IFPRI is participating in the IFAD, UC Davis, World Bank Group co-organized conference on the future of work in agriculture.

As a major employer, agriculture has been at the center of discussions about poverty reduction and development. However, as countries develop, and people spend more income on higher valued, non-traditional food and non-food items, agriculture’s role as employer declines (agriculture’s jobs paradox).  At the same time, while employment in agriculture shrinks, the broader food system expands and the scope for agriculture-related jobs shifts beyond the farm, upstream, in agricultural service activities and downstream, in the food value chains.

This conference seeks to shed light on a host of questions related to the future of agricultural work (on and off the farm).

Session I – Migration off the Farm

Emigration and Rising Wages in Myanmar: Evidence from Mon State (March 19, 10:15am-12:00pm)

• Mateusz Filipski, Non-Resident Fellow, IFPRI

Session IV – Transformation

Labor Markets in Transforming Agricultural Economies: The Case of Ethiopia (March 20, 9:00am — 10:30am)

• Fantu Bachewe, Research Coordinator, IFPRI

Session VI – Gender

Gender and Preferences for Non-Farm Income Diversification: A Framed Field Experiment in Ghana (March 20, 1:30pm-3:00pm)

• Berber Kramer, Research Fellow, IFPRI

Session VII – Moderated Policy Panel (March 20, 3:30pm-5:00pm)

• Xinshen Diao, Deputy Division Director, Development Strategy and Governance Division, and Theme Leader, Agricultural Transformation, IFPRI