Agroforestry Centre, discusses the challenges that climate change brings to smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia, and outlines adaptive measures that can be taken. It begins with a brief general discussion of climate change and moves on to describe the likely impacts for farmers. The following section highlights adaptive strategies available to small-scale farmers in the region.

Les nouvelles sur l’état de l’agriculture en Afrique sont en grande partie décourageantes, mais on entrevoit des lueurs d'espoir. Quelques efforts stimulants réalisés par des agriculteurs et chercheurs africains au cours des dix dernières années ont sensiblement augmenté la productivité agricole dans certains pays et pour certains produits. Ces cas peuvent servir de modèles pour de futurs efforts, mais seulement si les responsables des politiques de développement et les professionnels comprennent les processus qui ont amené ces résultats, et les éléments clé de leur succès.

This 2010-11 Annual Development Review is the sixth annual review produced by CDRI on major development issues for Cambodia, and addresses several of the issues raised above.

The current study attempts to examine whether large-scale agricultural investment of this type benefits the poor and how this investment can be implemented to increase benefits for the poor. It is arguable whether the poor need more land to grow crops to meet their food security requirements or need to benefit from large-scale agricultural investment in Cambodia. Although the poor households are capable of operating small plots of a few hectares each, they generally lack capital and the means to work large chunks of new land with forests or degrade forests.

FIRST PARAGRAPH OF OVERVIEW: This paper is part of a study “Policy Analysis for the Development of Land Policy for Socio- Economic Development.” Land policy relates to the institutional arrangements through which the Government of Vietnam defines which individuals and groups have access to rights in land and the circumstances that apply to gaining and retaining that access.