FLAGSHIP 2 – ECONOMYWIDE FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL GROWTH AND RURAL TRANSFORMATION: JANUARY – MARCH 2017 UPDATES

Events

• James Thurlow, leader of Cluster 2.1: Agricultural Transformation and Rural Incomes, gave a policy seminar to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 8 February. Dr. Thurlow presented the results from a joint IFAD-IFPRI-PIM study assessing the contributions of agricultural policies and investments to rural transformation (as input into the National Agricultural Investment Plan). On 10 February, Dr. Thurlow gave a presentation to Malawi’s donor and research community on the findings from an economywide evaluation of the country’s irrigation investment plans. The latter is summarized in this blog.

• Tewodaj Mogues, leader of Cluster 2.2: Public Investments and Institutions, gave a lecture at the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) in Ibadan, Nigeria, on 21 February, as part of the NISER Research Seminar Series. Dr. Mogues discussed the drivers of Nigeria's agricultural public expenditures at the state and local levels. The presentation was based on the recent studies described in this blog.

• Co-leader of Flagship 2 Thomas Jayne (MSU), Todd Benson (IFPRI), and Frank Place (PIM) participated in the 3rd Annual Agricultural Policy Conference of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, The United Republic of Tanzania, held on March 1-3. The conference theme this year was The Role of Agri-food Systems in Promoting Industrialization in Tanzania. Enhancing Linkage of Upstream and Downstream Value Chain Activities in the Context of Agriculture Transformation.

• Danielle Resnick, leader of Cluster 2.3: Political Economy and Policy Processes, was one of the speakers at the IFPRI Policy Seminar titled What Drives Policy Change? Insights from the Kaleidoscope Model of Food Security Policy on March 29. The seminar presented the Kaleidoscope Model, a practical analytical framework for understanding policy-reform processes. The model was initially developed with financial support from USAID under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, which consists of a consortium of partners that includes IFPRI, MSU, and University of Pretoria. Expanded applications of the Model will be supported by the USAID and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM).

• Katrina Kosec co-organized a workshop titled The Role of Information in Improving Rural Services and Governance held on 7 April at IFPRI. The workshop aimed to shed light on whether and how greater access to information stemming from institutional or technological innovations can improve rural service delivery and governance. (More about the workshop outcomes in the next Flagship 2 update)

Selected publications

Abay, Kibrom A.; Koru, Bethlehem; Abate, Gashaw T.; and Berhane, Guush. 2017. How should rural financial cooperatives be best organized? Evidence from Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 100. 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/131056

Andam, Kwaw S.; Johnson, Michael E.; Ragasa, Catherine; Kufoalor, Doreen S.; and das Gupta, Sunipa. 2017. A chicken and maize situation: The poultry feed sector in Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1601. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131055

Babu, Suresh Chandra and Blom, Sylvia. 2017. Strengthening and harmonizing food policy systems to achieve food security: A Case Study and Lessons from Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1607. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131071

Bulte, Erwin; Wang, Ruixin; and Zhang, Xiaobo. 2017. Forced gifts: The burden of being a friend. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1615. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131096

Diao, Xinshen and McMillan, Margaret S. Toward an understanding of economic growth in Africa: A reinterpretation of the Lewis model. World Development. Article in press. Available online 26 January 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.008

Diao, Xinshen. 2017. The Role of Foreign Aid in the Fast-Growing Rwandan Economy: Assessing Growth Alternatives. Book chapter in Foreign Capital Flows and Economic Development in Africa. The Impact of BRICS versus OECD. Editors: Evelyn Wamboye, Esubalew Alehegn Tiruneh. pp 351-373 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F978-1-137-53496-5_16

Diao, Xinshen; Fang, Peixun; Magalhaes, Eduardo; Pahl, Stefan; and Silver, Jed. 2017. Cities and rural transformation: A spatial analysis of rural youth livelihoods in Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1599. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131053

Diao, Xinshen; Harttgen, Kenneth; and McMillan, Margaret S. 2017. The changing structure of Africa’s economies. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1598. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131048

Houssou, Nazaire; Andam, Kwaw S.; Collins, and Asante-Addo. 2017. Can better targeting improve the effectiveness of Ghana's Fertilizer Subsidy Program? Lessons from Ghana and other countries in Africa south of the Sahara. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1605. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131068

Minten, Bart; Assefa, Thomas Woldu; Abebe, Girum; Engid, Ermias; and Tamru, Seneshaw. 2017. Synopsis: Food processing, transformation and job creation: The case of Ethiopia’s enjera markets. ESSP II Research Note 63. 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/131066

Mogues, Tewodaj; Mueller, Valerie; and Kondylis, Florence. 2017. Cost-effectiveness of community-based gendered advisory services to farmers: Analysis in Mozambique and Tanzania. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1613. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131080

Mwabutwa, Chance. 2017. Localized public investment and agricultural performance in Malawi: An econometric approach. MaSSP Working Paper 17. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131072

Negassa, Asfaw; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; and Dereje, Mekdim. 2017. An assessment of the livestock economy in mixed crop-livestock production systems in Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 101. 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/131059

Resnick, Danielle. 2017. Governance: Informal food markets in Africa’s cities. In 2017 Global Food Policy Report. Chapter 6. Pp 50-57. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896292529_06

Schuenemann, Franziska; Thurlow, James; and Zeller, Manfred. Leveling the field for biofuels: Comparing the economic and environmental impacts of biofuel and other export crops in Malawi. Agricultural Economics. Article in press. First published online December 29, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12335

Van Asselt, Joanna; Htoo, Kyan; and Dorosh, Paul A. 2017. Prospects for the Myanmar rubber sector: An analysis of the viability of smallholder production in Mon State. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1610. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131075

Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Swinnen, Johan. 2017. Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 102. 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/131081