This study assesses the patterns of agricultural intensification in 40 African countries looking at the role fertilizer plays in the process. We propose a set of indicators that uses information on available agricultural land and land suitability to measure intensity of land use in agricultural...

The evidence of improved performance of agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) in recent years has indeed been quite striking when compared with the past. For the first time, the sector has maintained a real growth rate of 3.4 percent per year, well above the population growth rate of...

It has been apparent for more than a century that future economic progress in agriculture will be driven by the invention and application of new technologies resulting from expenditure in research and development (R&D) by governments and private firms. Nevertheless, it is conventional wisdom in...

Between 2001 and 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean's (LAC) agriculture saw its best performance of the last 30 years. Given the importance of agricultural R&D investment to sustain agricultural growth in the future, this study looks at the state of agricultural R&D investment in LAC, and...

Between 2001 and 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean's (LAC) agriculture saw its best performance of the last 30 years. What were the implications of this growth for family agriculture (FA) in the region? This study contributes to answer this question by looking at the case of Paraguay, a...

The improved performance of the agricultural sector in Africa south of the Sahara during the most recent decade (2000-2010) has raised questions about the drivers behind the growth. Skeptics argue that rising commodity prices, as world markets experience a commodity boom, are the main cause of...

Since oil prices’ decline in 2014, agriculture has received renewed interest in Nigeria as a key sector for achieving sustainable growth and generating foreign exchange. One of the identified obstacles to achieving these goals is the need to improve agricultural productivity. Cowpea is one of...

Given the importance of agricultural R&D investment to sustain agricultural growth in the future, this study looks at the state of agricultural R&D investment in LAC, with the goal of identifying the level of underinvestment in the region. To do this the study uses a new indicator, the ASTI...

This analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments and rural poverty reduction, and the prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set of internationally comparable poverty dis-aggregated by urban and rural areas, country level...

Anecdotal evidence indicates labor costs for farming in Nigeria are rising while levels of mechanization remain low. Information is scarce regarding the types of farm households that use mechanization in Nigeria and the potential demand for mechanization services among farmers. We apply cluster...