International Fund For Agricultural Development Research Articles

Understanding Role of Digital Asset and LOSI for Rural Areas: An Evidence-based Study in Indian Context

Digital assets (DAs) are growing to be one of the most promising utilities due to the emerging digital transformation opportunities for society to harness. The innovations in contemporary DAs have led to the use of mobile computing, internet of things, edge computing and services like software as a service, platform as a service and desktop as a service. DAs have the potential to leverage and support other assets defined by the International Fund for Agricultural Development to enhance livelihood prospects in rural areas. The E-government services, aimed at mitigating digital divides and enhancing rural–urban continuum, need appropriate DAs. The UN has been conducting periodical E-government readiness assessments with a focus on Local Online Services Index (LOSI). All the countries participating in this readiness exercise are creating and upgrading through their E-government policies. LOSI is largely dependent on the availability of desired DAs, supply of digital transformation-based services and an emerging demand. The LOSI, introduced in 2018, is currently limited to the municipalities, providing a scope to assess rural areas where digital divides are still prevalent. This article presents a framework to discuss the associated DAs to develop LOSI for the rural areas in the Indian context. The article also presents a use case in the Indian context to understand how the Indian E-government efforts are poised to leverage the DAs to deepen rural digital services. Through the use cases, it is observed that the rural DAs need converged effort of policymakers to have a better LOSI.

Roles of international agricultural organizations in economy revamp: The Nigerian experience

The enduring problems of hunger and poverty in Nigeria are mostly the result of the agriculture sector's failure to have the desired positive impact on the populace. Hence, the study reviewed the roles of international agricultural organizations in economy revamp: the Nigerian experience. In retrospect, a few governments did make an effort to make a statement about agriculture through the creation of farm settlement programs and state-owned agricultural development organizations. However, welfare concerns more than ever served as justification for these activities rather than absolute economic need. The intervention of International Agricultural Organization (IAO) through various types of international agricultural programmes became significant by concentrating on sustainable agricultural practices, technology transfer, capacity building, and policy advocacy, modernizing agriculture, infrastructure development, policy advocacy and reforms, global agricultural trade , market access and trade, climate resilience, research and development, international research and collaboration, food security and agricultural development. To mention but a few, World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and United State Agencies for International Development have contributed to agriculture revamp in the Nigerian economy. Challenges Affecting the Nigerian Agricultural Economy in International Business include: Infrastructure Deficiency, Limited Access to Finance, Inadequate Research and Development, Policy Instability and Inconsistency. It was presented in the study that by providing solutions to these challenges will contribute to a way forward to revamp agriculture in the Nigerian economy, making it more robust, sustainable, and inclusive.

Research on Financial Poverty Alleviation Aid for Increasing the Incomes of Low-Income Chinese Farmers

Unlike the definition of absolute poverty in international society, rural poverty in China is characterized by farmers’ low ability to increase their income, and the unsustainability of income increases. This study examines farming households’ issues with increasing their incomes via financial aid from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Through quantile regression and stepwise regression models, this paper studies two ways in which IFAD loan projects can affect farmers’ income: by directly promoting increases in farmers’ income and by indirectly promoting increases in farmers’ income through newly operational agricultural entities. This paper uses the entropy weight and comprehensive evaluation methods to construct an IFAD evaluation index system to evaluate the endogenous development ability of farmers participating in IFAD loan projects. Our empirical results show that IFAD projects significantly and positively affect farmers’ income. Our heterogeneity analysis shows that IFAD projects have varied effects on farmers’ income growth at different income levels; the lower the income level, the more pronounced the promotion. IFAD loan projects promote farmers’ incomes through newly operational agricultural entities, the mechanism of which is their ESG performances. On average, the anti-poverty masses and areas participating in IFAD loan projects show a robust endogenous development impetus.

Uplands Rural Development Programme and Investigation of the Program Process in Kastamonu Province

There are significant threats to the security of agricultural supply from people migrating from rural areas to urban areas due to economic difficulties and disadvantages arising from a lack of extension. However, agricultural production is strategically important for Türkiye and the most important economic activity for rural areas. People who migrate to cities prefer to stay in output if agricultural subsidies are provided to encourage production. In addition to the support of the Turkish government, it is important to benefit from the work of international organizations such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which works in rural areas and supports the agricultural sector. IFAD is well aware of the needs of Türkiye's rural areas with 11 projects implemented with a total cost of USD 697.91 million and IFAD contribution of USD 251.84 million. In Türkiye, Uplands Rural Development Programme (URDP), financed by IFAD, supports the disadvantaged people living in rural areas. In this study, information about IFAD and its activities in Türkiye is given the ongoing URDP of the organization in Türkiye, the studies carried out in the process of including Kastamonu province in the programme, the project acceptance process in Kastamonu province and the results of the programme in Kastamonu province in 2020 when the programme was implemented for the first time in Türkiye, are examined in detail. As a result of the research, the utilisation of the fund by taking into account the needs of rural areas and the monitoring process were found to be positive.

