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The evolution of agricultural value chains is influenced by numerous societal and economic dynamics, including trade and servicification of the economy. In this paper we analyze margins along agrifood value chains, proxied by the share of the Global Food Dollar accruing to farmers, controlling for differences in GDP and economic development levels. International trade and the increasingly diverse roles played by services in upstream and downstream activities shape the distribution of the value-addition generated along the value chains. Trade regimes and services that favour domestic processing of agricultural products increase the share of consumer food expenditures returned to farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A synthesis of five years of research on agriculture and nutrition in South Asia. • A systems approach is needed to understand agriculture's contribution to nutrition. • Political commitment needs to lead to large-scale action and results on the ground. • Leadership, capacity, coherence and coordination are key for progress. • Contextual evidence from research on impact pathways should continue to guide decisionmaking. Abstract Despite significant improvements over recent decades, rates of undernutrition remain high in South Asia, with adverse impacts on morbidity and mortality. Overweight/obesity, among children and adults, is now an additional and major public health concern. While agriculture has the potential to improve nutrition through several pathways, this potential is currently not being realised in the region. The Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research consortium (2012–2018) set out to improve understanding about how agriculture and related food policies and programs in South Asia (specifically in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan) can be better conceptualised and implemented in order to enhance impacts on nutrition outcomes, especially those of young children and adolescent girls. This paper provides a snapshot of the agriculture-nutrition nexus in the region, outlines the pathways through which agriculture can influence nutrition outcomes, elaborates on the objectives of the LANSA research consortium within this context, and highlights the core findings of the six papers that form the body of this Special Issue. The paper ends with five key lessons that have emerged from this research, during this decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions often support vulnerable populations. • Evidence shows interventions improve intermediate outcomes like dietary diversity. • Limited evidence that interventions improve long-term outcomes like child growth. • Unintended consequences for women's workload and sustainability need attention. • LANSA has significantly extended range and scope of interventions in South Asia. Abstract Research on the potential impact of interventions in agriculture on nutrition outcomes is of particular relevance in South Asia where agriculture-related activities are a major source of livelihoods for large sections of society and where the population suffers from one of the highest global burdens of malnutrition in all its forms. This systematic review aims to assess the strength of the available evidence that agricultural interventions have an impact on intermediate and final nutrition outcomes in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We searched five literature databases and reference lists of previous systematic reviews to identify peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2017, detailing impacts of household- or farm-level agricultural interventions on nutritional outcomes in South Asia. We identified six intervention studies (reported in nine papers) conducted in Bangladesh (two studies), India (two studies) and Nepal (two studies). The majority of studies examined the impact of provision of seed, plants and training to increase home garden fruit and vegetable production with or without integrated poultry provision and training. Other studies evaluated the impact of livestock or aquaculture provision and training. Study designs and quality were mixed; heterogeneity across studies precluded formal meta-analysis. Interventions had a positive impact on intermediate outcomes on the pathway from agricultural intervention to nutritional or health status including dietary quality and dietary diversity of households and individuals (reported in seven papers). The evidence on the impact on final nutritional outcomes was mixed: one paper reported that home gardens with poultry reduced the odds of anaemia but there was no convincing evidence of an impact of agricultural interventions on child anthropometric measurement (reported in four papers). In recent years, the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research programme consortium has significantly expanded research on agricultural interventions for nutrition outcomes by conducting and commissioning a suite of formative and feasibility studies that have extended both the range and geographic location of interventions under study. This expanding body of research should, in the future, enable the identification of cost-effective interventions to enhance the impact of agricultural interventions sustainably to improve nutrition outcomes especially in women and children in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses comparable income aggregates from 41 national household surveys from 22 countries to explore the patterns of income generation among rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to compare household income strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa with those in other regions. The paper seeks to understand how geography drives these strategies, focusing on the role of agricultural potential and distance to urban areas. Specialization in on-farm activities continues to be the norm in rural Africa, practiced by 52 percent of households (as opposed to 21 percent of households in other regions). Regardless of distance and integration in the urban context, when agro-climatic conditions are favorable, farming remains the occupation of choice for most households in the African countries for which the study has geographically explicit information. However, the paper finds no evidence that African households are on a different trajectory than households in other regions in terms of transitioning to non-agricultural based income strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ethiopia implemented widespread agricultural inteventions in the past decades. • We estimate the yields and food security impacts of the interventions implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) between 2011 and 2016. • We combine project and remote-sensing data with a nationally representative household panel survey. • Our identification strategy exploits the temporal and geographic variation in the roll-out of the ATA interventions. • Results show that large-scale agricultural interventions are associated with higher agricultural yields and better food security outcomes. In the past decades, the Government of Ethiopia implemented widespread interventions with the objective of modernizing the agricultural sector and stimulating transformative growth. This paper assesses the agricultural yields and food security impacts of those interventions. Combining project and remote-sensing data with a nationally representative household panel survey, we identify impacts by exploiting the temporal and geographic variation in the roll-out of the interventions implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency from 2011 to 2016. Results show that large-scale agricultural interventions are associated with higher agricultural yields and better food security outcomes. These outcomes underscore the linkages that persist between agricultural development and food security for rural households living in mostly agrarian economies and the potential for systems-wide interventions to catalyze agricultural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CGIAR is facing a serious organizational challenge in translating international agricultural research into impact. • The challenge