Africa without borders: building blocks for regional growth

"Recent IFPRI research shows how coordinated investments in regional agricultural trade and productivity can leverage regional growth dynamics and improve Africa's competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world." from Text. This brief looks at investing in trade by targeting Africa's own markets, improving economic integration, and reducing marketing costs; investing in research and development, strengthening regional institutions, and moving forward with an effective regional agenda.Development policies Africa, Sub-Saharan, Globalization, Regional economics,

Green Revolution

The "Green Revolution" of the 1960s and 1970s produced an unprecedented growth in agriculture in developing countries. The authors of this Brief examine the Green Revolution's impacts on agricultural production and its social impacts. They then turn to the problems it may have engendered as documented in the empirical literature on the affect of agricultural technological on poor farmers. They conclude with some recommendations about the conditions under which the Green Revolution and similar yield-enhancing technologies are likely to have equitable benefits among farmers.Green Revolution ,Agricultural productivity ,Technological innovations ,Mortality ,Food crops Yields ,Agricultural research ,Sustainability ,

Out of the shadow of famine

Over the past two decades, Bangladesh has transformed its food markets and food policies to free the country from the constant threat of famine. The authors, in this report, describe this remarkable transformation.

2020 Focus briefs on the world's poor and hungry people:

Contents: 1.The Changing Profile of Poverty in the World/Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion. 2.Characteristics and Causes of Severe Poverty and Hunger/Akhter U. Ahmed, Ruth Vargas Hill, Lisa C. Smith, and Tim Frankenberger. 3.The Poorest and Hungry: Looking Below the Line/Akhter U. Ahmed, Ruth Vargas Hill, and Doris M. Wiesmann. 4.Mapping Where the Poor Live/Todd Benson, Michael Epprecht, and Nicholas Minot 5.Child Malnutrition in India and China/Peter Svedberg. 6.Poverty and the Globalization of the Food and Agriculture System/Joachim von Braun and Tewodaj Mengistu. 7.Poverty Traps: Exploring the Complexity of Causation/Partha Dasgupta 8.Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Do Poor Countries Need to Worry about Inequality?/Martin Ravallion. 9.Determinants of Pro-Poor Growth/Stephan Klasen. 10.Global Macroeconomic Development: The Implications for Poverty/Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla 11. Fiscal Policy Instruments and the Political Economy of Designing Programs to Reach the Poorest/Ehtisham Ahmad 12. The Macroeconomic Foundations of Inclusive Middle-Class Growth/Nancy Birdsall 13.Economic Reform to Stimulate Growth and Reduce Poverty: The Latin American Experience/Alberto Valdés and William Foster. 14. Poverty, Inequality, and Welfare in a Rapid-Growth Economy: The Chilean Experience/Dante Contreras 15.International Migration: Can It Improve Living Standards among Poor and Vulnerable Populations?/Alan de Brauw. 16.Growth-promoting Social Safety Nets/Harold Alderman and John Hoddinott. 17.Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: A "Magic Bullet" for Reducing Poverty?/Michelle Adato and John Hoddinott. 18. How Effective are Food-for-Education Programs?/Sarah Adelman, Daniel O. Gilligan, and Kim Lehrer 19. Health Care for the World's Poorest: Is Voluntary (Private) Health Insurance an Option?/Jacques van der Gaag 20. Designing Insurance For The Poor/Stefan Dercon 21.Social Security: What Can Developing Countries Learn from Developed Countries?/Jean-Jacques Dethier. 22.Property Rights for Poverty Reduction/Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Patricia Kameri-Mbote, and Helen Markelova. 23.Developing and Connecting Markets for Poor Farmers/Nicholas Minot and Ruth Vargas Hill. 24.Climate Change: Pro-Poor Adaptation, Risk Management, and Mitigation Strategies/Gary Yohe, Ian Burton, Saleemul Huq, and Mark W. Rosegrant. 25.Strengthening Women's Assets and Status: Programs Improving Poor Women's Lives/John Ambler, Lauren Pandolfelli, Anna Kramer, and Ruth Meinzen-Dick 26.Addressing Discrimination and Inequality Among Groups/Frances Stewart 27.Including People with Disabilities in Actions to Reduce Poverty and Hunger/Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo 28.Policies and Lessons for Reaching Indigenous Peoples in Development Programs/Lennart Bage 29. Trade Liberalization and Children: Understanding and Coping with Children's Vulnerabilities/Javier Escobal 30.Facing Up to Inequality and Exclusion to End Poverty and Hunger in Latin America/Marco Ferroni 31. Economic Exclusion and Poverty in Asia: The Example of Castes in India/Sukhadeo Thorat 32. Choosing Policy Instruments to Reduce Poverty and Hunger: Is It Possible to Overcome the Feasibility Dilemma?/Regina Birner 33.Scaling Up: A Path to Effective Development/Arntraud Hartmann and Johannes F. Linn 34. Improving Governance to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty/Regina Birner 35.The Dynamics of Poverty: Why Don't "The Poor" Act Collectively?/Anirudh Krishna. 36.Land Issues and Poverty Reduction: Requirements for Lasting Peace in Sudan and Afghanistan/Gunnar M. Sørbø and Arne Strand. 37.Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Developing Capacity to Reduce Poverty and Hunger/Suresh Babu and Per Pinstrup-Andersen 38.The Millennium Development Goals: How Realistic Are They?/Michiel Keyzer and Lia van Wesenbeeck. 39.Investment Priorities for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction/Shenggen Fan, Joanna Brzeska, and Ghada Shields 40.How to Mobilize Public Resources to Support Poverty Reduction/Shenggen Fan, Anuja Saurkar, and Ghada ShieldsPoverty, Hunger, Poverty dynamics, Food policy, food security, Pro-poor growth, Capacity building, Vulnerability, Millennium Development Goals,

