Assessing the economic benefits of sustainable land management practices in Bhutan

Assessing the economic benefits of sustainable land management practices in Bhutan PDF Author: Nkonya, Ephraim M.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 64

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study was conducted with the objective of determining the returns to sustainable land management (SLM) at the national level in Bhutan. The study first uses satellite data on land change (Landsat) to examine land use change in 1990–2010 and its impact on sediment loading in hydroelectric power plants. The study then uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to analyze the impact of land use change and land management on sediment loading. The results from the land use change and SWAT analyses are used to assess the economic benefits of SLM.

Assessing the economic benefits of sustainable land management practices in Bhutan

Assessing the economic benefits of sustainable land management practices in Bhutan PDF Author: Nkonya, Ephraim M.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 64

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study was conducted with the objective of determining the returns to sustainable land management (SLM) at the national level in Bhutan. The study first uses satellite data on land change (Landsat) to examine land use change in 1990–2010 and its impact on sediment loading in hydroelectric power plants. The study then uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to analyze the impact of land use change and land management on sediment loading. The results from the land use change and SWAT analyses are used to assess the economic benefits of SLM.

Mountain agriculture: Opportunities for harnessing Zero Hunger in Asia

Mountain agriculture: Opportunities for harnessing Zero Hunger in Asia PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251316805
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
Mountain food security and nutrition are core issues that can contribute positively to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals but paradoxically are often ignored in Zero Hunger and poverty reduction-related agenda. Under the overall leadership of José Graziano da Silva, the Former Director-General of FAO, sustainable mountain agriculture development is set as a priority in Asia and the Pacific, to effectively address this issue and assist Member Countries in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in mountain regions. This comprehensive publication is the first of its kind that focuses on the multidimensional status, challenges, opportunities and solutions of sustainable mountain agriculture development for Zero Hunger in Asia. This publication is building on the ‘International Workshop and Regional Expert Consultation on Mountain Agriculture Development and Food Security and Nutrition Governance’, held by FAO RAP and UIR in November 2018 Beijing, in collaboration with partners from national governments, national agriculture institutes, universities, international organizations and international research institutes. The publication provides analysis with evidence on how mountain agriculture could contribute to satisfying all four dimensions of food security, to transform food systems to be nutrition-sensitive, climate-resilient, economically-viable and locally adaptable. From this food system perspective, the priority should be given to focus on specialty mountain product identification (e.g. Future Smart Food), production, processing, marketing and consumption, which would effectively expose the potential of mountain agriculture to contribute to Zero Hunger and poverty reduction. In addition, eight Asian country case studies not only identify context-specific challenges within biophysical-technical, policy, socio-economic and institutional dimensions.

The political economy of MGNREGS spending in Andhra Pradesh

The political economy of MGNREGS spending in Andhra Pradesh PDF Author: Sheahan, Megan
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48

Get Book Here

Book Description
While government spending on pro-poor community asset creation and income-transfers could have compounding positive effects on poverty reduction, it is important to first study trends in the allocation of funds, particularly as they relate to the susceptibility of the program to political clientelism. This paper uses expenditure data at the local level in Andhra Pradesh from India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a rights-based program distributing both public and private goods, to investigate the relationship between voting outcomes and program intensity in the seven years straddling a major election. By focusing on one state where accountability and transparency mechanisms have been employed and implementation efforts have been applauded, the authors do not find evidence of blatant vote buying before the 2009 election but do find that patronage played a small part in fund distribution after the 2009 election. Indeed most variation in expenditures is explained by the observed needs of potential beneficiaries, as the scheme intended.

The agrarian reform experiment in Chile

The agrarian reform experiment in Chile PDF Author: Valdés, Alberto
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Get Book Here

Book Description
This paper presents what is known about the role of agrarian reform and the subsequent counter reform in producing a successful dynamic evolution of Chilean agriculture.