is magnified by trying to achieve economies of scale and scope while recognizing the location specificity of technology. • This balancing act was brought to the fore with the expansion into natural resource management in the 1990′s. • There have been successive organizational reforms with only partial success. • Workable reform requires approaches aligned around high impact programs, strong alliances among Centers, and upgrading the quality of science. Over its 50-year history, CGIAR has with increasing frequency revisited the question of how best to organize its research to address growing complexity of agricultural, food, and ecological systems, a multiplying set of development goals, changes in global science, increasing diversity of funding, and evolving capacities of partner organizations. We review this evolution over four periods noting inevitable trade-offs and tensions in a system of autonomous centers and sovereign donors, in developing common research strategies, appropriate lines of management, and aligning resources around agreed priorities. As a result, organizational changes have not met expectations and funding has continued to fragment around short-term payoffs at the expense of producing global public goods over the long term. The paper concludes with suggestions for building on the lessons of organizational reform to improve the collective action performance of funders and centers to drive and sustain needed changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Modern inputs and mechanization can raise smallholder labor productivity and broker the structural transformation. • Intensification increases land and labor productivity, especially when agro-chemicals and mechanized land preparation are combined. • Returns to labor double to triple, inducing specialization and greater market orientation as well as greater food security. • Labor in agriculture becomes more waged, and gender balance remains the same. • Agricultural intensification is a key pathway towards rural transformation. Modern inputs and mechanization are promoted across Africa to raise smallholder labor productivity and broker the structural transformation. Yet, adoption has remained low and the implications for returns to labor and labor allocation remain poorly understood. This paper explores the effects of different intensification packages on farm performance, market orientation, and food security using data from lowland rice farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. Employing a multinomial treatment effect model, the findings reveal that intensification increases land and labor productivity, especially when agro-chemicals and mechanized land preparation are combined. Returns to labor more than triple, inducing greater market orientation as well as greater food security. This opens opportunities to productively release agricultural labor for other activities (on and off the farm). Labor in rice production becomes more waged and slightly more male, but child labor input does not decrease. The findings call for greater attention to labor productivity and confirm that agricultural intensification can pay and enhance rural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The agricultural midstream is relatively understudied. • The vast majority of firms in the midstream are MSMEs in potential need of finance. • Needs are heterogeneous by agricultural conditions, seasonality, and policy environment. Recent literature suggests that agricultural value chains are changing rapidly and places an increasing focus on the importance of actors and activities taking place in the "midstream" of these value chains, after production and prior to final sale. This article discusses the financial needs of midstream actors in agricultural value chains, emphasizing differences across midstream activities and highlighting how value chain characteristics can influence both financial needs and potential remedies. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the prospects of digital financial services and policy levers for government actors in this space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The paper is on the contribution of short supply food chains to urban agriculture. [•] It focuses on the French case of the metropolitan area of Paris and shows that. [•] Urban demand for local food is a great opportunity for threatened urban agriculture. [•] But producers face obstacles (land scarcity, lack of organisation, labour shortage). [•] The paper also provides a typology of SSFC based on producers/consumers proximity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper looks critically at how food and agriculture-, energy security-, and climate change-oriented international organizations have consolidated and modified the biofuel discourse in relation to the agricultural system. Using Foucault-based genealogical analysis of discursive formations, the paper traces the last 20years of institutions’ biofuel debate in relation to rural production. We find that the prevalent motive is an aspiration to combine the agriculture and energy markets into one, which prompts structural changes and challenges in the rural sector. This has implications for the future role and shape of global agriculture and – contrary to the food vs. fuel perspective – calls for re-conceptualizing the biofuel debate as the food vs. food dilemma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The largest size class produced with the highest TFP levels in 1985 and 2006. • By 2006, a U-shaped total factor productivity distribution over farm sizes emerged. • The U-shape was due to the smallest and largest sizes having the fastest TFP growth. • Education and annual-crop specialization were associated with higher TFP growth. The long-standing debate on the relationship between farm size and productivity has been generally limited by the range of farm sizes evaluated and the definition of productivity. In this paper we use data from three Brazilian agricultural censuses to address these issues. In particular, we introduce a wider distribution of farm sizes than presently available from the literature and we employ total factor productivity (TFP) as our performance measure. In doing so, we test which farm size class had the highest TFP levels in 1985 and 2006, how factor productivity growth varied within and across farm size classes between those years, and which policy or factor had the greatest productivity enhancing effect. When examining TFP growth, we move beyond the common decomposition into technical and efficiency changes by identifying the complete distribution of farm productivity performances. We find that by 2006 a U-shaped distribution of productivity over farm sizes had emerged. Considerable 1985–2006 TFP growth differences are prevalent; positive rates for the majority accompany stagnant or negative rates for some. Public education investments were associated with faster productivity growth regardless of farm size, while technical assistance's positive effect and credit's negative effect were associated with larger farm sizes. The role of specialization varied by size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Innovation is a development policy buzzword. • Policy makers seek innovations in agri-food systems to improve nutritional outcomes. • The 'triple burden of malnutrition' is an outcome of previous innovations. • Policy should heed the direction, distribution and diversity of innovations. • South Asia has an opportunity to shape socio-technical change in agri-food systems. Abstract Innovations within global food systems have contributed to the predicament known as the triple burden of malnutrition – the co-existence of hunger and micronutrient deficiency with the diseases of overnutrition, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. We use the case of the triple burden in South Asia to demonstrate analytically that innovation is a double-edged sword, with positive and negative potential, rather than a simple good. