American Journal of Agriculture and Food Processing

Agriculture and Development: A Brief Review of the Literature

Eveline Kwaku, Clement Joe — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0700

After 20 years of neglect by international donors, agriculture is now again in the headlines because high food prices are increasing food insecurity and poverty. In the coming years, it will be essential to increase food productivity and production in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and with smallholders. This, however, requires finding viable solutions to a number of complex technical, institutional, and policy issues, including land markets, research on seeds and inputs, agricultural extension, credit, rural infrastructure, connection to markets, rural non-farm employment, trade policy and food price stabilization. This paper reviews what the economic literature has to say on these topics. It discusses in turn the role played by agriculture in the development process and the interactions between agriculture and other economic sectors, the determinants of the Green Revolution and the foundations of agricultural growth, issues of income diversification by farmers, approaches to rural development, and issues of international trade policy and food security, which have been at the root of the crisis in agricultural commodity volatility in recent years.

Farm Mechanization for Sustainable Agriculture in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects

Shiraz Islam — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0700

The farmers and rural entrepreneurs are trying to further mechanize some of these operations to reduce cost of production and time of operation. Highly coordinated research and extension among GO, NGO and private agricultural machinery manufacturers are required to support this process of mechanization and for better understanding of the impact process on the livelihood of the rural poor such as marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans. Further, in order to maintain equal standard of machinery and safety measures for the Asia-pacific region, the testing and standardization stations should have uniform testing facility.

Using Agriculture for Development: Supply- and demand-side approaches

Alain de Janvry, Elisabeth S adoulet — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0700

For most poor countries of today, using agriculture for development is widely recognized as a promising strategy. Yet, in these countries, investment in agriculture has mostly been lagging relative to international norms and recommendations. Current wisdom on how to use agriculture for development is that it requires asset building for smallholder farmers, productivity growth in staple foods, and agricultural transformation (diversification of farming systems toward high-value crops), and a rural transformation (value addition through rural non-farm activities linked to agriculture). This sequence has too often been hampered by extensive market and government failures. We outline a theory of change where the removal of market and government failures to use this Agriculture for Development strategy can be addressed through two contrasted and complementary approaches. One is from the “supply side” where public and social agents (governments, international and bilateral development agencies, NGOs, and donors) intervene to help farmers overcome the major constraints to adoption: liquidity, risk, information, and access to markets. The other is from the “demand-side” where private agents (entrepreneurs, producer organizations) create incentives for smallholder farmers to modernize through contracting and vertical coordination in value chains. We review the extensive literature that has explored ways of using Agriculture for Development through these two approaches. We conclude by noting that the supply-side approach has benefited from extensive research but met with limited success. The demand-side approach has promise, but received insufficient attention and is in need of additional rigorous research which we outline.

Agricultural Development Strategy And Management

Florence Ametepe, Wolali Ametepe — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0700

Following the identification of a need to formulate a coherent strategy for agriculture in the district, the Waterberg District Municipality appointed Womiwu Rural Development, assisted by Glen Steyn and Associates, to help compile a logical plan to lead agricultural development for commercial and emerging farmers, “further contributing to economic growth, job creation and improved quality of life of our citizens

Gaps in Sustainable Development Research in Agriculture

Kennedy Seface, Wolali Ametepe — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0700

In Ireland, agriculture and forestry occupy over 70% of the total land area and thus have a major impact on the physical environment. As the Department of Agriculture and Food’s most recent policy statement points out [1] , much of this impact is positive. The rural landscape, which is an important tourist resource as well as an amenity for local populations, is to a large extent a by-product of our agricultural systems. However, there is also concern about the negative impacts which agriculture may have and the growth of unsustainable farm practices. In particular, agriculture is seen to contribute to water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and reduced bio-diversity [1]. The recent report on Eco-Friendly Farming [2]provides a succinct summary of the global commitments and EU law which Ireland is obliged to implement to encourage a more sustainable agriculture, as well as providing a summary of the actions which are being taken to meet these obligations, including discretionary national action.