This paper proposes a new interpretation of the farm size-productivity relationship. Using two rounds of the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey, and drawing on earlier work on five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the paper shows that the relationship between farm size and productivity is neither monotonic nor univocal.
... See More + Most previous studies that tested the inverse farm size-productivity relationship used ordinary least squares estimation, therefore reporting parameter estimates at the conditional mean of productivity. By expanding these important findings to consider the entire distribution of agricultural productivity, the analysis finds sign switches across the distribution, pointing to a “direct-inverse-direct” relationship. Less productive farmers exhibit an inverted U-shape relationship between land productivity and farm size, while more productive farmers show a U-shape relationship that reverses the relationship. In both cases, the relationship points toward a threshold value of farm size; however, the threshold is a minimum for the less productive farmers and a maximum for the more productive ones. To the left of the threshold, for very small farmers, the relationship between productivity and farm size is positive; for the range of middle farm size, the relationship is negative; and to the right of the threshold, the relationship is direct (positive) again. From a policy perspective, these findings imply that efficiency-enhancing and redistributive land reform should consider farm size in the proper context of the present and potential levels of agricultural productivity. The results and their policy implications underline the relevance of the most recent efforts of the international development community to collect more reliable georeferenced data on farm size and agricultural productivity.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8127 JUN 28, 2017
Ratings for the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) - CORAF Trust Fund for Africa were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: Initiate unavoidable changes as soon as possible.Accurate time estimation is crucial for good project management.Accurate time estimation is crucial for good project management.Functional innovation platforms (IP) are effective in helping deliver Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D).
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4143 JUN 27, 2017
Ratings for the Second Series of Project under the First Phase of the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program for Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Nigeria, and CORAF were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: Regional projects that (i) are supported by Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), and (ii) address similar constraints and have the same PDO can have more benefits and a much higher impact on the participating countries than projects limited to individual small countries. By stimulating interactions between professionals in different countries, their world view changes and they become more open to innovations and change. Need for multidisciplinary research teams. Need to connect agricultural technology with entrepreneurship and employment creation, especially youth. Strengthening producer organizations must be one key element of agricultural Technology generation and dissemination (TGD) programs.Technology packages are more important than single innovations.Need to initiate impact evaluation studies early to enable testing of methodologies and address analytical and inferential challenges, which has been a bottleneck in the preparation of this report
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4132 JUN 27, 2017
What is the future for agriculture in Peru? Once the principal source of employment and income for much of the population, Peru’s agricultural sector has declined in importance as the national economy has grown and urbanized.
... See More + Economic activity in the sector has continued to grow, but economic activity in other sectors has grown more rapidly, leaving agriculture to make up an ever smaller share of the overall economy. The future of Peruvian agriculture should concern policy makers, for at least five reasons. First, agriculture makes up an important part of the economy, so if agricultural growth decelerates, overall growth will suffer. Second, an expanding agricultural sector diversifies Peru’s economy and reduces dependence on extractives, so if the agricultural sector contracts relative to other sectors, economic growth could become more volatile. Third, agriculture-led growth is good for the poor, so if agricultural growth slows, an important means of reducing poverty will be lost. Fourth, Peru relies on food imports to make up production shortfalls, so if agricultural production fails to keep pace with population growth, national food security could be threatened. Fifth, climate-smart agricultural practices can play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon, so if future agricultural practices are not climate smart, an important opportunity to help mitigate climate change will be missed. This report synthesizes current knowledge about the ongoing transformation of Peru’s agriculture and food system, assesses the recent performance of the agriculture sector with an emphasis on productivity and competitiveness, and highlights opportunities for enhancing the future contribution of the agriculture sector toward meeting the country’s development challenges.
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Ratings of Integrated Agricultural Productivity Project for Bangladesh were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was satisfactory, and Borrower performance was satisfactory.
... See More + Some of the lessons learned included: (i) Technology Generation Mechanism, including the development and dissemination of new technologies and the monitoring of their adoption by organized farmer groups into a single process, was an effective platform for inter-department collaboration; (ii) Systematic testing of the seeds produced in seed village is critical to maximize long-term impacts and effectiveness of investments; (iii) Trainings, fairs and field days can positively impact the effectiveness of extension and warrant wider understanding, adoption and transmission of technology as well as promotion of local agriculture and production enhancement; (iv) A unified Monitoring and Evaluation (M and E) system of a complex project such as this one is key to achieve greater monitoring, coordination, and accountability; and (v) Input-Output cards (I-O card) filled out by farmers along with Activity Diaries kept by Community Facilitators who assist those farmers can serve as a self-monitoring tool to achieve greater accountability in M and E.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR3973 JUN 22, 2017
Zimbabwe’s economy grew by 0.7 percent in 2016 despite the combined effect of the El Nino drought and domestic financial turmoil. The drought reduced agricultural output and increased food prices towards the end of the year, despite the government’s efforts to boost production and stabilize prices.