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals that target food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (e.g. SDGs 2, 3 and 12), the countries of South Asia need more innovation, but, first, they would also benefit from some intelligent reflection about what innovation means, the directions it should take, and its risks and downsides alongside its benefits. In the present juncture, South Asian countries have an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other developing nations, and choose from alternative options to steer their own course. In this paper, we discuss how innovation has contributed to the present situation and ask how alternative kinds of innovation may enable South Asian countries to escape from the triple burden. We describe a conceptual framework that may be useful for thinking about how innovation pathways can be created and directed towards the goal of improving nutritional outcomes in South Asia. The framework draws attention to the direction of socio-technical change, the distribution of technologies and their risks and benefits, and the diversity of possible innovation pathways (STEPS Centre, 2010). We illustrate these points using examples of innovations in the areas of agricultural production, value chain interventions, and policy and institutional reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Ag-nutrition linkages require special attention in fragile contexts in South Asia. • There is a balance between what the state ought to do, can do and is willing to do. • The state has to engage systemically and intersectorally, integrating sectors. • State capacity must enhance the mobilisation and role of women. • Important to create, maintain and engage in formal spaces for dialogue. Abstract This paper systematically reviews the evidence on what capacities the state requires to leverage agriculture for nutrition in fragile contexts, maintaining a focus on state in South Asia (especially India). It uses the framework of what the state ought to do (in terms of pathways), can do (in relation to parts of the enabling environment it is able to deliver) and is willing to do (addressing constraints in terms of political choices). The results of the search were sorted into three further themes: capacity of the state to intervene systemically and intersectorally; engage with participatory and locally relevant understandings of agriculture-nutrition linkages, and to create, maintain and engage in formal spaces for dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Despite improvement, political commitment is still tilted towards food security. • Leaders must work across sectors to build alliances to address malnutrition. • Nutrition governance requires a focus on processes, as well as structures. • Horizontal and vertical coherence are both essential for progress in nutrition. • Timely, actionable nutrition-relevant data are needed to improve accountability. Abstract Malnutrition is a multicausal challenge that requires multisectoral responses to make comprehensive and sustainable progress, over the long term. How is agriculture and the wider agri-food system positioned within the constellation of factors and processes that determine nutrition outcomes in different contexts and countries? What is known about the role of enabling environments and the governance of agri-food systems in driving nutrition outcomes, for better or worse? In this paper we will highlight the findings of a systematic review that focuses on this question, drawing on work from the South Asian region including research undertaken by LANSA. We conclude with a discussion of the major implications and recommendations for future policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since the mid 1980s, organic farming has become the focus of significant attention from policy-makers, consumers, environmentalists and farmers in Europe and state institutions have become increasingly involved in regulating and supporting the organic sector. Reflecting the multiple goals for organic farming and for agricultural policy, a varied and complex range of policy measures have been developed and implemented to support the organic sector. However, balancing societal and consumer/market goals and balancing institutional and private stakeholder interests in the organic sector present particular challenges for policy-making. The key issues of current organic farming policy addressed in this special issue therefore specifically consider the two different dimensions of policy development – the dimension of policies and the dimension of politics. This paper provides an introduction to the special issue by outlining organic farming policy development in the EU, providing the basic concepts of organic farming policies in Europe and introducing the key themes of the papers published in this special issue. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Self-sufficiency in wheat has been one of the major goals of Iranian agricultural policies since the Revolution of 1979. Even so, the country failed to achieve this goal by the early 2000s, despite a satisfactory growth in wheat production. This paper addresses this failure and the political difficulties in introducing reforms that would reduce the need for import. First, the production and consumption of wheat are examined. The conclusion is that the cheap-bread policy has mainly been responsible for the imbalances between domestic supply and demand, and the continued reliance on wheat imports. Moreover, the paper argues that the subsidy program is an expensive safety net for the needy and shows that the Iranian government has intended to reform the program since the early 1990s. However, subsidy reforms are politically sensitive, especially in developing countries where subsidies are considered very important, both for supporting the poor and for political stability. An analysis of the Iranian attempts at subsidy reform suggests that they have not yet succeeded, mainly due to such political considerations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper identifies factors that influence the decision behavior of farmers in Southern Ethiopia in adopting improved maize varieties by estimating a logistic regression. Data for this study came from 222 farmers interviewed as part of a national adoption survey conducted in three selected maize growing administrative zones of Southern Ethiopia in 1998. The paper also assesses the impact of pure and mixed strategy options on the probability of adoption of improved maize varieties through simulation under different scenarios. As far as pure strategies are concerned, the credit strategy is more powerful than the others in terms of raising the probability of adoption. However, results from the analysis of pure versus mixed strategies imply that mixed strategies are no necessarily much better than pure strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Reducing factor misallocation can increase agricultural productivity and farmer income. • A theoretical framework shows how farmland leasing affects aggregated TFP. • Efficient factor reallocation could theoretically result in a 23.6% increase in TFP. • An 1% increase in farmland leasing leads to a 1.087% gain in aggregate TFP. • An 1% increase in farmland leasing results in a 0.267% reduction in misallocation. Reducing factor misallocation is crucial for enhancing agricultural aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) and narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas in China. This paper presents a theoretical framework illustrating how farmland leasing affects aggregated TFP via the reduction of misallocation. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of cost and benefit survey for Jiangsu rice farmers, monthly surface climatological data, and soil characteristic information from FAO, this study finds that efficient factor reallocation could theoretically result in a 23.6% increase in aggregate TFP. In practice, a 1% increase in farmland leasing leads to a 1.087% gain in aggregate TFP and a 0.267% reduction in misallocation using IV regression. These effects become larger after the Three Rights Separation (TRS) reform compared to prior conditions. The mediation effects of farmland leasing on TFP through misallocation reduction are only observed in Southern Jiangsu, possibly due to farmland concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Since the establishment of the WTO the number of RTAs has risen strongly. • We analyse the co-evolution of (overlapping) RTAs and agricultural trade. • We show a positive association between RTA and agricultural trade connectivity. • This relationship is more profound at the extensive margin of trade. • This relationship is more profound for countries that share several RTAs. Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) also the number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) has risen strongly, from less than 50 in 1995 to more than 350 in 2022. Increasingly overlapping RTAs imply challenges and can raise trade costs associated with the management of multiple trade rules and regulatory standards. At the same time, countries that are connected through several RTAs could be strongly integrated and their regulatory approaches well-aligned, thus reducing trade costs among them. This paper looks at the parallels in the evolution of agricultural trade and RTAs and asks how the layering of RTAs is associated with agricultural trade among their signatories and with countries outside the RTAs. Based on network measures and correlations we identify common patterns in the evolution of RTAs globally and agricultural trade of a balanced panel of 190 countries in the years 1995, 2007, 2013 and 2019. We also provide first indication on the interaction of overlapping RTAs and agricultural trade. On global average, our findings hint at a positive association between RTA and agricultural trade connectivity and suggest that this relationship could be more pronounced at the extensive margin of trade and for countries that share several RTAs, possibly indicating a stronger political integration among these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Changes to research practices and media attention have raise new ethical concerns. • We survey relevant issues and offer a number of proposals to improve the field. • We focus on ethical issues that have emerged in recent years. • Issues discussed include pre-analysis plans, p-hacking, and popular media attention. Abstract Ongoing changes to research practices and recent media attention to agricultural and applied economics have raised new ethical problems, but also created opportunities for new solutions. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues facing the profession and propose potential ways in which the field can address these issues. We divide our discussion into two topics. First are ethical issues that arise during the collection, management and analysis of data. Second are ethical issues faced by researchers as they formulate, fund, and disseminate their research. We pay special attention to issues of data dredging or p -hacking and potential ethical issues arising from interaction with the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Estimating non-separability is a common test of dysfunctional agricultural markets. • LSMS-ISA data from Tanzania reveals urban-rural heterogeneity in non-separability. • Relative to rural areas, non-separability is weaker near 3 of the 5 largest cities. • Suggests cities may improve agricultural market functionality for nearby farmers. • Implications for food security, market accessibility and agricultural development. Abstract A key question for policymakers concerned about feeding Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) rapidly growing cities is whether or not nearby farms benefit from improved agricultural markets. Evidence from case studies and agricultural location theory suggest so, but urban heterogeneity has not yet been found in a common economic test of functioning agricultural markets—the separability result. The test is based on a key insight of the agricultural household model, which finds that a farm’s profit should be maximized independently from household utility given perfect factor markets (i.e., separability), but not so if the household faces at least two market failures (i.e., non-separability). In this paper, I test for geographic heterogeneity in separability between rural, peri-urban, and urban districts using 2014-15 data from the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study and Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) from Tanzania. I find strong evidence that the correlation between pre-harvest labor demand and household size implying non-separability in rural areas is significantly weaker in three of Tanzania’s five largest cities: Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mbeya. Given certain assumptions, this can be interpreted as evidence of increased agricultural market functionality around these cities relative to rural areas. Overall, these results contribute to the debate on how to achieve urban food security in SSA and give some validity to agricultural location theory and the separability test as tools to help policymakers characterize the nature of agricultural factor markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Women’s time in domestic work is positively correlated with more diverse diets. • In Mozambique, impact of working in agriculture on women and children’s diet diversity varies by asset poverty. • Agriculture as a source of income is particularly important for the asset poor. • Women's time allocation and nutrition responses to agricultural interventions are likely to vary by local context. Abstract There are concerns that increasing women’s engagement in agriculture could negatively affect nutrition by limiting the time available for nutrition-improving reproductive work. However, very few empirical studies provide evidence to support these concerns. This paper examines the relationship between women’s time spent in domestic work and agriculture and women’s and children’s dietary diversity. Using data from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique, we find that women’s domestic work and cooking time are positively correlated with more diverse diets. We also find differential effects depending on asset poverty status. In Mozambique, working long hours in agriculture is negatively associated with women’s dietary diversity score in nonpoor women, but is positively associated with poor women’s dietary diversity and poor children’s minimum acceptable diet. This suggests that agriculture as a source of food and income is particularly important for the asset poor. Our results reveal that women’s time allocation and nutrition responses to agricultural interventions are likely to vary by socioeconomic status and local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development projects are generally subject to a potential tradeoff between sustainability and poverty reduction. Grants are also commonly assigned without a standardized criterion. This paper proposes an innovative scoring tool that combines both a risk and poverty scorecard to prioritize lending and grant allocation. We implement and test the instrument through a competitive fund for demand-driven projects in Central America intended to better link smallholder farmers to markets and improve their welfare. The evaluation results show that the highest ranked projects generally have a larger economic impact on their beneficiaries than lower ranked projects. We observe a larger effect on income, access to credit and access to local markets, and the relative differences are stronger over time between the highest ranked projects and the lowers rank ones. The proposed scorecard tool is intended to better ensure the accountability and sustainability of development funds and can be easily adapted to different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on the trade liberalization – climate change nexus by investigating the impact of the current free trade agenda of the European Union (EU) on the effectiveness of a possible greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policy for its agricultural sector. For the analysis we implement scenarios with a carbon tax on non-CO 2 emissions and trade liberalization both individually and combined in CAPRI, a global partial equilibrium model for agriculture. Scenario results indicate that the simulated trade liberalization by itself has only modest effects on agricultural GHG emissions by 2030. Pricing agricultural non-CO 2 emissions in the EU triggers