FLAGSHIP 2 – ECONOMYWIDE FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL GROWTH AND RURAL TRANSFORMATION: JUNE – SEPTEMBER 2017 UPDATES

• Debrah Godwin and Thom Jayne, Flagship 2 co-leader (both Michigan State University) made a presentation Does the Inverse Farm Size and Productivity Relationship Hold Among Larger Farms? during the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois on July 30‐August 1, 2017. Prof. Jayne also co-authored the presentation on Factor Market Activity and the Inverse Farm Size-Productivity Relationship in Tanzania for the same event.
• Tewodaj Mogues, leader of Cluster 2.2: Public Investments and Institutions, conducted a PIM webinar in September to discuss What determines public budgets for agricultural growth in the developing world? (Recording, slides, and Q&A available by the link)
• On September 7, Tewodaj Mogues presented research on long-term trends in public expenditure support to agriculture in Africa at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC.
• Sam Benin presented his research on the impact of CAADP on African governments’ public expenditures in agriculture at the ISSER Evidence to Action conference on 25-26 July in Accra, Ghana. The title of the presentation was “FROM MAPUTO TO MALABO: How has CAADP fared?
• Catherine Ragasa presented PIM-supported research during the Malawi Extension Week on June 19-23, 2017 and during a research seminar organized by LUANAR Faculty of Development Studies on June 21, 2017 in Lilongwe. She also gave a presentation entitled “Do development projects crowd-out private sector activities? A survival analysis of contract farming participation in Northern Ghana”  during the XV EAAE Congress in Parma, Italy on August 28th - September 1st 2017.
• Tewodaj Mogues gave a presentation on joint work with Katrina Kosec on public service delivery and decentralization at the UNU-WIDER conference on Public economics for development held in Maputo, Mozambique, on July 5-6.
• Valerie Mueller gave a presentation at the American Applied Economics Annual Meeting in Chicago on July 30‐August 1, 2017, on her research on improving the efficiency of small-scale irrigation investments in Mozambique.

Selected publications

Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Berhane, Guush; Minten, Bart; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. Agricultural Transformation in Africa? Assessing the Evidence in Ethiopia. World Development. Article in Press. First published online on June 3, 2017: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.041

Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart; and Yimer, Feiruz. 2017. The rising costs of animal-source foods in Ethiopia: Evidence and implications. ESSP Working Paper 108. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopia Development Research Institute (EDRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131369

Baulch, Bob; and Gondwe, Anderson. 2017. The case for structured markets in Malawi. MaSSP Policy Note 29. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/

Benfica, Rui; and Thurlow, James. 2017. Identifying priority value-chains in Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 110. Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131413

Chafuwa, Chiyembekezo. 2017. Priorities for irrigation investment in Malawi. MaSSP Policy Note 28. Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institue (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/

Diao, Xinshen; Harttgen, Kenneth; and McMillan, Margaret S. 2017. The changing structure of Africa's economies. The World Bank Economic Review 31(2): 412-433. https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhw070

Ghebru, Hosaena and Girmachew, Fikirte. 2017. Scrutinizing the status quo: Rural transformation and land tenure security in Nigeria. NSSP Working Paper 43. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131363 (also Flagship 5)

Haggblade, Steven; Minten, Bart; Pray, Carl E.; Reardon, Thomas; and Zilberman, David. 2017. The Herbicide Revolution in Developing Countries: Patterns, Causes, and Implications. European Journal of Development Research 29(3): 533–559. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-017-0090-7

Hu, Chaoran; Zhang, Xiaobo; Reardon, Thomas; and Hernandez, Ricardo. 2017. Value-chain clusters and aquaculture innovation in Bangladesh. Food Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.07.009

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2017. Ethiopia strategy support program (ESSP) 2017. Program Brochure. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15738coll2/id/131378

Johnson, Michael E.; and Dorosh, Paul A. 2017. Tariffs, smuggling and economic welfare: A spatial analysis of Nigerian rice policy options. Journal of African Economies 26(4): 516-538. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejx008

