In this IFPRI Research Blog (also re-posted in September by AgriLinks), Katherine Ragasa and John Mazunda discuss how extension services can complement input subsidies to boost productivity and food security in Malawi. The blog is based on the findings described in the recent paper by the authors in World Development journal, as well as an earlier project note on the supply of and demand for agricultural extension services in Malawi. The study featured in the blog was implemented with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Malawi Country Strategy Support Program (MSSP) and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM).
Hiroyuki Takeshima received the Nils Westermarck Prize for Best Poster, for his poster on mechanization in Nigeria, at the 2018 International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE). Tewodaj Mogues and Bjorn van Campenhout were also nominated Uma Lele Prize for Best Contributed Paper on Gender.
Hiroyuki Takeshima presented research on Agricultural mechanization in Africa: Lessons learned from South-South knowledge exchange in the PIM Webinar on October 4, 2018. Recording, podcast, and slides are available here.
Andam, Kwaw S.; Tschirley, David; Asante, Seth; Al-Hassan, Ramatu M.; and Diao, Xinshen. The transformation of urban food systems in Ghana: Findings from inventories of processed products. Outlook on Agriculture. Article in press. First published online on July 9, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030727018785918
Chen, Joyce; Kosec, Katrina; and Mueller, Valerie. 2019. Moving to despair? Migration and well-being in Pakistan. World Development 113(January 2019): 186-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.09.007
Deininger, Klaus; Jin, Songqing; Liu, Yanyan; Singh, Sudhir K. 2018. Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size-productivity relationship? Longitudinal evidence from rural India. Land Economics 94(2): 239-258. https://doi.org/10.3368/le.94.2.239
Kosec, Katrina; Haider, Hamza; Spielman, David J.; and Zaidi, Fatima. 2018. Political competition and rural welfare: evidence from Pakistan. Oxford Economic Papers 70(4): 1036–1061. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpy013
Kuma,Tadesse; Dereje, Mekdim; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Minten, Bart. Cash crops and food security: Evidence from Ethiopian smallholder coffee producers. Journal of Development Studies. Article in press. First published online on January 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2018.1425396
Mogues, Tewodaj. Social networks near and far: The role of bonding and bridging social capital for assets of the rural poor. Review of Development Economics. Article in press. First published online on August 27, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12529
Niu, Chiyu; and Ragasa, Catherine. 2018. Selective attention and information loss in the lab-to-farm knowledge chain: The case of Malawian agricultural extension programs. Agricultural Systems 165(September 2018): 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.06.003
Schuenemann, Franziska; Thurlow, James; Meyer, Stefan; Robertson, Richard; and Rodrigues, Joao. 2018. Evaluating irrigation investments in Malawi: economy‐wide impacts under uncertainty and labor constraints. Agricultural Economics 49(2): 237-250. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12412
Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Bizimungu, Emmanuel; Smart, Jennifer; and Kabunga, Nassul S. Impact pathways of a participatory local governance initiative in Uganda: A qualitative exploration. Development in Practice. Article in press. First published online on September 12, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2018.1509944
Wang, Xiaobing; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Huang, Jikun; and Rozelle, Scott. What constrains mechanization in Chinese agriculture? Role of farm size and fragmentation. China Economic Review. Article in press. First published online on September 10, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2018.09.002
Minten, Bart, ed.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, ed.; and Brown, Petra, ed. 2018. The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896292833
Abdelaziz, Fatma; El-Enbaby, Hoda; Zhang, Xiaobo; and Breisinger, Clemens. 2018. Clusters as drivers of local industrial development in Egypt: Which are the promising sectors and locations? MENA RP Working Paper 10. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132731
Arndt, Channing; Chuku, Chuku; Adeniran, Adedeji; Adetutu, Morakinyo; Ajayl, Victor; Mavrotas, George; and Onyekwena, Chukwuka. 2018. Nigeria’s macroeconomic crisis explained. NSSP Working Paper 52. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132812
Babu, Suresh Chandra; Venkatachalam, Anbumozhi; Paul, Namita; and Won, Jieun. 2018. Tracking climate resiliency actions in national strategies: A policy and investment framework and application to Myanmar. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1743. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132758
Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart; Tadesse, Fanaye; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2018. The evolving livestock sector in Ethiopia: Growth by heads, not by productivity. ESSP Working Paper 122. Washington, DC 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/132771