... See More + The public provision of agricultural inputs, the creation of food-for-work programs, and the establishment of price supports for staple foods accentuated the government’s expansionary fiscal-policy stance. Meanwhile, the government also increased spending on a cash basis to clear domestic arrears. The authorities financed much of the widening fiscal deficit by issuing Treasury bills purchased by commercial banks and a US$ 1 billion overdrafts with the RBZ. As domestic borrowing reduced liquidity and crowded out credit to the private sector, demand fell, imports contracted sharply, and economic growth slowed. Good rains are projected to boost growth in 2017 but other sectors remain lackluster. To allow GDP growth to recover in 2017 and beyond, the authorities will need to improve public expenditure efficiency and ensure adequate liquidity in the financial sector. The newly introduced command agriculture program provided farmers with inputs which are to be repaid by delivering grain to the Grain Marketing Board at the end of the growing season. These policies are projected to boost agricultural output in 2017. However, government intervention is both expensive and inefficient, especially the use of price support, as floor prices are set far higher than import competing prices.4 Favorable rains during the 2016/17 agricultural season are expected to drive a robust recovery, and the agricultural sector is projected to make a sizeable contribution to GDP growth in 2017. Improving weather conditions will be complemented by the ongoing suspension of import duties on some fertilizer products through end-2017, and by the ongoing allocation of underutilized land managed by the parastatal ARDA and other government agencies to experienced farmers.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 116309 JUN 21, 2017
Ratings for the Huai River Basin Flood Management and Drainage Improvement Project for China were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was satisfactory, and Borrower performance was satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: starting capacity building during preparation contributes to the success of projects. Community participation in the design of subprojects is crucial to maximize direct project impacts. The establishment of an effective management information system (MIS) in the early stages of the project contributes to the success of complex projects. The obligation to support operation and maintenance (O and M) costs, coupled with the flexibility in water pricing systems, created the right conditions for O and M financing. Contracting the monitoring of environmental and social safeguard aspects to specialized independent agencies can contribute substantially to compliance.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4036 JUN 20, 2017
Ratings of Second Phase of Second On-Farm Irrigation Rehabilitation Project for Kyrgyz Republic were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was substantial, Bank performance was satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some of the lessons learned included: (i) Design of I&D schemes to be rehabilitated; (ii) Better link between irrigation and agriculture investment; (iii) Procurement of equipment; (iv) Aligning repayment terms with anticipated income streams; and (v) Capacity increase is crucial for successful project implementation and its sustainability.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR3885 JUN 13, 2017
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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This paper documents the positive link between the noncognitive skills of women farmers and the adoption of a cash crop. The context is Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, where the majority of rural households practice subsistence farming.
... See More + The analysis finds that a one standard deviation increase in noncognitive ability related to perseverance is associated with a five percentage point (or 33 percent) increase in the probability of adoption of the main cash crop. This link is not explained by differences across women in education and cognitive skills. It is also not explained by the fact that women with higher noncognitive ability tend to be married to husbands of higher noncognitive ability and education. The effect of female noncognitive skills on adoption is concentrated in patrilocal communities, where women face greater adversity and thus where it would be expected that the returns to such skills would be highest. One main channel through which noncognitive skills seem to work is through the use of productive inputs, including higher levels of labor, fertilizer, and agricultural advice services.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8095 JUN 08, 2017
The Second Rural Productive Partnerships Support Project (Programa de Apoyo a las Alianzas Productivas II - PAAP II) closed in June 2015, leaving the World Bank Group without an active IBRD-funded lending operation in the agricultural sector in Colombia for the first time in more than two decades.
... See More + With agricultural and rural development having been identified as a priority both in the government’s national development strategy as well as in the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework 2016-21, there is interest from both parties in continuing collaboration in the sector. The purpose of the activity is to: (1) support the ongoing dialogue with the National Planning Department (Departamento de Planeación Nacional - DNP), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural – MADR) and other key actors responsible for agriculture and rural development; (2) allow the World Bank Group to make available knowledge, data, and tools that can be used by the Government to inform the design and implementation of its new agricultural and rural development strategy; and (3) explore areas for potential future collaboration. The development objective is to explore with the Colombian Government opportunities for the World Bank Group to provide analytical services, technical assistance, and/or financing in support of the Government's agriculture and rural development policies and strategies.
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The development objective of the Second Phase of Ferghana Valley Water Resources Management Project for Uzbekistan is to improve the quality of irrigation and drainage service delivery to agricultural users within the project area.The project includes the following three main components: (i) Irrigation Modernization; (ii) Support for Agricultural Modernization; and (iii) Project Management.
