As the world faces an evolving malnutrition crisis, with countries moving from the challenges of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency to a crisis that encompasses also overweight and obesity, one thing remains constant: agriculture and the food system have an important role to play in ensuring access to a high-quality diet that includes a diversity of foods that are safe, and provides levels of energy appropriate to age, sex, disease state and physical activity as well as micronutrients.
... See More + This report will discuss direct and indirect policies, as well as program and project actions affecting diets with a focus on overweight and obesity, but not exclusively so. This is couched upon the realization that many of the suggested actions for reducing overweight and obesity also serve the purpose of reducing under nutrition and or micronutrient deficiency. The report uses the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition’s (Glopan) conceptual framework that shows the link between diet quality and the four sub-systems of the food system: agricultural production; food storage, transport and trade; food transformation; and food retail and provisioning. This report is an initial attempt to better understand how agriculture and food systems can contribute to and mitigate against the rising incidence of overweight and obesity, and to do so by presenting evidence-based interventions (policies and actions) in the agriculture and food systems domain.
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This report is an update to the above mentioned UNCTAD/World Bank study (the ‘first phase’). Following that researchers revisited eight operations in four countries (Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania), conducting a total of 113 detailed additional interviews with 349 stakeholders primarily from local communities in which the agribusiness operations are based.
... See More + This report presents an updated set of findings based on these follow-up interviews; as this report is not a stand-alone piece, it should be treated as supplemental material to the original study, and the findings contained in the two reports should be viewed in unity. Accordingly, the tablesin Section 1.3 of this report provide an updated version of the tabular summary findings from the first phase report that have been augmented and revised based on findings from the additional fieldwork. This updated report seeks to describe in a more nuanced manner the perceived impacts arising from associated agribusiness investments, including spillover effects on the local community and more widely, whether intended or unintended. Given the complexity of impacts, these cannot be regarded simplistically as ‘good to be recommended’ or ‘bad to be corrected’; nevertheless, they offer essential ground-level insights from which to deepen understanding of outcomes and draw lessons. A secondary objective of this phase was to assess how the investment impact may have altered between the first and this phase. As such, throughout this report reference is made to observations and anecdotal evidence on the evolution of the impact of the agribusinesses studied. Given the limited sample size, this does not constitute a systematic or comprehensive analysis. Nevertheless, information on changes observed between researchers’ first and second site visits provides important insights into the policies and practices that tend to affect project impacts as the investment evolves.
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This study conducted an experimental intervention in unelectrified areas of northern Bangladesh to investigate the effectiveness of solar products in improving children's educational achievement.
... See More + It found that treated households substituted solar lanterns for kerosene-based lighting products, helping to decrease total household expenditure. Solar lanterns increased the children's home-study hours, particularly at night and before exams. The solar lanterns initially led to an increase in school attendance, but this effect diminished over time. However, the increased study hours and initial improvement in school attendance did not translate into improved academic performance. Varying the number of solar products within the treated households did not alter these results. Analyses that exploited the school grade treatment intensity also provided no evidence suggesting that spillover effects explained the "no academic performance effects." These findings suggest that improving the home-study environment solely through the provision of solar products may have a limited impact on children's educational achievement.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7954 JAN 25, 2017
The development objective of Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project for India is to enhance productivity and climate resilience of irrigated agriculture, improve water management and increase market opportunities for farmers and agro entrepreneurs in selected sub-basin areas of Tamil Nadu.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) cash compensation for loss of agricultural land at replacement cost as determined according to The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Resettlement Act 2013 or replacement of land if available; (ii) for loss of residential or commercial land, one time resettlement allowance of INR 50,000 to be paid for titleholder; (iii) for loss of residential structures, compensation of structure will be paid at the replacement cost to be calculated as per latest prevailing Basic Schedule of Rates (BSR) without depreciation; (iv) for loss of rental accommodation, rental assistance for both residential and commercial tenants to be provided; (v) squatters and encroachers will be notified and given one month time to remove their assets or enough time to harvest their present crops; (vi) for loss of crops and trees, cash compensation at current market prices for mature crops based on average production to be provided; (vii) for loss of primary source of income or livelihood, subsistence grant of INR 50,000 to be provided; (viii) for loss of common property resources, reconstruction as per latest norms and guidelines, commissioning and handing over to concerned departments or community of all affected community property resources with community consultation and participation; (ix) for vulnerable Project Affected Persons (PAPs), handholding for ensured access to other government subsidies, schemes and services; and (x) any unforeseen or unanticipated impacts due to the sub-projects will be documented and mitigated based on the spirit of the principle agreed upon in this framework.