Strategies to control aflatoxin in groundnut value chains

Strategies to control aflatoxin in groundnut value chains PDF Author: Florkowski, Wojciech J.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Get Book Here

Book Description
Groundnuts, which are widely consumed in West Africa, are prone to contamination by aflatoxin during production and storage. Although aflatoxin plays a role in many of the important health risks in developing countries, individuals and governments ignore the risks because their health effects are not immediate. In the developed world strong regulations remove contaminated kernels and their products from the food systems. The objective of this paper is to examine production and marketing practices, particularly grading methods, in Ghana’s groundnut value chain to obtain a clear understanding of the sources and levels of aflatoxin contamination in the crop and how such contamination can be sharply reduced.

Drought risk reduction in agriculture

Drought risk reduction in agriculture PDF Author: Cenacchi, Nicola
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 56

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report is a component of the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS)–-funded project “Impacts of Climate Extremes on Future Water and Food Security in South Asia and East Africa.” The goal of the project was to characterize extreme drought events, to improve on a methodology to assess the probability of these events in the future under climate change, to illustrate their impacts, and to provide suggestions on coping strategies. The present report sets the stage for the overall project by undertaking a review of the causes of vulnerability to drought in East Africa and the western Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of South Asia, and discussing the options to increase resilience to drought in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is a high-risk endeavor in both regions, due to a combination of recurrent droughts—which may intensify due to climate change—poor soil fertility, and a host of constraints faced by farmers, especially low access to input and output markets. These factors, combined with farmers’ high aversion to risk, stifle investments in agriculture, resulting in continuous underachieving production, low income, and persisting poverty.

Variable returns to fertilizer use and its relationship to poverty

Variable returns to fertilizer use and its relationship to poverty PDF Author: Harou, Aurélie
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite the rise of targeted input subsidy programs in Africa over the last decade, several questions remain as to whether low and variable soil fertility, frequent drought, and high fertilizer prices render fertilizer unprofitable for large subpopulations of African farmers. To examine these questions, we use large-scale, panel experimental data from maize field trials throughout Malawi to estimate the expected physical returns to fertilizer use conditional on a range of agronomic factors and weather conditions. Using these estimated returns and historical price and weather data, we simulate the expected profitability of fertilizer application over space and time. We find that the fertilizer bundles distributed under Malawi’s subsidy program are almost always profitable in expectation, although our results may be reasonably interpreted as upper-bound estimates among more skilled farmers given that the experimental subjects were not randomly selected.

Sustainable Ecological Restoration and Conservation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region

Sustainable Ecological Restoration and Conservation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region PDF Author: Zhanhuan Shang
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 1800622554
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

Get Book Here

Book Description
The years 2021 to 2030 have been designated as "The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration". Ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation efforts face unprecedented challenges, especially in developing countries and areas, such as the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region. This huge HKH region, which includes areas in eight separate countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan), is a biodiversity hotspot with a vast array of ecosystems, landscapes, peoples and cultures. It is known as one of 'the pulses of the world'. However, the HKH is also the world's largest and poorest mountain region, where landscapes and environments have been severely damaged as a result of climate change and human activities. Coordinating conservation and restoration policies, sharing knowledge and funds, and maintaining livelihoods are major challenges and are in urgent need of improvement. This book details the past and current ecological problems in the HKH region, and the threats and challenges that ecosystems and local people face. It pays special attention to developments of transformative adaptations and presents examples of sustainable conservation and ecological restoration management practices. This book is essential reading for ecologists and conservation biologists involved in large-scale ecological restoration projects, along with practitioners, graduate students, policy makers and international development workers.

What dimensions of women’s empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition-related practices and outcomes in Ghana?

What dimensions of women’s empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition-related practices and outcomes in Ghana? PDF Author: Malapit, Hazel J.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 45

Get Book Here

Book Description
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 Ghana. The sample consists of 3,344 children and 3,640 women and is statistically representative of the northernmost regions of Ghana where the Feed the Future programs are operating.

The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy

The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy PDF Author: Diao, Xinshen
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study assesses the future growth prospects of Rwanda. The report first focuses on broad economic growth using a rather aggregated 18-sector dynamic general equilibrium model to display the trade-off between rapid growth and structural change. The analysis shows that with the current investment pattern, rapid growth is possible but structural transformation is slow. With an overvalued exchange rate, growth in the tradable sector slows down and its share in the economy stays small. The importance of agriculture thus should be considered in the broad development strategy, for its role not only in poverty reduction but also in economic growth.