Economics of Tropical Agriculture
Small-scale farming is a surprisingly complex enterprise with multiple areas of risk that also present opportunities for impact.
-- David Erickson, former President/CEO, ECHO
"Small farmers produce much of the developing world's food. Yet they are generally much poorer than the rest of the population in these countries, and are less food secure than even the urban poor. Furthermore, although rapid urbanisation is taking place in many developing countries, farming populations in 2030 will not be much smaller than they are today. For the foreseeable future, therefore, dealing with poverty and hunger in much of the world means confronting the problems that small farmers and their families face in their daily struggle for survival.
Investment priorities and policies must take into account the immense diversity of opportunities and problems facing small farmers. The resources on which they draw, their choice of activities, indeed the entire structure of their lives, are linked inseparably to the biological, physical, economic and cultural environment in which they find themselves and over which they only have limited control. While every farmer is unique, those who share similar conditions also often share common problems and priorities that transcend administrative or political borders." -- FAO
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01-04-2009 This article is from ECHO Asia Note #1 What is the outlook for world food prices? In the immediate future (the next few months), some moderation in global food prices seems likely in response to very recent (since mid-2008) declines in world grain and energy prices. In the short-term (next 2 to 3...
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Key Resource 01-01-1985 Not too long ago, only poets and dreamers imagined a world without hunger and starvation. Today, the worlds expert community--scientists, agricultural specialists, development professionals, working with governments, the UN and private voluntary organizations--is united in its declaration that...
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Key Resource 28-12-1996 Based on the author's widely used earlier text African Farm Management, this account updates the economic analysis of tropical agriculture and broadens its perspective to include examples from all parts of the developing world. Writing in a clear, concise style, Professor Upton explains the...
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Abstract, PLOS ONE, 2019 May Effective global collaboration is crucial to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It requires an understanding of the needs of individual countries and their expectations related to bioeconomy. With the aim to explore the prospective developments in...
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The purpose of this manual is to demonstrate how small farmers and garden producers in Jamaica can increase their income and will help Jamaica achieve the goal of self-reliance in food.
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01-01-1987 Proceedings -Jan. 19-23, 1987, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines. This paper reports on a conference held on the Philippines in 1987 where they discussed methods for on-farm animal -research trials and the economic...
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One of the more perplexing problems of economic development is helping subsistence farmers break away from production simply for home consumption to become commercial farmers, producing more and more for sale in the marketplace. Although subsistence farms occupy 40 percent of the worlds...
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01-01-1975 This is a report on plants that show promise for improving the quality of life in tropical areas. Because the countries in this zone contain most of the world's low-income populatons this report is addressed to those government administrators, technical assistance personnel, and researchers in...
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01-01-1964 The main function of the Handbook is to give AID agricultural technicians, Peace Corps personnel, and other workers concise methods of economically producing horticultural crops in the Tropics. It is to assist them in helping the farmer produce food crops more efficiently and improve his standard...
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20-12-2012 Small-scale farming is a surprisingly complex enterprise with multiple areas of risk that also present opportunities for impact. This session aims to introduce some "systems thinking", a couple of simple tools and a measure of humility to our development efforts. Presenter :David Erickson serves...
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Key Resource Economics of Agricultural Development examines the causes, severity, and effects of persistent poverty, rapid population growth, and malnutrition in developing countries. It discusses potential solutions to these problems, and considers the implications of globalization for agriculture, poverty,...
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Key Resource 30-12-2005 A respected international economic advisor and the director of The Earth Institute shares a wide-spectrum theory about how to enable economic success throughout the world, identifying the different categories into which various nations fall in today's economy while posing solutions to top...
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La Asociación de Agricultura Tropical-Internacional (The Tropical Agriculture Association International) publica la revista Ag4Dev [http://edn.link/ag4dev] cada seis meses. Esta revista trata varios temas relacionados con la agricultura sostenible. El número 47 por ejemplo, aborda los aspectos de...
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26-03-2015 Farm animals such as large and small ruminants, monogastric and non-conventional animals provide economic stream of family income as well as livelihoods in the social and cultural domain to majority of farmers in the country. Small scale farmers form about 80% of producers of livestock and...