Eco-social policy in the global political economy: Analysing shifting discourses on agricultural subsidies

While critical political economy (CPE) has yet to play a prominent role in eco-social policy research, this paper argues that a deeper engagement with CPE and a better understanding of the global political economy can enhance eco-social policy debates. CPE can help us to see the contradictions in and impediments to integrating environmental and social policies, and particularly why both of these categories continue to be mediated and shaped by economic logics. In order to develop these arguments, we analyse recent international discourses on agricultural subsidies promoted by key policy actors such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. By examining agriculture as a nodal point between diverse scales and domains such as the local, global, environmental, social, and economic spheres, we explore how certain positions are prioritised over others. We argue that the discourse on ‘repurposing subsidies’ in global agricultural policy expresses a ‘new critical orthodoxy’ that recognises the need for transformation but fails to address the structural conditions of the global political economy responsible for environmental and social crises. Instead, the proposed solutions rely on existing institutions and capitalist logics to resolve current crises, even if the latter are underpinned by these logics. Our analysis underlines the need for eco-social policy scholarship to be cognizant of how environmental and social policy integration is always embedded within a particular global political economy that reproduces certain inequalities and is not a neutral policy terrain.

Earmarked Funding and the Performance of International Organizations: Evidence from Food and Agricultural Development Agencies

Abstract How do funding structures affect the performance of international organizations (IOs)? Considering the rapid growth of earmarked funding over the past decade, the need to address this question has become a matter of urgency. To answer this question, I divide IO performance into outcome performance (i.e., achieving results that are relevant and sustainable) and process performance (i.e., having systems, rules, and practices that enable IOs to achieve self-defined goals effectively, efficiently, and responsively). Drawing on the principal−agent framework and studies of organizational behavior, I derive expectations about how earmarked funding can affect those performance dimensions. To empirically examine these expectations, I rely on qualitative case studies of three major IOs in food and agricultural development—Food and Agricultural Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and World Food Program—using semi-structured interviews with IO staff and evaluation reports from multiple sources. I find that earmarked funding undermines performance, albeit not uniformly across performance areas and organizational contexts. I highlight the need for future research that considers how funding structures, institutional structures, and organizational behavior interact to affect organizational performance.

Assessment of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) project in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This study assessed the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project in Bayelsa State. Specifically, the objectives were to: identify the socio-economic characteristics of LIFE-ND incubatees; assess the agricultural economic opportunities in LIFE-ND for program incubatees; assess the production and marketing infrastructure that support LIFE-ND; ascertain the effect of the programme on the livelihood of the incubatees and identify the constraints confronting incubatees’ in the LIFE-ND programme. Using a questionnaire, information was gathered. A total of two hundred and fifty (250) incubatees were interviewed. Data collected were analysed with the use of percentage, mean scores and regression analysis. Findings showed that majority of the incubatees (53.2% ) were females between the ages of 31 – 40 years (43.6%), were married (53.2%), had tertiary education (37.2%), household size of 1-4 persons (43.2%). Results of the effect of the programme on the livelihood of the incubatees were: increased income (x ̅=3.29), provision of source of livelihood (x ̅=3.11), provision of source of livelihood and employment (x ̅=3.04). The result of the socio-economic factors influencing participation showed that sex, educational level, household size, income and major occupation were the significant factors that influenced the level of participation in LIFE-ND project at P≤0.05. The major constraints confronting incubatees were: inadequate funding (x ̅=2.91), long distance to training centres (x ̅=2.90), inadequate inputs (x ̅=2.88), untimely release of funds (x ̅=2.84), corruption (x ̅=2.82) etc. The study recommends that adequate inpus should be made available for incubatees to fast track the learning and practical process.