... See More + The first component, aims to increase water supply both from surface and groundwater sources and to reduce wastage through investments in the modernization of the water distribution system. Investments will increase the capacity to control and distribute water along the canal network. Intermediate indicators include (i) area provided with improved irrigation and drainage services; and (ii) direct project beneficiaries. this component will consist of the fooun following subcomponents: a) rehabilitation of surface irrigation system, b) rehabilitation and construction of pump stations, c) construction of wells and d) flood control and bank protection; The second component, will promote intensification and diversification of agriculture and improved water management. The Project will use a combination of direct training activities, information dissemination, technology demonstrations, experience sharing activities and interactions with other sources of information, financial and technical support.This component consists of two subcomponent, a) agricultural intensification and diversification and b) improved water management; The third component, will support strengthening the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR’s) and the Project Implementation Unit’s (PIU) capacity for project management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) (including, inter alia, the areas of procurement and financial management) through the provision of goods, consultant services, training, and financing of incremental operating costs. This component will also finance a Procurement Panel and an annual technical audit of civil works by the Works Verification Agent. This component will also develop a comprehensive management information and data collection and reporting system on key performance outputs and impact indicators through, inter alia, baseline surveys; participatory assessments; mid-term reviews; and final evaluations.
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This report is prepared within Phase 1 of the project Renewable Energy Resource Mapping for the Republic of the Maldives. This part of the project focuses on solar resource mapping and measurement services as part of a technical assistance in the renewable energy development implemented by the World Bank in Maldives.
... See More + This report summarizes results of first 12 months of the measuring campaign by the project ESMAP at four solar meteorological stations, installed in Maldives as part of the World Bank’s ESMAP mission in Maldives. This report describes delivery of site-specific data, site adaptation of solar model, data uncertainty and statistical summary. This report accompanies delivery of site-specific solar resource and meteorological data for four sites, where solar meteorological stations have been operated. As a result of high-quality operation of the meteorological sits, and site adaptation the Solargis model, reliable historical time series and TMY data is computed. The delivered time series and Typical Meteorological Year data is ready for use for bankable evaluation of solar energy projects.
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The development objective of the Western China Road Project for Kazakhstan involves the rehabilitation, upgrading and substantial new construction of a ca. 330 km long road section which traverses a variety of environments and landscapes.
... See More + Negative impacts include: air pollution, noise pollution, water, drainage and flooding, soil and subsoil erosion and contamination, road safety, and wastage disposal. Mitigation measures include: ensuring that all construction vehicles and equipment are maintained in accordance with manufacturers’ recommendations; ensure that the transport of all potentially dusty materials is done in covered trucks or the material is contained in secure bags; all vehicles and equipment by the use of foam, rubber and other soundproofing materials, as well as through the use of hoods with multilayer coatings; ensure that Contractors either have modern equipment that fulfill noise reduction norms, or that equipment is retrofitted to meet the required standards; all depots, special working areas, batching or mixing plants should be located at a distance from residential or any other sensitive areas; all workers exposed to vibration should be given special clothing, earplugs and given regular breaks; The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining all permits required for the use of surface and groundwater resources from the district and competent authorities; all surface water courses in all construction are to be protected by settling ponds and filters; all transport and haulage vehicles using the road, including construction traffic, should use dust protection tarpaulin or other suitable cover; Contractors will undertake careful spatial planning regarding designation of specific sites to be occupied by construction process proper or various facililities(i.e. batching plants, crushing plants, construction camps) to prevent impact on flora and fauna in the area of construction.
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The groundnut value chain is of major economic, social and political importance in Senegal. Most rural households grow the crop, and its transport, storage or processing is a key source of nonfarm employment in both formal and informal enterprises.
... See More + Senegal’s groundnut sector was originally developed by colonial authorities, using a monopoly over exports to control the domestic market. For groundnuts in Senegal, the French-owned oil processor was nationalized to form SONACOS in 1975, which proved increasingly costly to operate and was eventually privatized in 2005 to form SUNEOR in 2007. That too has suffered increasing losses and in January 2010 the government finally ended the monopoly system, allowing farmers to sell to competing firms for either direct export or processing. Despite turmoil in the groundnut processing sector, groundnut production itself remains a mainstay of the rural economy. This report builds on a number of previous studies to inform ongoing changes in the sector. Most notably, we build on the diagnostic analysis of the groundnut value chain that was conducted in 2014 (World Bank 2015) and addressed a set of key reform proposals. The focus of this report is detailed in its Terms of Reference (Annex 4).
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Working Paper 117011 JUN 01, 2017
rg;; 000213994:El Hadj Adama Toure:etoure@worldbank.oDisclosed
