The purpose of this paper is to provide information on how to transform and strengthen pluralistic agricultural extension and advisory systems in moving toward the broader goal of increasing farm income and improving rural livelihoods. The focus of this book is primarily on the technical...

During the mortgage crisis, community developers, policymakers, and others have become increasingly concerned about the extent to which lender-owned homes, often called real-estate-owned or “REO” properties, have accumulated in their neighborhoods and communities. REO properties are usually...

The report is an initiative of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department (ARD) of the World Bank. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector in the world and is expected to contribute more than 50 percent of total fish consumption by 2020. Just over 90 percent of aquaculture...

The level of investment required to finance carbon mitigation projects to stabilize carbon emissions at current levels is estimated to be in the order of USD 200-210 billion annually (UNFCCC 2007). The IEA estimate about around USD 150 billion needs to be invested annually between 2010 and 2050...

A key concern among policymakers and community developers during the ongoing mortgage crisis has been the extent to which lender-owned homes, often called real-estate-owned or “REO” properties, have been accumulating in different local housing markets. This paper describes the accumulation...

In the wake of the ongoing national mortgage crisis, preventing or mitigating foreclosures and facilitating recovery from the damage they cause have become tremendous challenges for community developers, policymakers, and a wide variety of other actors in cities and metropolitan areas. ; The...

This paper presents how marketing concepts and tools may be applied in investment appraisal studies. The marketing evaluation process begins with a description of the project concept based on the market need the project aims to satisfy. This aids the definition of the project's relevant market...

This paper examines the potential of leasing as a tool in rural finance. It is based on a survey of providers drawn from Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America, across a spectrum of different types of organizations including two banks, a NGO, a cooperative, a state-owned company,...

This discussion paper builds on a previous paper that suggested that the enhanced use of leasing in rural areas should be supported because leasing overcomes some of the existing constraints in providing credit in rural areas. This paper reinforces the argument by presenting case studies of...

More than 50 nations, almost all in the developing world, produce and export coffee, one of the world's most valuable traded commodities. Some of these countries are dependent on coffee exports for a very significant portion of their international trade and export income. Between 17 and 20...