An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?

An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?
Author: Diao, Xinshen, ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 548
Release: 2020-12-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0896293807

Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.

Successes in African Agriculture

Successes in African Agriculture
Author: Haggblade, Steven
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0801895030

Sub—Saharan Africa is one of the poorest regions of the world. Because most Africans work in agriculture, escaping such dire poverty depends on increased agricultural productivity to raise rural incomes, lower food prices, and stimulate growth in other economic sectors. Per capita agricultural production in sub—Saharan Africa has fallen, however, for much of the past half—century. Successes in African Agriculture investigates how to reverse this decline. Instead of cataloging failures, as many past studies have done, this book identifies episodes of successful agricultural growth in Africa and identifies processes, practices, and policies for accelerated growth in the future. The individual studies follow developments in, among other areas, the farming of maize in East and Southern Africa, cassava across the middle belt of Africa, cotton in West Africa, horticulture in Kenya, and dairying in East Africa. Drawing on these case studies and on consultations with agricultural specialists and politicians from across sub—Saharan Africa -- undertaken in collaboration with the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development -- the contributors identify two key determinants of positive agricultural performance: agricultural research to provide more productive and sustainable technologies to farmers and a policy framework that fosters market incentives for increasing production. The contributors discuss how the public and private sectors can best coordinate the convergence of both factors. Given current concerns about global food security, this book provides timely and important resources to policymakers and development specialists concerned with reversing the negative trends in food insecurity and poverty in Africa.

Fertilizer Use in African Agriculture

Fertilizer Use in African Agriculture
Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821368818

The good practice guidelines - which form the basis of an interactive policymaker's tool kit included on a CD accompanying the book - relate not only to the more focused problem of encouraging increased fertilizer use by farmers, but also to the broader challenge of creating the type of enabling environment that is needed to support the emergence of efficient, dynamic and commercially viable fertilizer marketing systems."--Jacket.

Transforming agriculture in Africa’s Small Island Developing States: Lessons learnt and options for climate-smart agriculture investments in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles

Transforming agriculture in Africa’s Small Island Developing States: Lessons learnt and options for climate-smart agriculture investments in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles
Author: Ahmed, F., Houessenou, P., Nikiema A., Zougmore, R.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2021-12-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9251352984

There are 52 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the world. These boast of rich biodiversity landscapes, including a large variety of endemic species and indigenous knowledge that can make them the repository of our planetary ecosystem (UNEP, 2014). Nevertheless, the SIDS are identified as being one of the negatively impacted areas of climate change in the world, with huge implications for biodiversity loss and survival. There is a general consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small islands are negligible in comparison to global emissions, but the effects of climate change are devastating as a consequence of the sea level rise associated with global warming (Nurse et al., 2014). Long-term risks projected for small islands include increase in coastal flooding, freshwater stress and risks across marine ecosystems. Other threats to the SIDS include more frequent strong winds and cyclones, sea water intrusion into aquifers, and freshwater scarcity (Kelman and West, 2009). The apparent inability of these countries to adequately and effectively adapt to these impacts is the result of a combination of factors, including their exposure, sensitivity and vulnerability to shocks, and the costly nature of adaptation measures (Robinson, 2019). The report includes an introductory chapter, and climate change and the importance of the AFOLU sectors in the second and third chapters, respectively. The fourth and fifth chapters discuss the challenges in agriculture and the needs and priorities for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The adoption of CSA for integrated climate action as well as barriers to adopting promising CSA technologies/practices are discussed in Chapter 6. Furthermore, the capacity development needs required to address barriers to adoption of CSA opportunities and drive sustainable and tranformational results at scale are discussed. Lastly, the forward-looking chapter discusses knowledge gaps, such as the insufficient capture of the fishery subsector in the country CSA profiles, given its contribution to food security and the countries’ economy, and recommends priority areas to serve as entry points for CSA investments.

Agricultural value chain finance innovations and lessons

Agricultural value chain finance innovations and lessons
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2021-07-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9251344388

Value chain finance arrangements and related innovations hold great potential for financial inclusion in agriculture and food systems, particularly in the context of tight value chains and for addressing the short term financial needs of the various actors. These can also contribute to linking financially excluded actors with financial institutions in the formal sector. This publication makes an important contribution to the expanding literature on agricultural value chain financing approaches by providing an overview of innovations and best practices from across Sub-Saharan Africa through 22 case studies. The chosen cases are of varying length and complexity. The emphasis is on learning from the practices which are presented. The synthesis document included within the publication is designed to introduce the cases, provide comparisons and discuss lessons learned. It is hoped that this publication will become a useful reference material for trainers and practitioners interested in the diverse experiences and latest innovations in business models, approaches, instruments and arrangements that contribute to improving access to finance for a host of agrifood value chain actors including small farmers, women and youths in Africa.

