An issue which has generated much
concern has been the potential link between low incomes and
resource degradation. This report presents the results of a
study which investigated this question. Machakos District is
a relatively low income and agriculturally marginal district
in Kenya. Before World War II the colonial administration
was concerned that land degradation was becoming severe
under the pressure of population, aggravated by drought. The

This report is comprised of two volumes:
(i) volume one: risk assessment; and (ii) volume two: risk
management strategy. Volume one continues with chapter one,
which characterizes the recent performance of the
agriculture sector, including agro-climatic and market
conditions. It also identifies the productive systems used
for this analysis. Chapter two describes the main risks in
the agricultural sector, capturing market, production, and

The present study is part of an effort
by the World Bank and the State of Bahia to assess
agriculture sector risks as a contribution to the strategic
economic development and poverty reduction agenda of the
state government. It is composed of two phases: an
agricultural sector risk identification and prioritization
(volume one) and a risk management strategy and action plan
(volume two). The study provides practical elements for the

Agriculture is among the most risk-prone
sectors in the economies of Central Asia. Production shocks
from weather, pests and diseases and adverse movements in
agricultural product and input prices not only impact
farmers and agri-business firms, but can also strain
government finances. Some of these risks are small and
localized and can be managed by producers. Others are the
result of more severe, exogenous shocks outside agriculture

Agriculture is among the most risk-prone
sectors in the economies of Central Asia. Production shocks
from weather, pests and diseases and adverse movements in
agricultural product and input prices not only impact
farmers and agri-business firms, but can also strain
government finances. Some of these risks are small and
localized and can be managed by producers. Others are the
result of more severe, exogenous shocks outside agriculture

Rice is the world’s most heavily
consumed staple crop. Its production requires enormous
volumes of water and emits large quantities of atmospheric
methane, a greenhouse gas some many times more powerful than
carbon dioxide - particularly during a medium term period of
about seven years. In a global context of growing
population, increasingly scarce water resources, and climate
change, more productive, sustainable, and efficient rice

Agriculture is among the most risk-prone
sectors in the economies of Central Asia. Production shocks
from weather, pests and diseases and adverse movements in
agricultural product and input prices not only impact
farmers and agri-business firms, but can also strain
government finances. Some of these risks are small and
localized and can be managed by producers. Others are the
result of more severe, exogenous shocks outside agriculture

Agriculture is the dominant sector of
the economy, contributing a third of the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP) and about half of Rwanda’s export
earnings. The government of Rwanda has therefore made
agricultural development a priority and allocated
significant resources to improving productivity, expanding
the livestock sector, promoting sustainable land management,
and developing supply chains and value-added activities. At

Agricultural risk management is a
central issue that Mozambique faces in development, and
multiple stakeholders have analyzed this challenge,
sometimes with different terminology and focusing on varying
aspects. The government of Mozambique has adopted the
strategic plan for agricultural development (PEDSA 2010-19)
that focuses on: (i) increasing the availability of food in
order to reduce hunger through growth in small producer

Conventional wisdom holds that
Sub-Saharan African farmers use few modern inputs despite
the fact that most growth-inducing and poverty-reducing
agricultural growth in the region is expected to come
largely from expanded use of inputs that embody improved
technologies, particularly improved seed, fertilizers and
other agro-chemicals, machinery, and irrigation. Yet
following several years of high food prices, concerted

The contribution of women to labor in
African agriculture is regularly quoted in the range of 60
to 80 percent. Using individual-disaggregated, plot-level
labor input data from nationally representative household
surveys across six Sub-Saharan African countries, this study
estimates the average female labor share in crop production
at 40 percent. It is slightly above 50 percent in Malawi,
Tanzania, and Uganda, and substantially lower in Nigeria (37

This report seeks to understand the
successes, challenges and opportunities of Cambodia’s
agricultural transformation over the past decade to derive
lessons and insights on how to maintain future agricultural
growth, and particularly on the government’s role in
facilitating it. It is prepared per the request of the
Supreme National Economic Council and the Ministry of
Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries and is based on the