the adoption of mitigation technologies, which contributes to emission reductions. Emission leakage, however, partially offsets the EU emission savings as production increases in less emission-efficient regions in the world. The combination of agricultural trade liberalization and carbon pricing increases emission leakage and, therefore, further undermines global mitigation gains. Our results hinge on the key assumptions that future trade agreements between non-EU countries are not considered and that the climate actions are limited to the EU only. Despite these limitations we conclude that, from a global GHG mitigation perspective, trade agreements should address emission leakage, for instance by being conditional on participating nations adopting measures directed towards GHG mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postharvest loss exacerbates the food insecurity and welfare loss of farming households in developing countries. This paper analyzes the impact of improved storage technologies on food and nutrition security and welfare using nationally representative data from Ethiopia. Endogenous switching regression models are employed to control for unobserved heterogeneity. The study finds that the use of improved storage technologies increases dietary diversity and reduces child malnutrition and self-reported food insecurity. We also find that non-user households would have experienced these benefits had they used improved storage technologies. Overall, the study suggests that improved storage technologies can enhance food and nutrition security, and could play a key role in alleviating the challenges of feeding a growing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretically, the relationship between shocks and agricultural innovation adoption could be ambiguous. While shocks could lower the competence and capacity of households to adopt new agricultural innovations, households can also take-up agricultural innovations as a coping mechanism against the different shocks they face. Using a nationally representative household data from Ethiopia of the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) of the World Bank, this paper analyzes the effect of idiosyncratic and covariate shocks on adoption of different agricultural innovations, assuming interdependence among the innovations. We find shocks to have heterogeneous effects on the adoption of agricultural innovations. Specifically, production and health shocks have negative effects on the adoption of high-cost innovations such as improved seeds, chemical fertilizer, and irrigation. However, production shocks are positively associated with low-cost innovations such as organic fertilizer. To enhance farmers’ adoption of agricultural innovations, especially high-cost innovations, there is a greater need towards the design of policies and interventions that would reduce household’s exposure to production and health shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Greenhouse farming is proliferating within the transforming global food system. • We provide first empirical evidence of how greenhouse farming affects employment. • Nationally representative survey data from Ecuador between 2014 and 2021 is used. • Greenhouse farms are found to hire more workers, especially on permanent contracts. • Greenhouse farms hire more female workers than non-greenhouse farms. The transforming agri-food sector is an important contributor to employment generation in rural areas of lower-income countries. However, little attention has been paid to the question of how technology affects the quality and quantity of employment in the sector. In this paper, we provide the first empirical evidence of how the rise in greenhouse farming changes labor demand (i.e., the number of employees), using large-scale and nationally representative agricultural survey data from Ecuador between 2014 and 2021 and pseudo-panel as well as event-study estimation techniques. Contrary to fears that more technologically advanced production methods displace large shares of the workforce, we find that greenhouse farming is associated with higher labor demand. Specifically, greenhouse farms hire more female workers and workers on permanent contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women’s empowerment is considered a ‘prerequisite’ to achieving global food security. Gender systems, however, are diverse and complex. The nature and extent of gender inequity and the conditions necessary to empower women vary across countries, communities and regions. The study of different gender systems is thus fundamental to capture cross-cultural variations in gender specific needs and constraints to effectively address gender gaps. Although the status of women in agriculture has received extensive attention in the literature in recent decades, a research gap persists regarding the state of gender inequity in Southeast Asian agriculture. The current paper contributes to the geographical scope of the literature by presenting empirical evidence of gender inequity from four Southeast Asian countries: Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using the framework recommended by the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), 37 focus group discussions were conducted with 290 women farmers in the above mentioned countries. The results reveal trends that contradict the conventional narratives of gender inequity in agriculture in certain domains of empowerment. In all four countries, women appear to have equal access to productive resources such as land and inputs, and greater control over household income than men. Important intra-regional heterogeneity is observed in terms of community-level empowerment. While women play an active role in agricultural groups in Thailand and in the Philippines, this is predominantly men’s territory in Indonesia and Myanmar. These findings imply that country-specific gender intervention frameworks are necessary to overcome gender gaps in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stylized facts drive research agendas and policy debates. Yet robust stylized facts are hard to come by, and when available, often outdated. The 12 papers in this Special Issue revisit conventional wisdom on African agriculture and its farmers’ livelihoods using nationally representative surveys from the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture Initiative in six African countries. At times they simply confirm our common understanding of the topic. But they also throw up a number of surprises, redirecting policy debates while fine-tuning others. Overall, the project calls for more attention to checking and updating our common wisdom. This requires nationally representative data, and sufficient incentives among researchers and policymakers alike. Without well-grounded stylized facts, they can easily be profoundly misguided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The majority of climate impact studies focus on changes in yields for a four staple crops. • There has been little research into climate change and farm labor productivity. • Research into climate impacts on knowledge capital is needed. • Climate change impacts on people in the tropics outweigh that on crops. • Ignoring labor impacts understates losses in the world's poorest countries. This paper provides a critical assessment of the literature estimating the consequences of climate impacts in agriculture and the food system. This literature focuses overwhelmingly on the impact of elevated CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, higher temperatures and changing precipitation on staple crop yields. While critically important for food security, we argue that researchers have gravitated to measuring impacts 'under the streetlight' where data and models are plentiful. We argue that prior work has largely neglected the vast majority of potential economic impacts of climate change on agriculture. A broader view must extend the impacts analysis to inputs beyond land, including the consequences of climate change for labor productivity, as well as for purchased intermediate inputs. Largely overlooked is the impact of climate change on the rate of total factor productivity growth and the potential for