Despite progress in recent years, the incidence of poverty in the Philippines remains very high: the national poverty rate was more than 30 percent in 2003, with even higher levels in rural areas. Because poor Filipino households spend more than half…
To be an effective poverty alleviation instrument, agricultural policies (including research, extension, and innovation) must be based on an evolutionary approach that emphasizes experimentation, learning, and active interactions among diverse…
"In sum, it is crucial to alter the perception that undernutrition is part of the normal order of things. Advocacy groups should generate a perception of crisis related to undernutrition in order to foster significant, urgent, high-profile action by…
"Overall, the study concludes that in many cases smallholders other than the smallest backyard producers will be able to stay in the livestock business for a long time. If the opportunity cost of family labor rises and begins to approach local market…
Agriculture is vital to the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa: two-thirds of the region’s people depend on it for their livelihoods. Nevertheless, agricultural productivity in most of the region is stagnant or declining, in large part because of land…
Pakistan’s economy relies heavily on its cotton and textile sectors. The cotton-processing and textile industries make up almost half of the country’s manufacturing base, while cotton is Pakistan’s principal industrial crop, supplying critical income…
"During the past decade and a half, Ethiopia’s approach to promoting development and improving the lives of the country’s rural population has been driven by a government strategy called Agricultural Development–Led Industrialization (ADLI). This…
""This report provides a nuanced perspective on debates about the potential for Africa’s smallholder agriculture to stimulate growth and alleviate poverty in an increasingly integrated world. In particular, the paper synthesizes both the traditional…
"This report focuses on demand-side constraints on agricultural growth and their implications for three broad alternative agricultural development strategies: promoting traditional exports, developing nontraditional exports, and increasing food staple…
"A dramatic increase over the past fifteen years in domestic pork demand and production in the Philippines has created a potentially profitable opportunity for poor rural and agricultural households. In Southern and Central Luzon, the two biggest…