Uncommon opportunities for achieving sustainable food and nutrition security: an agenda for science and public policy

This brief addresses the need to harness science and technology for the transformation of agriculture into a primary instrument of a global Evergreen Revolution. Based on the principles of ecology, social equity, energy efficiency, employment generation, and economic viability, this revolution will provide the technical foundation for the universal eradication of hunger and the achievement of a food- and nutrition-secure world for all. At the same time, it emphasizes the urgent need for adoption, particularly by developing countries, of population policies that can ensure that children are born with a chance for happiness and not for mere existence. It describes a new revolution in agriculture and outlines a scientific and public policy agenda for sustainable food and nutrition security. Finally, it addresses the role of the international community in this effort.Agricultural policy International cooperation. ,Technological innovations. ,Technology. ,Hunger Prevention. ,Nutrition Research International cooperation. ,

Impact evaluation

Economists have engaged for some time in developing methodologies for assessing the economic impact of agricultural research and in undertaking empirical studies to measure this impact. In recent years they have documented more than 1,800 estimates of rates of return to agricultural research. Economists have paid little attention, however, to how to evaluate the impact of social science research. A symposium conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in 1997 was one of the first attempts to address this knowledge gap. In November 2001 the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IFPRI brought together a group of researchers to follow up on the earlier symposium. Their conclusions fall into two broad categories: how to measure or value the economic impact of policy-oriented social science research and how to enhance the effectiveness of such research in policymaking environments. This brief summarizes the key elements of the work of the conference.Agricultural research Congresses ,

Women: still the key to food and nutrition security

"The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action set goals for empowering women in developing nations. Over the five years since the Beijing +5 review assessed progress toward these goals, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has generated new studies reaffirming that empowering women is the key to ensuring food and nutrition security in the developing world. This brief brings together IFPRI's most recent research findings on gender and food security and offers proof to policymakers that reducing gender disparities promotes better food and nutrition security for all....IFPRI's research findings provide empirical evidence that empowering women leads to greater household food and nutrition security. Accomplishing this task requires policies that eradicate gender discrimination, proactively promote catch-up for women, and involve women directly in their implementation.." from TextGender issues, Women Social conditions, Empowerment, Household resource allocation, Natural resource management, Gender, Property rights, Health and nutrition,

Sound choices for development

Rural poverty in India and China has declined substantially in recent decades. This welcome development has come about largely because governments in both countries have invested in agricultural research, education, infrastructure, and other areas important to the rural poor. But what kinds of investments have reduced poverty the most? A clear answer to this question can help policymakers invest limited resources in ways that most benefit the poor. Recent studies by IFPRIand collaborators in India and China show that different kinds of rural public investment pay a range of dividends. Developing countries can significantly reduce rural poverty, stimulate agricultural growth, and move toward food security if they recognize that public investments are indispensable tools for achieving these ends and if they make the right investments.The research also reveals, in stark contrast to conventional thinking, that investments in low-potential lands can bring equal, if not greater, returns to investments in high-potential lands.

IFPRI Annual Report 2006-2007

Biofuels, Food prices,