New from IFPRI on East Africa

Evaluation of grassroots community–based legal aid activities in Uganda and Tanzania

Indira Yerramareddy — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:02:27 -0400

Progressive legislative actions in Uganda and Tanzania have improved women’s legal rights to land, however significant gender disparities persist in access, control, inheritance, and ownership of land at the grassroots level. One promising mechanism to improve the implementation of laws is through Community–based Legal Aid (CBLA) programs, which are typically designed as pro–poor to enhance legal empowerment of marginalized groups.

PDF file:

capriwp108.pdf(640.5KB)

Ethiopia’s value chains on the move

Indira Yerramareddy — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:52:02 -0400

We study the value chain of teff, Ethiopia’s most important staple food crop by area and value. Based on large-scale primary surveys, we find significant changes in the last decade. First, there is increasing adoption of modern inputs (chemical fertilizer, improved varieties, and herbicides) by farmers, especially by those living close to urban centers. Second, quality demands are rising and there are important shifts from the cheap red varieties to the more expensive white ones.

PDF file:

esspwp52.pdf(951.2KB)

CAADP’s 10-Year Report Card: An evaluation of a premier program for investment in agriculture

Rebecca Sullivan — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:53:38 -0400

Investment in the African agricultural sector was largely in a state of decline until the early 2000s, followed by what became known as Africa’s “decade of growth.” Between the years 2001-2010, investment in the sector grew more than 3 percent per year, overtaking population growth on the continent for the first time in decades.

Understanding the role of research in the evolution of fertilizer policies in Malawi

Indira Yerramareddy — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:36:59 -0400

This study examines the role of research in agricultural policy making in Malawi at a time when the Africa Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development have been seeking to promote greater evidenced-based decision making in agriculture. Drawing on both theory and actual past experiences documented in the literature, results are intended to improve our understanding of the extent to which research has played any role in influencing policy change in Malawi. This is done in the context of the evolution of the country’s fertilizer subsidy policies. Results point to some general lessons.

Mapping the contemporary fertilizer policy landscape in Malawi

The impacts of agricultural input subsidies in Malawi

PDF file:

ifpridp01266.pdf(966KB)

The last mile(s) in modern input distribution: Evidence from northwestern Ethiopia

Indira Yerramareddy — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:57:06 -0400

Increasing adoption of modern inputs remains one of the best hopes toward higher agricultural production in developing coun-tries. Based on unique data from a quasi-experimental setting in northwestern Ethiopia, this study examines the “last mile(s)”—from the input distribution center to the farmer—in the chemical fertilizer and improved seed distribution system. We find that increasing transaction and transportation costs over a 35 kilometer distance contribute to a significant decline in incentives for modern input adoption and lead to a reduction to one quarter in modern input use.

The last mile(s) in modern input distribution

PDF file:

essprn24.pdf(433.4KB)

Improving development strategies in pastoral areas

Indira Yerramareddy — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:28:36 -0400

The recent drought in the Horn of Africa has again generated widespread pessimism about the future of pastoralism in the re-gion. In this paper we argue that a much more balanced development strategy needs to be adopted in pastoralist areas. First, livelihood diversification must become a positive process, through education, infrastructure, and policies facilitating migration and nonfarm investments. Second, economic transformation must involve a social and demographic transition through reduced fertility rates.

Enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa

PDF file:

essprn23.pdf(378.3KB)

Fickle food prices in Africa: Fact or fiction?

Rebecca Sullivan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:54:10 -0400

Just as the sun rises and sets, food price volatility—the variation in food prices over time—is a given these days. Once unexpected price instabilities have now become routine in the era following the food crisis of 2007-2008. For poor households, which spend more than 60 percent of their income on food, price shocks are, indeed, shocks to a struggling family’s bottom line. For example, farmers find it difficult to know what type of crop and how much of it to plant, leading to shortages and lost incomes.

The Regional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods, and Food Security (RENEWAL)

mrodrigues — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:09:22 -0400

As the magnitude and scope of the AIDS epidemic grew during the 1990s, it transformed the international development landscape: HIV/AIDS became a global development issue with socioeconomic implications for livelihoods, rather than an isolated health issue. In response to this crisis, the Regional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods, and Food Security (RENEWAL) was officially launched in 2001 as a joint project of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR).

Ex-post impact assessment review of the Regional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods, and Food Security (RENEWAL)

PDF file:

iabrief09.pdf(318.1KB)

From Bust to Boom: Debating input subsidies in Africa south of the Sahara

Sarah McMullan — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:18:55 -0400

Reemerging input subsidy program (ISPs) have sparked a highly contentious debate in Africa. ISPs are government programs that provide items such as seed and fertilizer to farmers at a steep discount. Ten years ago, few countries in Africa had subsidy programs; now, African governments spend an estimated $2 billion annually—an average of 30 percent of their agriculture budgets—on these programs. But are these governments getting the biggest bang for their buck?