Kenyan farmers’ livelihoods are closely linked to climate conditions. Almost three-quarters of the labor force depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and almost all farmers depend on timely and adequate rainfall for crop production and husbandry, as only 2 percent of cultivated area is equipped for irrigation. Thus, climate variability and change will have an increasing impact on agricultural livelihoods and food security in the country, making adaptation essential for rural areas in Kenya.

Developing countries allocate scarce government funds to investments in rural areas to achieve the twin goals of agricultural growth and poverty alleviation. Choices have to be made between different types of investments, especially infrastructure, human capital and agricultural research, and between different types of agricultural regions, e.g., irrigated and high- and low-potential rainfed areas. This paper develops an econometric approach and provides empirical evidence on the impact of government investments in rural India using district-level data.

Training materials

This policy note summarizes research exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with building human, organizational, and institutional capacity to respond effectively to the adverse impacts of climate change as they relate to agriculture and rural livelihoods in developing countries.

This policy note summarizes research that explored the perceptions of agricultural households in rural Bangladesh about climate change and their choices of coping mechanisms and adaptation strategies.

Because many rural poor live in areas far away from markets, we investigate whether better road access could help improve their livelihood and reduce rural poverty. We use three waves of a primary panel survey at the household level conducted in 18 remote natural villages in China to study how road access shapes farmers’ agricultural production patterns and input uses and affects rural poverty. Our results show that access to roads is strongly associated with specialization in agricultural production.

Project Note

This policy note summarizes research that analyzed the adverse impact of climate-related shocks on farm households’ real per capita consumption and asset ownership over time, as well as factors that exacerbate or ameliorate those adverse impacts.

This issue of the Thematic Research Notes discusses the causes and impact of migration among communities in Africa as well as predicted future migration trends.

For more than 30 years, China has undergone economic reforms and development that have led to successful economic growth and poverty reduction. The country has also made considerable efforts to reduce the income gap between urban and rural populations, balance regional development, and conserve natural resources. In 2003, IFPRI developed a strategy specifically tailored to its work in China and expanded its national program.

This brief is based on Information and Communication Technologies for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications, ed. Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (Johns Hopkins University Press and IFPRI, 2006) "The variety of views about ICTs reveals that their role in development is unclear, especially without convincing evidence of their impact—and little research has been conducted on the direct and indirect links between ICTs and poverty reduction.

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) conducted this Rural Household Panel Survey (RHPS) during March-April 2012 in three provinces of Pakistan (Punjab, Sindh, and KPK). The survey aims to provide the quantitative basis to identify and address the urgent economic policy priorities related to the implementation of the Planning Commission’s Framework for Economic Growth.