Africa agriculture trade monitor 2020

Africa agriculture trade monitor 2020
Author: Bouët, Antoine, ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2020-10-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0896293904

The 2020 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor, the third in this series of flagship reports, presents an overview of trade in agriculture products in Africa and highlights the main impediments that affect intra- and extra-African trade. This year’s report includes chapters focusing on intra-Africa trade integration for agricultural products, including the role of nontariff measures, and on the competitiveness of African value chains that are crucial for food security (cereals, sugar, vegetable oils). The importance and measurement of informal cross-border trade for agricultural products is also examined. The final chapter looks at regional integration experiences in Southern Africa, with a focus on the Southern Africa Development Community. The report offers policy recommendations for improving agricultural exports performance, especially in the context of the unprecedented uncertainty the world is facing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electronic Government

Electronic Government
Author: Maria A. Wimmer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2010-08-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3642147984

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference, EGOV 2010, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in August/September 2010. The 36 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on foundations, transformation, evaluation, adoption and diffusion, citizen perspectives and social inclusion, infrastructure, and business process modell,

Framework for boosting intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services

Framework for boosting intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2021-02-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9251339147

The African agricultural and food market is expanding quickly as indicated by World Bank projections that show that the value of Africa’s agriculture and agribusiness industry is expected to more than triple to reach USD 1 trillion by 2030, compared to 2010 (World Bank, 2013). This provides an opportunity to not only boost trade in food and non-food agricultural commodities and services within the continent but also enhance food security in Africa. Regional integration is also gaining momentum as evidenced by progress in the creation of customs unions and the initial steps in setting up a common external tariff at the regional level in a number of regional economic communities (RECs) such as the East African Community (EAC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) further reinforces the gains achieved in regional integration and opens new market opportunities for farmers and other economic operators.It has been shown that the export of higher value-added products made in Africa is greater in regional markets than in external markets outside Africa, which are typically dominated by raw material exports. However, more than a decade after the adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Maputo in 2003 by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in response to the stagnation of African agriculture, Africa continues to remain a marginal player, accounting for only 2.7 percent of world trade in goods and 5 percent of world agricultural trade (Bouët and Odjo, 2019).These figures are likely to trend downwards significantly in the near term due to the economic shock caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The continent currently depends to a significant degree on extra-African sources for imports of food and agricultural products. The share of intra-African agricultural trade has been consistently below 20 percent in recent decades (Bouët and Odjo, 2019; AGRA, 2019). Comparable figures for intraregional agricultural trade are higher for Asia and Europe (more than 60 percent).

Evidence on Key Policies for African Agricultural Growth

Evidence on Key Policies for African Agricultural Growth
Author: Xinshen Diao
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2013-02-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

It is widely agreed that reducing poverty in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) depends largely on stimulating growth in agriculture. To this end, heads of state in Africa rallied to form the pan-African Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) with the goal of raising investments and improving strategy implementation. However, while implementing an agricultural agenda under the CAADP framework, more and more countries have realized that increasing public investment in agriculture alone is not enough. Policy can play an important role not only to make public investment more efficient, but also is crucial for incentivizing private sector and farmer investment in agriculture. Against this backdrop this paper takes stock of current agricultural policies in SSA with a view to identifying policies that are working as well as areas for improvement. The paper examines policies to encourage the adoption of agricultural inputs, initiate greater private-sector investment in agriculture and agro-industries, and manage price volatility while encouraging openness. The paper further reviews successful land tenure policies and property rights systems, reviews the evidence on the synergies between agriculture and nutrition, and examines how CAADP is laying the institutional architecture for improved policy formulation in Africa. In general, the paper finds that although substantial progress has been made, there is considerable scope for improvement. This is not surprising given the relatively primitive and deeply rooted nature of smallholder farming in Africa. Evidence synthesized in the paper supports the view that most policies cannot be implemented in isolation. Rather, policies tend to be most effective when implemented along with complementary policies and public investments.

Agricultural Innovation Systems

Agricultural Innovation Systems
Author: The World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 685
Release: 2012-02-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821389440

Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).