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Ratings for the Land Registration and Cadastre System for Sustainable Agriculture Project (LRCSP) for Tajikistan were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: support from regional leaders was very important in stimulating cooperation from local officials and interest by farmers in farmland restructuring. The Project demonstrated the possibilities of a long term engagement and an incremental approach to land reform, starting with a pilot for farm restructuring and privatization, moving towards full scale implementation, working on land policy and finally supporting a full-fledged land administration system. It also highlights the risks and rewards of such an opportunistic approach. It required a 10 plus year commitment from the Bank, other donors and the client, but may be a more practical approach in countries that are reluctant to move immediately to full private property rights. The significant revision to the PDO and results framework throughout the Project signify not only a change in culture in the Bank towards simplicity but also a recognition that our clients need clearer, simpler indicators. The Bank has changed since the first results framework for the project was designed in 2004-5 and the way that PDOs and indicators are designed has also changed. The focus is on clear and measureable results and simple indicators. This is particularly important in a country where all Bank documents are translated and meaning can easily be lost. The final results framework after the 2009 and 2012 restructurings provided a clearer set of measureable indicators. The fact that the project had three beneficiary surveys to provide extensive feedback on a number of indicators demonstrates the importance of ensuring not only measurable indicators but also ones for which data is available or can be made available.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR00003328 OCT 18, 2016
The development objective of the Guangdong Agriculture Pollution Control Project for China is to explore new approach, new model for agriculture non-point source pollution control, reduce pollution to water body caused by target agriculture pollution source, put Guangdong the twelfth five year energy saving and emission reduction task into practice, innovate agriculture energy saving and emission reduction promotion mode, change production mode, save agriculture production cost, improve efficiency and development condition, and accumulate experience for agriculture non-point source pollution control.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) mainly aiming at agricultural extension staff and professional technicians of plant protection in the cities, counties (districts)and countries (towns) in project areas ; (ii) training with the up-to-date integrated pest management (IPM) concepts, pest management plan, the corresponding newest technologies of non-pollution control of crop diseases and insect pests, the safely using of pesticide, and the relevant policies and regulations of pesticide sales, etc.; (iii) mainly aiming at the farmer technicians, farmers, pesticide distributors of countries (towns) in project areas. Training with identification, prevention and control measures of major diseases and insect pests; (iv) the members of uniform control organizations (service teams of spraying) will be trained for certification, including the test of Pest Management Plan (PMP) knowledges, using of pesticides and sprayers, and other practical operations; (v) during the growth of crops, three to four experts at plant protection, pesticide, ecology from agricultural research institutions at home and abroad, will be invited to guide the technicians and farmers in the fields, or perform the mobile trainings; (vi) according to the training projects, the farmer technicians, farmers, pesticide distributors of 30 countries (towns) in project areas should be participated at each training courses; and (vii) integrated pest management training materials and promotional materials will be compiled and designed completely before the implementation of the project including the diseases and pests of nine crops in the project areas.
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The Zambezi River accounts for half of the installed hydropower capacity in southern Africa and supports subsistence agriculture and fisheries for three quarters of the Zambezi Basin's 47 million people.
... See More + The World Bank's Zambezi River Basin Program is designed to respond to Southern Africa's development needs – namely, to increase food and energy security, boost growth and productive industries, and reduce risks to lives and livelihoods. In 2010, a Multi-Sector Investment Opportunities Analysis of the Zambezi basin showed that cooperative water development could generate substantial benefits in the region. For example, coordinated operation of existing hydropower facilities could increase energy production by 23 percent without the construction of any additional infrastructure. Improved cooperation could also reduce risks associated with floods that cause losses of an estimated $1 billion each year. In agriculture, coordinated investments could irrigate an additional 343,000 hectares, boosting coverage in the basin by 45 percent and creating 500,000 new jobs.
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While Uganda has a long history of decentralized service delivery, and has instituted Local Economic Development (LED) as an additional mandate for local governments (LGs), there has been less progress in operationalizing the concept and practically implementing it across LGs in Uganda.
... See More + In addition to their basic service delivery functions enshrined in the Local Governments Act of 1997, since 2006 LGs are also mandated by various policy documents to play a role in wealth creation, and increasing citizens’ income levels. While the Government of Uganda (GoU)’s LED Policy does outline the strategic intervention areas that LGs should implement, there is still considerable confusion among LG staff as to what this entails on a day to day basis and there has been limited progress in implementation. At the request of the MoLG, the World Bank, therefore, commissioned this assignment in support of the Government of Uganda (GoU's) efforts to improve the capacities of LGs for promoting LED. The study focused on assessing three localities (Jinja Municipality, and Arua and Nwoya Districts), both in terms of their local economic potentials and enabling environment for business, as well as in terms of the institutional and policy context for promoting LED. The study used quantitative methodologies, to identify promising economic sectors in the three localities, as well as qualitative methodologies to identify the main constraints that those sectors currently face.