Berhane, Guush; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; and Minten, Bart. 2018. Appendix 1A: Agricultural transformation in Ethiopia: What do we know? In Africa agriculture status report 2018: Catalyzing government capacity to drive agricultural transformation (Issue 6), AGRA. Appendix 1A, Pp. 14-18. Nairobi, Kenya: Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). https://agra.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AASR-2018.pdf#page=28
Dorosh, Paul; Thurlow, James; Kebede, Frehiwot Worku; Ferede, Tadele; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2018. Structural change and poverty reduction in Ethiopia: Economy-wide analysis of the evolving role of agriculture. ESSP Working Paper 123. Washington, DC 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/132810
Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L.; Mavrotas, George; Maikasuwa, Mohammed Abubakar; Aliyu, Abdulrahaman; and Bashir, Amina. 2018. Grain storage and marketplace characteristics in Kebbi State, Nigeria. NSSP Working Paper 54. Washington, DC.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132817
Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L.; Mavrotas, George; Maikasuwa, Mohammed Abubakar; and Aliyu, Abdulrahaman. 2018. Synopsis: Grain price seasonality in Kebbi state, Nigeria. NSSP Policy Note 47. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132729
Kassim, Yumna; Mahmoud, Mai; Kurdi, Sikandra; and Breisinger, Clemens. 2018. An agricultural policy review of Egypt: First steps towards a new strategy. MENA RP Working Paper 11. Washington, DC and Cairo, Egypt: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132788
Kennedy, Adam. 2018. Mechanization policy- Creating an enabling environment for private-sector investment. ReSAKSS Asia Policy Note 19. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132815
Kennedy, Adam. 2018. Rural incomes in the context of structural and agricultural transformation. ReSAKSS Asia Policy Note 20. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132814
Kumar, K. Nirmal Ravi and Babu, Suresh Chandra. 2018. Increasing food system resilience for nutrition sensitivity and sustainability: A decentralized analysis for India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1742. Washington, DC.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132760
Lind, Jeremy; Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel; Hoddinott, John F.; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2018. Targeting social transfers in pastoralist societies: Ethiopia’s productive safety net programme revisited. ESSP Working Paper 124. Washington, DC 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/132821
Mann, Michael; Warner, James M.; and Malik, Arun S. 2018. Predicting high-magnitude, low-frequency crop losses using machine learning: An application to cereal crops in Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 120. Washington, DC 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/132765
Nin-Pratt, Alejandro. 2018. Agricultural growth, efficiency and family agriculture in Paraguay. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1747. Washington, DC.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132773
Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; ElDidi, Hagar; and Breisinger, Clemens. 2018. Farm households in Egypt: A typology for assessing vulnerability to climate change. MENA RP Working Paper 12. Washington, D.C. and Cairo, Egypt: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132808
Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; El-Enbaby, Hoda; Figueroa, Jose Luis; ElDidi, Hagar; and Breisinger, Clemens. 2018. Agriculture and economic transformation in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of the past with lessons for the future. Food Policy Report Washington, DC and Rome, Italy: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896292956
Place, Frank; and Hazell, Peter B. R. 2018. IFPRI country programs: Lessons from case study successes. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1739. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132763
Ragasa, Catherine; Andam, Kwaw S.; Kufoalor, Doreen S.; and Amewu, Sena. 2018. A blue revolution in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Ghana’s tilapia value chain. GSSP Working Paper 49. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132732
Saeed, Wajiha; and Davies, Stephen. 2018. Growth and poverty reduction in Pakistan. PACE Research Note 3. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15738coll2/id/132805
Saeed, Wajiha; Davies, Stephen; Shahzad, Saqib; and Moeen, Muhammad Saad. 2018. Costs of undernutrition in Pakistan. PACE Research Note 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15738coll2/id/
Schmidt, Emily; Dorosh, Paul A.; Kedir Jemal, Mekamu; and Smart, Jennifer. 2018. Ethiopia's spatial and structural transformation: Public policy and drivers of change. ESSP Working Paper 119. Washington, DC 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/132728
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; and Lawal, Akeem. 2018. Overview of the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1750. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132790
Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L.; and Edeh, Hyacinth. 2018. Effects of agricultural mechanization on economies of scope in crop production in Nigeria. NSSP Working Paper 53. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/132813
Tamru, Seneshaw; and Minten, Bart. 2018. Investing in wet mills and washed coffee in Ethiopia: Benefits and constraints. ESSP Working Paper 121. Washington, DC 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/132772