more rapid depreciation of the underlying knowledge capital underpinning this key driver of agricultural output growth. This broader view must also focus more attention on non-staple crops, which, while less important from a caloric point of view, are critically important in redressing current micronutrient deficiencies in many diets around the world. The paper closes with numerical simulations that demonstrate the extent to which limited input and output coverage of climate impacts can lead to considerable underestimation of the consequences for food security and economic welfare. Of particular significance is the finding that humans in the humid tropics are likely more vulnerable to heat stress than are many of the well-adapted crops, such as rice. By omitting the impact of heat stress on humans, most studies of climate impacts greatly understate the welfare losses in the world's poorest economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agriculture commercialization can promote household income, and nutrition security. • Linkage between agriculture commercialization, dietary diversity and nutrition is crucial. • Agriculture commercialisation is mainly determined by area of land cultivated. • Agriculture commercialisation has significant effect on dietary diversity for lower income group but not for the whole sample. • Agriculture commercialisation and dietary diversity have insignificant effect on child nutrition. • Policies to promote nutrition should be holistic. Availability and accessibility of proper amount and variety of foods are important determinants of household nutritional status. Agriculture commercialisation can be a useful means of promoting efficiency in agriculture, increasing agricultural household income and consequently, improving household food and nutrition security. Using the first three waves of Tanzania National Panel Survey data, this paper employs panel data models to analyse the linkages between agriculture commercialisation, dietary diversity, and nutrition status in Tanzania. It contributes to the literature by assessing those linkages across different income groups. The study finds that agriculture commercialisation has a significant effect on dietary diversity for the lower-income group; but not for the whole sample. Education levels of the head of household and of the highly educated female member, overall income levels and area of land cultivated have positive and significant effects on dietary diversity; whereas age of the head has negative and significant effect. It also finds that agriculture commercialisation and household dietary diversity both have an insignificant effect on child stunting, wasting, and underweight even for the lower-income group. Findings imply that policies favouring commercialisation and dietary diversification may not necessarily translate to improving child nutrition. Addressing nutrition challenges requires all-encompassing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses factors that affect the funding of agricultural research projects by regional governments and other regional public authorities. We study the selection process of agricultural research projects funded by the Emilia Romagna regional government in Italy, which follows funding procedures similar to many other European regional public authorities. Leveraging a unique dataset, a Heckman selection model demonstrates that the scientific merit of proposed projects is the primary selection criterion. Still, factors such as the experience of the proposal’s reviewers and the gender composition of the reviewing team also influence whether or not a submitted proposal receives funding as well as the amount allocated to the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is one of the major constraints to sustainable improvement of agricultural productivity in the rainfed farming systems. In this paper, we have examined the frequency, severity and spread of droughts in India, and assessed their impact on rice production. Our results show that one-third of the rice area in India is affected by droughts, mostly moderate droughts, the frequency of which has increased in recent years. The severity of droughts, however, has reduced. An assessment of their impact reveals a decline in drought-induced losses in rice yield, in absolute as well as relative terms. The weakening effect of droughts is attributed to improvements in farmers’ adaptive capacity due to expansion of irrigation facilities and increased availability of improved varieties for the rainfed production systems, along with other coping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic development in low income settings is often associated with an expansion of higher-value agricultural activities. Since these activities often bring new risks, an understanding of cropland decisions and how these interact with shocks is valuable. This paper uses data from Mozambique to examine the effect of weather shocks on cropland decisions. We account for the bounded nature of land shares and estimate a Pooled Fractional Probit model for panel data. Our results show that crop choice is sensitive to past weather shocks. Farmers shift land use away from cash and permanent crops one year after a drought and from horticulture and permanent crop after a flood. However, this reallocation seems temporary as farmers devote less land to staples after two periods. This is consistent with the aim of maintaining a buffer stock of staples for home consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates linkages between women’s empowerment in agriculture and the nutritional status of women and children using 2012 baseline data from the Feed the Future population-based survey in northern Ghana. Using a new survey-based index, the women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, we conduct individual-level analyses of nutrition-related indicators including exclusive breastfeeding, children’s dietary diversity score, minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet, children’s height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age z -scores, and women’s dietary diversity score and body mass index. Results suggest that women’s empowerment is more strongly associated with the quality of infant and young child feeding practices and only weakly associated with child nutrition status. Women’s empowerment in credit decisions is positively and significantly correlated with women’s dietary diversity, but not body mass index. This suggests that improved nutritional status is not necessarily correlated with empowerment across all domains, and that these domains may have different impacts on nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One-third of the firms in the agriculture sector are innovation creators. • Incremental innovations in the form of firm-level technology adoption are not more prevalent in agriculture than in other sectors. • Agriculture does not appear as a special case concerning innovation output, besides their higher incidence of process innovations. • The peculiarity of the agricultural sector seems to be related to firm-level innovation capacities. • Agriculture is different in how they source relevant knowledge. • Strengthening in-house knowledge capacities in agricultural firms would improve their capacity to participate in and benefit from collaborations with partners operating at higher levels in the knowledge system. This paper contributes to the literature on innovation in agri-food sectors. It presents a quantitative analysis of how innovation and innovation capacities differ between agricultural firms and firms in other sectors. With unique survey data on Swedish firms, we show that one-third of the firms in the agriculture sector are innovation creators. Moreover, incremental innovations in the form of firm-level technology adoption are not more prevalent in agriculture than in other sectors. These results indicate that agriculture does not appear as a special case concerning innovation output, besides their higher incidence of process innovations. The peculiarity of the sector rather seems to be related to firm-level innovation capacities. Our results suggest that agriculture is different in how they source relevant