Working paper

This article by IIED focusses on urbanisation and rural development in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. In 2006, the authors conducted a study of the social and economic transformations in three rural settlements in the area. Almost a decade later, this paper revisits the same settlements and describes their social and economic evolutions and the key factors that help decipher three distinct but similar trajectories. »

This working paper summarizes projected climate change impacts on livestock across Africa. It argues that an enabling technical and policy environment will be needed to ensure livestock keepers can adapt to climate change and enhance their livelihoods and food security. »

This paper (PDF) by KIT looks at the process of agricultural innovation and the realistic contribution agricultural research can make. To be able to analyse the process of agricultural innovation, three elements are distinguished: 1) opportunity assessment to identify ‘entry points for change’; 2) experimentation, leading to ‘tested and tried promising new practices’; and 3) »

This publication (PDF) is intended to support the World Bank project “Agroweather Tools for Adapting to Climate Change” in increasing the adaptive capacity of farming communities in Kenya and Ethiopia. The author refers to the creation of financially sustainable weather observation networks in Guinea and the Philippines that are likely applicable to many developing settings, including those of East Africa and the Horn of Africa. The study recommends investment in early warning systems for weather and investment in climate-smart agriculture to help farmers mitigate effects of harsh weather. »

This working paper discusses emerging policy implications for economic diversification in rural sub-Saharan Africa. While continuing to prioritize rural investments in the economic and social sectors, governments should mainstream rural development within national strategies and commit to the long term. »

This paper by Future Agricultures aimed to explore in a systematic way the perspectives of rural young people, their parents and development officials on a series of questions relating to work in general and agriculture in particular. The study presents the results of a series of Q Methodology studies with secondary students and parents in Ghana, and with development officials. »