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The objective of the Smallholder Agriculture Development and Commercialization Project for Angola is to increase smallholder agriculture productivity, production and marketing for selected crops in the project areas.
... See More + There are three components to the project, the first component being capacity building and institutional development. The objective of this component is to improve the technical, institutional, managerial, and marketing skills of 150,000 farmer beneficiaries and to strengthen the capacity of government agricultural extension specialists, agricultural research institutions, private agricultural service providers, and NGOs related to different aspects of agriculture, including value chains. The expected results are: (a) smallholder farmers’ organizations established and strengthened; (b) technical and managerial competence of smallholder farmers improved; and (c) government capacity to support smallholder agricultural production and commercialization enhanced. The second component is the Support for Increased Production and Commercialization. The objective of this component is to support value chain development of selected crops through demand-based matching investment grants to smallholder farmers’ groups and organizations to improve agricultural productivity, production, and market access for 50,000 eligible beneficiaries. Finally, the third component is the project management, monitoring, and evaluation. The third project component will finance management, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project. It consists of two subcomponents: project management; and project monitoring and evaluation.
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The study focuses on themes and areas that have been identified as highly relevant for the modernization and commercialization of the agriculture sector.
... See More + The study originally aimed to review: agricultural marketing, processing and exports; food safety; agricultural “cooperation,” including farmers’ groups; agricultural extension and agricultural insurance. This coverage was subsequently modified to: (i) avoid repetition of existing work; (ii) draw more extensively on WBG experience in other countries; (iii) address relevant long-term issues more directly; and (iv) to inform discussion of relevant issues on which little information was available. The proposed review of marketing, processing and exports, an area that has already been well studied – was thus replaced with a review of global experience in developing successful export-led agricultural industries. Similarly, the study of agricultural ‘cooperation,’ an area also widely studied, was replaced with an analysis of agricultural land markets. Both “cooperation” and land markets are highly pertinent to the need to increase farm size to improve competitiveness. Land markets offer a more structural, long-term response to this problem, however, a response that so far has received little attention. Finally, an analysis of public expenditure on agriculture was added to provide insight into public expenditure on long-term versus short-term sector objectives. The review outlines the elements of a long-term framework based on building a cluster-based, institutional framework for horticultural exports, and suggests the need to prioritize associated development of agricultural extension, food safety, agricultural land markets and agricultural risk management. Horticulture is viewed as a vector for modernization and commercialization, due to its demonstrated potential for exports. The proposed framework would drive growth and change throughout the sector, however, due to the sector-wide impact of support for extension, food safety, land markets and risk management.
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The development objective of Sustainable Management of Agricultural Research and Technology Dissemination (SMARTD) Project for Indonesia is to improve the institutional capacity and performance of the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) to develop and disseminate relevant and demand-driven innovative technologies, meeting the needs of producers and of the agri-food system.
... See More + This restructuring addresses the agreed modifications of the project activities, during the Mid-term Review (MTR) and subsequent implementation support missions, which include the addition of IAARD laboratories and field stations in new locations and budget allocations to enhance implementation effectiveness and efficiency gains. The changes will also ensure that the Project Development Objective (PDO) is achieved during the 21-month extended implementation period. Furthermore, the proposed modifications are in line with the changes in the Government Policy directions and priorities since the project was designed in 2011 and that of the World Bank's Indonesia Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2015 to 2018-2019 period addressing the agriculture sector investments. The closing date has been extended to June 30, 2019.
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The development objective of Farm-level Irrigation Modernization Project for Egypt is to increase agricultural profitability and improve equity in access to higher-quality water for smallscale farmers in the command areas of Mahmoudia, Manaifa and Meet Yazid located in the Nile Delta.
... See More + This restructuring aims to amend the Loan Agreement as follows: (i) revise the project development objective (PDO) to focus on outcomes that are directly attributable to the project interventions; (ii) update the project results indicators and targets to be consistent with the revised PDO and allocation of resources; (iii) trigger safeguards policy for Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12); (iv) add a new disbursement category to enable financing of consultancy and training services and reallocate the loan proceeds among the categories of expenditures; (v) amend the disbursement schedule; (vi) extend the closing date of the project by 18 months, from June 30, 2016 to December 31, 2017 to account for the time lost due to significant start up implementation delays partly attributed to the political upheaval in Egypt during 2011 and 2013; and (vii) reflect changes in the implementation schedule to align with the revised closing date. The project risk assessment and the appraisal summary for social analysis have also been updated. This will be the first extension of the closing date.
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