Towards data-driven project design: Providing optimal treatment rules for development projects

It is increasingly commonplace among development practitioners to employ impact evaluations to measure the performance and effectiveness of their activities and investments. However, there remains a substantial gap between the evidence generated by these assessments and its use for prospective planning and design of future development projects. Specifically, the retrospective data generated in counterfactual-based evaluations on what worked, how, and for whom, is not routinely or easily applied by policymakers for decision-making after an evaluation's closure. We address this gap through the development of an optimal policy learning (OPL) tool for rural development projects that leverages observational data to drive data-driven project design through identification of welfare-maximizing targeting and selection rules that can maximize project impacts. In so doing, we solve the policymaker's policy assignment problem, i.e. deciding who to treat and where. Further, we define distinct roles for the policymaker and the analyst in which the latter is tasked with generating a menu of potential selection rules while the former weighs each rule's costs and benefits against their objective function, addressing the practical constraints poised by optimal policy learning's use for project design. To illustrate the utility of our approach we apply OPL to two projects funded and evaluated by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). We show that OPL and this division of labor not only identifies the welfare-maximizing policy assignment but also allows policymakers to gain deeper insights into the trade-offs, costs, and benefits of different objectives, policies, and demands facilitating more informed decision-making and more effective policies and development interventions.

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Evaluation of the Effects of Introducing Risk Management Tools in Agricultural Development: The Case of PADAER Senegal

This study aims to assess the effects of risk management tools on the agricultural performance of rural producers benefiting from the joint support of the Senegalese state and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through the co-financed project PADAER. Data collection covers two regions in Senegal: Kolda and Tambacounda. The sample comprises 1167 farmers, including 379 beneficiaries of the index-based insurance facilitated by PADAER (Programme d’Appui au Développement Agricole et à l’Entreprenariat Rural). The quasi-experimental method known as the propensity score matching method was used to determine the impact of subscribing to index-based insurance on the farmer’s production, agricultural investments, and annual income. Although the results of the estimates show that the project has not yet had any effect on production, without the intervention of this project, farmers would have recorded a loss of about USD 115 (FCFA 57,600). Not only did the index-based insurance for the harvest facilitated by the PADAER allow the beneficiary to cover this loss and realize a gain estimated at USD 25 (FCFA 12,749), but the added value of this paper is that it measures the effects of agricultural index-based insurance in Africa using real-world statistical data.

Influence of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Value Chain Activities of Members of Cooperative Societies in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria

This study investigated the influence of international fund for agricultural development (IFAD) on value chain of farmer’s cooperative members in Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra State. The researcher set to determine the influence of IFAD on the production patterns of farm crops, on the processing techniques for farm crops and on the marketing systems for farm crops in the study area. To guide this study, three research questions and three research hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of the study. The study was anchored on Porter’s Value Chain (1985). The study employed a descriptive survey design, the instrument for data collection was questionnaire constructed for the study and calibrated with the 5-point Likert ordinal measurement and rating scale. The population of the study was 268 selected multipurpose cooperatives members in Awka NORth local Government Area of Anambra State. The sample size used was 160 cooperative members using Taro Yamane formula. Adopting a judgmental sampling technique, 160 questionnaires was distributed and 132 copies of questionnaire were completed and returned and used for this study which represent 82.5% response rate. Research hypotheses were tested using Z-Test. The finding revealed that there is a significant influence of IFAD on production pattern in the study area with a p-value 0.0177 (p < 0.05). With a p-value 0.0142 (p < 0.05) indicating a significant influence of IFAD on processing techniques in the study area and with a p-value 0.0162 (p < 0.05) indicating that there is a significant influence of IFAD on marketing systems in the study area. The study recommends that the IFAD should do more in giving financial assistance the women network to have more financial backing which will enable them produce more food and, to organize more workshops, lectures, seminars, conferences among others for farmers.Majority of the farmers are illiterate, adult education programmes should be mounted for them in their various communities and prize awarded for good work. These will help them to understand how to use new agricultural techniques and understand instruction on agricultural handouts and Aspects of agricultural production that are largely the responsibility of farmers must be given adequate attention. Such areas include, for example, food crop production, livestock production, processing, storage and marketing of agricultural produce, pest and disease control

Earmarked Funding and the Control–Performance Trade-Off in International Development Organizations

