This open access book examines India's economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a "Food Systems Approach (FSA)." Despite economic progress, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity and...

In order to induce farmers to adopt a productive new agricultural technology, we apply simple and complex contagion diffusion models on rich social network data from 200 villages in Malawi to identify seed farmers to target and train on the new technology. A randomized controlled trial compares...

The objective of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the current rice production condition in Myanmar through efficiency analysis, especially, to examine the impact of farm mechanization on Myanmar rice production efficiency. For representation of efficiency and the determinants,...

"This book looks at agricultural systems and rural economies in Asia through the prism of alternative innovation systems, alternative public policy and institutional changes. The massive shifts within the agricultural economy in Asia, geared towards increasing production, has had a direct effect...

Introduction / Richard A. Sikora, Eugene R. Terry, Paul L. G. Vlek and Joyce Chitja -- The strategic role of agriculture in the economic space of the Southern Africa Region / Elisabeth Ransom, Jennifer Cockerill, Elizabeth R. Weatherly -- Twice as many people in 2050: the need for agricultural...

Many development programs are based on short-term interventions, either because of external funding constraints or because it is assumed that impacts persist post program termination ("sustainability"). Using a novel randomized phase-out research method, we provide experimental tests of the...

Innovations are fast changing the agricultural landscape driven by the increasing need to shift towards sustainable practices without sacrificing the productivity and profitability of farming. Innovations in technology, institutions, processes, and products have contributed to the growth of...

The adoption of modern technologies in agriculture is crucial for improving productivity of poor farmers and poverty reduction. However, the adoption of modern technology has been disappointing. The role of value chains in technology adoption has been largely ignored so far, despite the dramatic...

This study assessed the determinants of intensity of adoption of Improved Rice Varieties (IRVs) and the effect of market participation on farmers' welfare in Nigeria using the Tobit and Heckman two-stage models, respectively. The sample consists of crosssectional data of 600 rice farmers...

During the last five decades, policy approaches towards food security have promoted input-intensive agricultural technologies to increase global food production. However, there are concerns about the environmental, social and economic sustainability of this strategy. Environmental degradation...

Tree fruit production automation -- The economics of perennial crops production automation -- Sensing for stress detection and high-throughput phenotyping in precision horticulture -- Light interception and canopy sensing for tree fruit canopy management -- Precision orchard systems -- Variable...

This volume presents a state-of-the-art overview of the rapidly evolving field of agribusiness, highlighting the most current issues, concepts, trends and themes in research, practice and policy. With a particular emphasis on technology, product and process innovation, the authors cover a wide...

Agricultural development and sustainable intensification: technology and policy innovations / Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Esther Bloem and Andrew Borrell -- Save and grow: translating policy advice into field action for sustainable intensification of rice production / Jan Willem Ketelaar, Alma Linda...