The new Country Partnership Framework
(CPF or framework) presents the engagement of the World Bank
Group (WBG) in Sri Lanka over the next four years (fiscal
years 2017-20 (FY17–20)). The CPF aims to support the
achievement of some of the government’s medium-term goals in
areas that are critical for reducing extreme poverty and
promoting shared prosperity, and that are consistent with
the WBG’s comparative advantage. Notably, the CPF provides

Lesotho is one of the poorest countries
in Southern Africa, and has one of the highest income
inequality in the world. Home to about 2 million people,
Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa, the second largest
and most industrialized economy in Africa. Lesotho generates
income mainly by exporting textiles, water, and diamonds,
and is a member of the Southern African Customs Union
(SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC),

This Country Partnership Framework (CPF)
covers the five-year period FY16-20. Anchored in the
government’s medium-term development plan as outlined in a
January 2015 Cabinet of Ministers Program of Action, it also
reflects the analysis and recommendations of the World Bank
Group’s (WBG) 2015 Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for
Uzbekistan and the lessons learned from the Completion
Report of the previous CPS. The CPF’s objectives and

This program document presents the World
Bank Group (WBG) FY17-22 Country Partnership Framework (CPF)
for Bulgaria. The timing of the new CPF follows the
preparation of theSystematic Country Diagnostic (SCD)
prepared in FY15, and informs the areas and objectives ofthe
CPF in support of the WBG’s twin goals to reduce poverty and
boost shared prosperity1 for the bottom forty percent of the
population. The CPF proposes to focus WBG support in

This paper investigates possible impacts
of climate change on the poor communities of the Bangladesh
Sundarbans via changes in aquatic salinity and mangrove
species. The implications for poor communities are assessed
by computing changes in high-value mangrove species for the
five sub-districts in the Sundarbans. The results of the
impact analysis indicate highly varied patterns of gain and
loss across the five sub-districts. Overall, however, the

Mali is one of the least developed countries with an economy that relies heavily on rainfed cereal production. Rural communities are faced with extreme poverty as a result of unpredictable rainfall pattern and lack of appropriate agricultural intervention practices. Most agronomic practices in support of development in the past had emphasized farm-level productivity issues with limited scope for managing interactions among components and actors beyond the level of the farm. Several studies showed different techniques practiced at farm level to improve the agricultural productivity.

Improving the productivity of
smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa offers the best
chance to reduce poverty among this generation of rural
poor, by building on the limited resources farming
households already possess. It is also the best and shortest
path to meet rising food needs. Using examples from
farmers' maize and rice fields, and comparisons with
Asia, this paper examines why the set of technologies

Weather risk and incomplete insurance
markets are significant contributors to poverty for rural
households in developing countries. Weather index insurance
has emerged as a possible tool for overcoming these
challenges. This paper provides evidence on the impact of
weather index insurance from a pioneering, large-scale
insurance program in Mexico. The focus of this analysis is
on the ex-post effects of insurance payments. A regression

The yield gap has arisen again as a focus for agricultural research to ensure food security and economic growth for farmers around the world. To examine this renewed interest, we carried out a review of key literature in the field of yield gap analysis to identify important gaps in research and analysis. In so doing, both the complexities in yield gap studies emerged along with some significant omissions. Much of the literature and research on the yield gap has been framed by larger concerns and initiatives to raise agricultural productivity.

Based on data from the Land Matrix database, this paper briefly analyses large-scale land acquisitions in the context of current complex and dynamic land and climate governance discourse. The paper tries to explain the inter linkages between land and climate governance, within the water-food-energy nexus, and the increasing and important role for science, technology and innovation in agriculture in order to become more resilient to current and future challenges in climate and land governance.

Agroforestry systems and tree cover on agricultural land make an important contribution to climate change mitigation, but are not systematically accounted for in either global carbon budgets or national carbon accounting. This paper assesses the role of trees on agricultural land and their significance for carbon sequestration at a global level, along with recent change trends. Remote sensing data show that in 2010, 43% of all agricultural land globally had at least 10% tree cover and that this has increased by 2% over the previous ten years.

La pérdida de bosques contribuye a un sexto de las emisiones anuales de gases de efecto invernadero que son la causa principal del cambio climático. La experiencia nos enseña que la implementación conjunta de enfoques de reducción de la deforestación y de la degradación forestal y de consolidación de la gobernanza forestal –como la Reducción de las emisiones debidas a la deforestación y a la degradación forestal (REDD+) y la Aplicación de leyes, gobernanza y comercio forestales (FLEGT)– puede ser mucho más eficaz para contrarrestar la pérdida de bosques.