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The potential of so-called underutilised crops for human nutrition and as a source of income for poor farmers in the Global South was discussed at the Elsevier International Conference on Global Food Security in Cape Town, South Africa. Researchers from Kenya, Germany and the USA presented their...
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Abstract,World Development, 2017 Until recently there was lacking a common food security measure and the necessary data to study the individual-level determinants of food insecurity around the world. In 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Voices of the Hungry project developed an...
- 20-02-2017 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...
- The Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) is a household survey project established with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by the LSMS team. Recognizing that existing agricultural data in the region suffers from...
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in 1954 the United States government's International Cooperation Administration (now called the Agency for Inernational Development) sponsored a technical assistance contract of six years between the University of Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations and the Costa Rican Ministry of...
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20-01-2017 Small-scale agriculture is the main livelihood of the majority of the world’s rural poor. Smallholder farmers in the global South play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity, as well as contributing to food security in their countries. However, they need to be connected to markets to see...
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Small-scale farming is a surprisingly complex enterprise with multiple areas of risk that also present opportunities for impact. This session aims to introduce some "systems thinking", a couple of simple tools and a measure of humility to our development efforts. Presenter :David Erickson serves...
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The view that a productive agriculture is critical for employment creation and poverty reduction is now widely shared within the development community. Yet, this has not always been the case. In the run up to the 2008 world food price crisis, many development practitioners, government officials...
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- 15-06-2015 For the first time in generations, Africa is spoken of these days with enthusiastic hope: no longer seen as a hopeless morass of poverty, the continent instead is described as “Africa Rising,” a land of enormous economic potential that is just beginning to be tapped. WithAfrica: Why Economists...
- Transforming Africa’s economic development requires a shift away from its characteristic dependence on commodities and limited domestic production. Broader participation in economic growth is needed to stem rural flight and promote inclusive job creation among youth and women. Agriculture is a...
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Abstract, Ecology and Society, 2018 Telecoupling refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions between distant coupled human and natural systems, and has become more extensive and intensive in the globalized era. The integrated framework of telecoupling examines flows of information,...
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The circular economy offers an unparalleled opportunity. It’s good for the economy, good for society and good for the planet. Supporting the transition would save lives and create employment, accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and reducing the tension between lifting...
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Key Resource 10-12-2007 It has been recognized that an important factor in improving the viability of rural livelihoods in developing countries is the promotion of sustainable agriculture. As opposed to relying solely on cash crops, this can be more easily achieved through the domestication of various indigenous fruit...
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Our work on sustainable agriculture provides analysis and policy insights on how natural resource management can result in enhanced food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development. Research and field work seek to improve knowledge and understanding of how best to integrate...
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Abstract,International Food Policy Research Institute, 2006 Modern crop production is based on only a few plant species. Particularly in marginal environments of developing agricultural economies, many less well-known agricultural or nontimber forest species, continue to be grown, managed or...
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19-01-1988 The improvement in living conditions of the inhabitants of the Third World involves both economic growth and ambient ecological conditions. Development of a country implies improvements in both spheres, yet these two factors are often in conflict. Ecology and Development in the Third World...
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20-12-2002 The feminisation of agriculture and the implications for maize development in China New tools for Romanian women farmers Indian women farmers Bitter cassava and women Women and livestock Gender mainstreaming Developing camel products Small change crops Economic change and gender role
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20-07-2001 Trade liberalisation Causes of rural poverty Loss of the local and spectres of the global Community based organic farming Traditional mixed farming system Catalysing change in Ladakh Strengthening local economies and community identify Family agriculture and globalisation Farming economically
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20-01-2015 About two-thirds of the developing world’s 3 billion rural people live in about 475 million small farm households, working on land plots smaller than 2 hectares. Many are poor and food insecure and have limited access to markets and services. Their choices are constrained, but they farm their...
- 20-01-2024 If you are interested in food and curious about economics, this book is for you. Our approach starts by recognizing your expertise: every reader comes to this book with a lifetime of eating, making choices and thinking about food. Your intimate familiarity with food gives you a head start on our...
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03-02-2015