knowledge, which is a finding that could question the design of innovation support policies that emphasize collaborative research. Our findings rather point to a need of strengthening in-house knowledge capacities in agricultural firms. That would improve their capacity to participate in and benefit from collaborations with partners operating at higher levels in the knowledge system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the food and energy price crises of the mid 2000s, sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the largest recipients for large-scale farmland investments. While much has been written on the phenomenon, scant reliable empirical evidence is available as to the precise geographic and sectoral patterns and underlying drivers. Employing strict data quality requirements, this paper addresses these knowledge gaps by analyzing 563 farmland projects that have been established between 2005 and 2013 in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings show that the investment intensity and associated risks are not geographically uniform. Moreover, the study highlights a number of popular misconceptions regarding investor origin and their sectoral interests and motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influential studies in the 1980s and early 1990s drew on the Boserup-Ruthenberg theories of farming systems evolution to argue that African countries were not yet ready for widespread agricultural mechanization. Through applying the theories of farming systems evolution and of induced innovation in technical change, this paper shows that demand for certain mechanized farming operations particularly plowing has emerged even among smallholders, suggesting that supply issues may now be the main constraint to successful mechanization. We therefore adopt a supply chain approach to analyze two types of mechanization practices in Ghana, i.e., a recent state-led mechanization program and the private sector-led service hiring market, against an international perspective by drawing on three Asian supply models. We identify two major flaws in existing policies. First, the agricultural mechanization service centers that the government promotes fail to use tractors services with sufficient intensity. Second, direct importation of agricultural machinery by the government inhibits imports of appropriate and affordable machinery. In contrast, the development of mechanized service hiring market in which medium and large scale farmers who are tractor owners provide hiring-out services to small-scale farmers represents a promising model for sustainable mechanization in Ghana. This private sector-led second model is consistent with international experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence assembled in this special issue of Food Policy shows that rising rural population densities in parts of Africa are profoundly affecting farming systems and the region's economies in ways that are underappreciated in current discourse on African development issues. This study synthesizes how people, markets and governments are responding to rising land pressures in Africa, drawing on key findings from the various contributions in this special issue. The papers herein revisit the issue of Boserupian agricultural intensification as an important response to land constraints, but they also go further than Boserup and her followers to explore broader responses to land constraints, including non-farm diversification, migration, and reduced fertility rates. Agricultural and rural development strategies in the region will need to more fully anticipate the implications of Africa's rapidly changing land and demographic situation, and the immense challenges that mounting land pressures pose in the context of current evidence of unsustainable agricultural intensification, a rapidly rising labor force associated with the region's current demographic conditions, and limited nonfarm job creation. These challenges are manageable but will require explicit policy actions to address the unique development challenges in densely populated rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid population growth in many developing countries has raised concerns regarding food security and household welfare. To understand the consequences of population growth in a general equilibrium setting, we examine the dynamics of population density and its impacts on household outcomes using panel data from Indonesia, combined with district-level demographic data. Historically, Indonesia has adapted to land constraints through a mix of agricultural intensification, expansion of the land frontier, and non-farm diversification, with public policies playing a role in catalyzing all of these responses. In contemporary Indonesia we find that human capital determines the effect of increased population density on per capita household consumption expenditure. The effect of population density is positive if the average educational attainment is high (above junior high school), while it is negative otherwise. On the other hand, farmers with larger holdings maintain their advantage in farming regardless of population density. The paper concludes with some potential lessons for African countries from Indonesia's more successful rural development experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highland Ethiopia is one of the most densely populated regions of Africa and has long been associated with both Malthusian disasters and Boserupian agricultural intensification. This paper explores the race between these two countervailing forces, with the goal of inform two important policy questions. First, how do rural Ethiopians adapt to land constraints? And second, do land constraints significantly influence welfare outcomes in rural Ethiopia? To answer these questions we use a recent household survey of high-potential areas. We first show that farm sizes are generally very small in the Ethiopian highlands and declining over time, with young rural households facing particularly severe land constraints. We then ask whether smaller and declining farm sizes are inducing agricultural intensification, and if so, how. We find strong evidence in favor of the Boserupian hypothesis that land-constrained villages typically use significantly more purchased input costs per hectare and more family labor, and achieve higher maize and teff yields and higher gross income per hectare. However, although these higher inputs raise gross revenue, we find no substantial impact of greater land constraints on net farm income per hectare once family labor costs are accounted for. Moreover, farm sizes are strongly positively correlated with net farm income, suggesting that land constraints are an important cause of rural poverty. We conclude with some broad policy implications of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the reduction of food insecurity in Bolivia, adopting a supply-side approach that analyzes the role of agricultural spending on vulnerability to food insecurity. Vulnerability to food insecurity is captured by a municipal-level composite indicator for all 327 municipalities in 2003, 2006, and 2007. Econometric analysis indicates that levels of public agricultural spending are positively associated with high or very high vulnerability—especially investments in infrastructure and research and extension. The authors interpret this to indicate that agricultural spending allocation is driven by high or very high vulnerability levels, but has small effects on reducing high vulnerability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rapid expansion of biofuel production has generated considerable interest within the body of empirical economic literature that has sought to understand the impact of biofuel growth on the global food economy. While the consensus within the literature is that biofuel emergence is likely to have some effect on future world agricultural market, there is a considerable range in the estimated size of the impact. Despite the importance of this topic to policy makers, there has been no study that has tried to reconcile the differences among various outlook studies. This paper undertakes an in-depth review of some key outlook studies which quantify