Knippenberg, Erwin; and Hoddinott, John F. 2017. Shocks, social protection, and resilience: Evidence from Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 109. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131408

Kumar, Anjani; Thapa, G. B. (Ganesh B.); and Joshi, Pramod Kumar. 2017. Food expenditure patterns and dietary diversity in Nepal: Is dietary quality improving? IFPRI Discussion Paper 1670. Washington, D.C.: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131372

Minten, Bart; Dereje, Mekdim; Engida, Ermias; and Kuma, Tadesse. Coffee value chains on the move: Evidence in Ethiopia. Food Policy. Article in Press. First published online on August 5, 2017: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.07.012

Mwabutwa, Chance; and Pauw, Karl. 2017. Tracking agricultural spending when government structures and accounting systems change: The case of Malawi. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 12(2): 111-124. https://www.afjare.org/resources/issues/vol_12_no2/2.%20Mwabutwa%20Pauw.pdf

Niu, Chiyu and Ragasa, Catherine. 2017. Limited attention and information loss in the lab-to-farm knowledge chain: The case of Malawian agricultural extension programs. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1654. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131340

Ragasa, Catherine; Aberman, Noora-Lisa; and Mingote, Cristina Alvarez. 2017. Does providing agricultural and nutrition information to both men and women improve household food security? Evidence from Malawi. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1653. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131322

Ragasa, Catherine; Mzungu, Diston; Kaima, Eric; Kazembe, Cynthia; and Kalagho, Kenan. 2017. Capacity and accountability in the Agricultural Extension System in Malawi: Insights from a survey of service providers in 15 districts. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1673. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15738coll2/id/131379/rec/1

Schmidt, Emily and Tadesse, Fanaye. 2017. Synopsis: The Sustainable Land Management Program in the Ethiopian highlands: An evaluation of its impact on crop production. ESSP II Research Note 68. Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131373

Shaba, Abel Kondwani; Edriss, Abdi Khalil; Mangisoni, J.H.; and Phiri, M.A.R. 2017. Tobacco contractual arrangements in Malawi and their impact on smallholder farmers: Evidence from Burley Tobacco contracts. MaSSP Working Paper 18. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131344

Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum and Tadesse, Fanaye. 2017. Pathways Less Explored—Locus of Control and Technology Adoption. Journal of African Economies 26(Supplement 1): i36-i72. on July 4, 2017: https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejx013

Takeshima, Hiroyuki. 2017. Overview of the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal: A focus on tractors and combine harvesters. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1662. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131358

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Agandin, John; and Kolavalli, Shashidhara. 2017. Growth of modern service providers for the African agricultural sector: An insight from a public irrigation scheme in Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1678. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131415

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; and Nasir, Abdullahi Mohammed. 2017. Synopsis: The role of the locations of public sector varietal development activities on agricultural productivity. NSSP Policy Note 39. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131412

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; and Nasir, Abdullahi Mohammed. 2017. The role of the locations of public sector varietal development activities on agricultural productivity: Evidence from northern Nigeria. NSSP Working Paper 42. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131355

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Houssou, Nazaire; and Diao, Xinshen. 2017. Effects of tractor ownership on agricultural returns-to-scale in household maize production: Evidence from Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1671. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131374

Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Alemu, Dawit; and Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane. 2017. The Rapid Expansion of Herbicide Use in Smallholder Agriculture in Ethiopia: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications. European Journal of Development Research 29(3): 628–647. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-017-0076-5

Xie, Hua; You, Liangzhi [游良志]; and Takeshima, Hiroyuki. 2017. Invest in small-scale irrigated agriculture: A national assessment on potential to expand small-scale irrigation in Nigeria. Agricultural Water Management 193 (November 2017): 251-264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.08.020

Younger, Stephen D.; and Benin, Samuel. 2017. The effects of a CAADP-compliant budget on poverty and inequality in Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1677. Washington, D.C. https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131414