Paper

This paper by Eugenie Maïga, Luc Christiaensen, and Amparo Palacios-Lopez, investigates the extent of youth engagement in agriculture in six African countries using unique data from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys-Integrated surveys on agriculture (LSMSISA). They employ both descriptive and regression analysis to compare the hours worked per week in agriculture by the youth (16-35) and the prime-age group (36-60). »

The past 50 years witnessed a remarkable spread of smaller-scale rural mechanization in some regions of South Asia, mostly characterized by the spread of single-cylinder diesel engines. Despite the evidence, international and local policy debates do not reflect the significance of these patterns of rural mechanization for agricultural and rural development. This paper by IFPRI starts with a discussion of three main generalizations arising from the spread of smaller-scale technology. »

This paper (PDF) by the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A) examines the effect of financial innovation on poverty reduction in rural northern Nigeria. Households from this part of the world are farmers hence, exposed to the vagaries of Climate Change. Assessing whether or not the poorest income quintile (the poorest of the poor) benefit from existing financial inclusive strategies, would inform policy makers and direct the attention of microfinance entrepreneurs to better innovate products that would increase financial inclusiveness and reduce poverty in developing countries. »

This study by IFPRI was conducted to determine the impact on world prices, agricultural commodities production, and food security and nutrition of raising the annual growth in agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) from the current estimate of 1.6 percent to 2 percent by 2030 through investment in agricultural research and development (R&D). The study also compared three R&D investment strategies: (1) gradual TFP increase, (2) accelerated TFP increase, and (3) developing-countries-only TFP increase. »

This discussion paper elaborates on the role of open data in solving practical problems in agriculture and nutrition sectors. The authors state that alongside the challenges the world faces with regard to food security, there are also great opportunities due to the emerging global data infrastructure. The paper highlights three ways open data can contribute to increase food security. »

In order to inform gender targeting of rural finance policy, this paper by IFPRI investigates which financial products best improve farmers’ productivity, resilience, and welfare, and whether benefits affect men and women equally. Using a randomized field experiment in Senegal and Burkina Faso, the authors compare male and female farmers who are offered index-based agricultural insurance with those who are offered a variety of savings instruments. »