the impacts of biofuels on agricultural commodities, and which are based on either general-equilibrium (GE) or partial-equilibrium (PE) modeling approaches. We attempt to reconcile the systematic differences in the estimated impacts of biofuel production growth on the prospective prices and production of three major feedstock commodities, maize, sugar cane, and oilseeds across these studies. Despite the fact that all models predict positive impacts on prices and production, there are large differences among the studies. Our findings point to a number of key assumptions and structural differences that seem to jointly drive the variations we observe, across these studies. The differences among the PE models are mainly due to differences in the design of scenarios, the presence or absence of biofuel trade, and the structural way in which agricultural and energy market linkages are modeled. The differences among the GE models are likely to be driven by model assumptions on agricultural land supply, the inclusion of the byproducts, and assumptions on crude oil prices and the elasticity of substitution between petroleum and biofuels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This is the first paper to study job creation and destruction in EU agriculture. We disaggregate gross employment patterns and net job flows into detailed intra-sectoral labour adjustment dynamics based on a unique EU-wide farm level panel dataset for 1990–2005. We find that: (1) job creation and destruction rates in EU agriculture are comparable to other sectors; (2) there is some evidence of ongoing substitution of family labour for hired labour; (3) there are important differences in job creation and destruction rates between different Member States; (4) these differences can be attributed to structural differences across countries, sectors and farm types; (5) time variation of job reallocation fluctuates countercyclically; and (6) idiosyncratic effects are the main driver of time variance in job reallocation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is claimed to be a novel approach to rice cultivation that is both more productive and more sustainable than conventional methods. Such claims have been challenged or dismissed by many rice scientists, however. Despite the lack of clear and unequivocal endorsement by science, SRI seems to have spread widely and rather quickly to many rice-growing regions, including various areas of India. This paper discusses how and considers why SRI seems to have attracted the support of diverse stakeholders in Indian rice farming. As such, the SRI phenomenon should be taken seriously. Nevertheless, many scientific questions remain to be answered, concerning the biophysical mechanisms involved in SRI and their effects on plant performance and crop yields, the true spread of SRI practices among farmers and the system’s impacts on farm livelihoods, rice production and resource use. Indian enthusiasm for SRI implies a level of dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to rice intensification and a demand for new methods that can address the perceived problems and challenges of agriculture in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper takes as a starting point the proposition that social protection interventions involving food can be used to promote transformational change in family farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose is to highlight the complexity of pathways to agricultural transformation associated with the seemingly simple idea of home-grown school feeding (HGSF), an idea that is increasingly held up as “win–win”. By reviewing the HGSF literature and the main theories underpinning it – structured demand, localism, family farmer development – we expose areas of inconsistency across the literature and programmes as well as possible tensions that may arise in attempting to pursue both market and social objectives in the same initiative. The arguments presented herein aim to provide a basis for moving towards clarity on (1) a theory of change for HGSF programmes; (2) the conditions under which HGSF programmes are more able to yield positive agricultural development outcomes and; (3) an agenda for moving forward on research and impact evaluation. This research agenda also speaks more broadly to important under-researched areas within the general social protection and agricultural development discourse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China has embarked on an agricultural modernisation program with far-reaching implications for rural development, food safety and trade. A major focus of China’s agricultural modernisation program has been to build high-value supply chains and large, modern agro-industrial enterprises. This paper provides a critique of these efforts in the case of the high-value beef supply chain. It finds that interventionist policies to fast-track the development of high-value supply chains have perverse outcomes and that a more incremental and facilitative approach to modernisation should be pursued based around the development of mid-value supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper examines whether an integrated farm that owns both crops and livestock is more resilient under global warming than a specialized farm in crops. Using around 9000 farm surveys across Africa, we explore how farmers choose one of the farm types and how the net revenue of each type varies across the range of climate in Africa. The results indicate that an integrated farm increases in number while a specialized farm decreases across Africa under climate predictions for 2060. The relative profitability of each system against each other also changes. An integrated farm becomes relatively more profitable over specialized farms half a century from now. The impacts of climate change on integrated farms range from 9% loss to 27% gain depending on climate scenarios. Behavioral models can capture portfolio diversification benefits that agro-economic models cannot measure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper assesses the implications of China’s trade and domestic policies for incentives to producers in China. It uses a price comparison methodology (nominal rates of assistance—at the border and the farmgate), with adjustments for exchange rate distortions in the first part of the sample period (1981–1994). On average, distortions to agricultural incentives have been reduced. In the early 1980s, on average, China’s domestic prices were far below international prices. There were substantial variations, however, between imported (which were being protected) and exported goods. During the 1980s and 1990s the gap between domestic and international prices for both imports and exports narrowed initially mainly due to the elimination of domestic policy distortions. Between the mid-1990s and 2004, trade liberalization policy furthered narrowed the gap between world and China farmgate prices. By the mid-2000s, China’s agriculture was operating with only small price distortions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the development of the role of government support in the financial situation of organic farms in selected Western and Eastern European countries, contrasting dependency on direct payments with that of conventional farms and assessing the impact of foreseeable changes in the political and economic environment. The results show that direct payments play an important role in the financial viability of organic farms in both Western and Eastern European countries. The level of specific support for organic farming is put into perspective, as other support payments and market returns contribute larger shares to total farm revenue in all the countries analysed. Modelling analyses show that support payments will continue to play an important role in the profitability of organic farms in Western Europe after implementation of the 2003 reform of Common Agricultural Policy in the EU. For organic farmers in Eastern European countries, the importance of support payments increases strongly with EU accession, as first pillar payments are introduced and environmental payments are expanded significantly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]