AbstractSince the 1990s, the funding of multilateral development assistance has rapidly transformed. Donors increasingly constrain the discretion of international development organizations (IDOs) through earmarked funding, which limits the purposes for which a donor's funds can be used. The consequences of this development for IDOs’ operational performance are insufficiently understood. We hypothesize that increases in administrative burdens due to earmarked funding reduce the performance of IDO projects. The additional reporting required of IDOs by earmarked funds, while designed to enhance accountability, ultimately increases IDOs’ supervision costs and weakens their performance. We first test these hypotheses with data on project costs and performance of World Bank projects using both ordinary-least-squares and instrumental-variable analyses. We then probe the generalizability of those findings to other organizations by extending our analysis to four other IDOs: the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Using data on the performance of 7,571 projects approved between 1990 and 2020, we find that earmarked funding undermines both cost-effectiveness and project performance across IDOs. Donors seeking value for money may consider allocating more money to core funds rather than to earmarked funds.

ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT’S INTERVENTION ON LIVELIHOOD OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED MILLET FARMERS IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed the effects of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) interventions on yield, income and standard of living of internally displaced millet farmers in Borno State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted using a population of 679 internally displaced farmers who benefitted from IFAD interventions in Borno State. Three research questions were raised to guide the study and one null hypotheses was formulated to be tested at 0.005 significance level. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 248 internally displaced millet farmers as sample. A researcher designed questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection with a reliability coefficient of 0.79. Descriptive statistics in form of frequency count, percentage and mean were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics while stepwise linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The regression result shows that IFAD interventions significantly affect yield with coefficient of (R2 = 0.347) and standard of living with a coefficient of (R2 = 0. 321). whereas the result reveals that the interventions have not significantly affect the income of the farmers with the coefficient of (R2 = 0.092) The findings indicate that IFAD interventions improved the yield and standard of living of internally displaced millet farmers in Borno State, Nigeria. The study recommended that, Borno State government should ensure continuity of the interventions provided to internally displaced millet farmers, as it reveals from the findings of the study that the interventions improves the yield and standard of living of the farmers.

Impact Assessment of Aqua Silviculture of Milagros and Placer, Masbate

With the alarming poverty incidence among fisherfolks communities, the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) embarked a project dubbed as Fisheries, Coastal Resources and Livelihood (FishCORAL) funded by United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD) to address the problem by providing livelihood project to the coastal areas of different regions in the country. To assess the impact of the said project in the Bicol region, Bicol University in collaboration with different State Colleges and Universities in the region conducted a project called impact assessment on different project of the FishCORAL livelihood projects. The aim of the study is to assess the key indicators of the project if the goals of the project was met with the implementation of the livelihood project. The study used convenience sampling in the field surveys and focus group discussions to draw conclusion wherein the respondents are the recipient of the aqua silviculture livelihood project. The study reveals that the beneficiaries is under big household category making them hard to financially sustain the basic needs of the family because there is large percentage of dependent individuals. It was also noted that they do not have their own lot where they built their houses and the source of drinking water is unprotected well. In addition, the livelihood project is not sustainable because of various problems such as no profit from the first production cycle, most of the beneficiaries backed out during the implementation and the association itself is not technically prepared to implement the project to sustainable ends. Conduct of more technical capability training along varied aspects of aqua silviculture shall be caried out. Also, trainings on financial literacy, business management and basic record keeping are very necessary. There is also a need to craft a clearcut guideline and operational protocol to guide the aqua silviculture venture. Maybe, a root cause analysis of the previous production cycle should be carried-out to highlight lessons and undertake corrective measures. The association must be reorganized, reoriented and retooled.

Does FDI in agriculture promote food security in developing countries? The role of land governance

As climate change, population growth, rising incomes and rapid urbanization increase the demand for food, the world is facing further pressure to enhance food security for all. Investment in agriculture and food systems is not only necessary but also critical. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important source to close the funding gap that developing countries face to increase food production and agricultural productivity. Yet, it poses serious challenges on domestic populations. The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of FDI in agriculture on food security in the host country. The empirical analysis employs a land access index by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to control for differences in land governance. Using data from 56 developing countries over a 16-year period, the empirical analysis finds evidence that FDI in agriculture has an inverse effect on food security in the host country. FDI has a more favourable impact where the land governance system is better. The findings call for an imperative role to governments for tenure reforms by formalization of customary rights to enhance tenure security for a more equitable access to land. It is also essential that good monitoring and impact assessment systems are developed to ensure transparency of the processes associated with agricultural investments.

How does climate change affect the evidence we need for agricultural development?

AbstractEvidence‐based knowledge has been a critical element for designing effective investments into agricultural transformation, particularly in recent years. Now, however, climate change alters the nature of the knowledge and supporting evidence needed. That leads to the main question we address in this article – how climate change affects the evidence needed to support agricultural transformation. We look at the issue through the lens of the multilateral development banks, and in particular the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). We suggest three major approaches to addressing the shortfalls in the current evidence base: (1) better synthesis of information that is currently available to increase its utility in designing new investments, (2) improving the information we gather to better provide the evidence base on why and how transformative changes occur, and (3) much greater attention to mechanisms to help bridge the research/policy divide.

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758) culture in Kenya: Emerging production technologies and socio‐economic impacts on local livelihoods

AbstractNile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is one of the most farmed fish globally, with a significant contribution improving local livelihoods, especially in developing countries. Nile tilapia was first cultured in Kenya in 1924 and is the most cultured fish species. Annually, O. niloticus accounts for 62% (∼15,000 tonnes) of total aquaculture production. Although O. niloticus is the most preferred cultured fish, its culture faces challenges, for example, early maturation due to prolific breeding behaviour leading to stunted growth that limits its culture and profitability among smallholder farmers. With the surging demand for locally farmed fish, innovative technologies have emerged to boost aquaculture production. Donor and public research‐funded projects, for instance, the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project, are validating various aquaculture technologies, innovations and management practices (TIMPs) to achieve ‘triple wins’ of increased fish production, improved resilience and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)‐funded Aquaculture Business Development Programme aims at commercialising aquaculture to improve local livelihoods. In this study, we adopt a scoping review methodology to review and synthesise published literature on tilapia culture in Kenya to explore current and emerging tilapia production technologies and document their socio‐economic impacts on farmers’ livelihoods. These emerging innovative technologies range from culture systems, for example, biofloc, periphyton, fingerpond technology, integrated aquaculture, breeding and genetics (selective breeding), fish health and biosecurity measures, to post‐harvest loss reduction, value addition and marketing. The study findings reveal that the technologies have great potential to increase tilapia production and profitability and positively impact the local livelihoods of smallholder fish farmers through employment creation, economic growth and better nutrition.

A holistic approach to food loss reduction in Africa: food loss analysis, integrated capacity development and policy implications

Food insecurity in the African context is a critical issue; yet total food losses are estimated at 15.9% and 17.2% in quantity and in caloric value, respectively (FAO, 2019). Currently across the continent, there is insufficient funding and the lack of policy mechanisms to support interdisciplinary analytical approaches and data collection systems to better inform the reduction of food loss. This paper highlights the critical need for a paradigm shift of current research and development programs aimed at food loss reduction, as demonstrated by findings of a project implemented in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda by the United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Quantitative and qualitative food loss data generated by applying the FAO Food Loss Analysis (FLA) methodology to identify critical loss points in the supply chains of nationally prioritized staple food crops, informed the development of practical knowledge-sharing tools and policy guidelines on food loss reduction and contributed to the development of a comprehensive approach for mainstreaming food loss reduction strategies and solutions into national strategic frameworks. Furthermore, a holistic approach that integrates multi-stakeholder engagement, and evidence generation through the implementation of pilot activities to shape local and regional policies and strategies proved essential to the realization of beneficial outcomes in the respective countries. The project also recognized the critical importance of integrating gender considerations and particularly the inclusion of women in harvest and post-harvest operations and in decision-making. All of these outcomes have contributed to the advancement of knowledge and strategic approaches toward reducing postharvest loss, achieving SDG target 12.3 and meeting the targets set by the Malabo Declaration. In short, the project effectively translated commitment into action in all three beneficiary countries.

СВІТОВІ ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ ТА УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ВИМІР АГРОЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ

The article is devoted to the study of global trends in agro-economic security, determining the level of security in Ukraine. To diagnose agro-economic security, the authors applied an integral assessment and used the methodology of world ratings for the indicators of Global Food Security Index, Global Hunger Index. The information base is formed by the analytical data of the system established by the UN organizations: Food and Agriculture Support Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, United Nations World Food Programme. Attention is focused on the important role of Ukraine in ensuring the agro-economic security of the world and its individual territories. The factor of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered as one of the factors that affected the agro-economic security at the global and national levels in 2019-2021.

Deployment of High Iron Beans technology in Zimbabwe: An outcome case study report. TAAT MEL working document no. 001

Deployment of High Iron Beans technology in Zimbabwe: An outcome case study report. TAAT MEL working document no. 001