Recent Findings on Trade and Inequality

Ann Harrison, John McLaren and Margaret S. McMillan

International Food Policy Research Institute 2011/02/12

The 1990's dealt a blow to traditional Heckscher-Ohlin analysis of the relationship between trade and income inequality, as it became clear that rising inequality in low - income countries and other features of the data were inconsistent with that model. As a result, economists moved away from trade as a plausible explanation for rising income inequality. In recent years, however, a number of new mechanisms have been explored through which trade can affect (and usually increase) income inequality. These include within-industry effects due to heterogeneous firms; effects of offshoring of tasks; effects on incomplete contracting; and effects of labor-market frictions. A number of these mechanisms have received substantial empirical support.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food for work, trade, inequality income, economic

The First Mile Project

IFAD 2010

The First Mile Project is about how small farmers, traders, processors and others from poor rural areas learn to build market chains linking producers to consumers. Good communication is vital. The project encourages people in isolated rural communities to use mobile phones, e-mail and the Internet to share their local experiences and good practices, learning from one another. While communication technology is important, real success depends on building trust and collaboration along the market chain. Ultimately farmers and others involved develop relevant local knowledge and experience and share it – even with people in distant communities – to come up with new ideas.

Keywords: food for work, communication, market, communities, people, experience, success, technology, ideas, email, local, rural, collaboration

TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND POVERTY: in the MIDDLE EAST and NORTH AFRICA

Nicholas Minot, Mohamed Abdelbasset Chemingui, Marcelle Thomas, Reno Dewina, and David Orden

IFPRI 2010

Interest in the effect of trade liberalization on agriculture and poverty in developing countries has increased during the past decade, with the agricultural sector and the effect of trade liberalization on the poor being the focus of numerous debates in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The inability to find common ground on these and other issues stalled the negotiations. The global food crisis of 2007–08 further highlighted some of the risks associated with relying on imports for staple foods, as well as the need to strengthen the rules-based agricultural trade system, despite the difficulties involved. The crisis has also led policymakers and researchers to pay greater attention to factors contributing to agricultural growth.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food for work, negotiations, growth, trade, system, policy, agriculture, research, crisis, liberalization, multilateral

Price Volatility in Agricultural Markets

Food and Agricultural Organization 2010/12

Recent bouts of extreme price volatility in global agricultural markets portend rising and more frequent threats to world food security. To reduce countries’ vulnerability, policies should improve market functioning and equip countries to better cope with the adverse effects of extreme volatility.

Keywords: food for work, economy, volatility, market, policies, price, developing, countries

Price surges in food markets

Food and Agricultural Organization 2010/06

The drastic increase of food prices in the period 2006-2008 spurred fears of global food insecurity. Apart from actual changes in supply and demand of some commodities, the upward swing might also have been amplified by speculation in organized futures markets. However, limiting or banning speculative trading might do more harm than good.

Keywords: food for work, global, trading, price, demand, commodities

The Political Economy of Trade and Food Security

Andrea E. Woolverton, Anita Regmi and M. Ann Tutwiler

International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) 2010/07

More than one billion people – nearly a sixth of the world’s population – suffer from chronic hunger (FAO,2008). Global hunger is not just about the availability of food, it is also about accessibility – the ability to purchase or obtain food. Chronic hunger and under-nutrition primarily result from poverty—poor people often simply cannot afford to buy food FAO, 2008).

Keywords: food for work, economy, people, political, poverty, population, purchase, power, availability

LIBERALIZING FOODGRAINS MARKETS

A. Ganesh-Kumar, Devesh Roy and Ashok Gulati

IFPRI 2010/08

South Asia is home to the largest concentration of poor and undernourished people in the world, so food security — especially in basic staples such as wheat, rice, and corn — continues to be a major concern.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food for work, south, asia, poor, grain, market, wheat, rice, corn

Development Impacts of Commodity Exchanges in Emerging Markets

Report of the UNCTAD Study Group on Emerging Commodity Exchanges

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 2009

The UNCTAD Study Group on Emerging Commodity Exchanges comprises leading exchanges from five developing countries – Brazil, China, India, Malaysia and South Africa, and is coordinated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Study Group has been formed to raise awareness about the role and performance of emerging commodity exchanges, to share experience and perspectives, to promote innovative practice, and to foster South–South dialogue.

Keywords: food for work, study, united nations, trade, market

Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative: A Living from Livestock

Ugo Pica-Ciamarra, Joachim Otte and Chiara Martini

IFPRI 2010/09

The livestock sector’s potential for reducing poverty and enhancing food security has been under-exploited as the the sector has long been treated as an appendage only to agriculture, with both policy-makers and development practitioners giving priority to staple crops over high-value agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables and animal-source foods. In addition, livestock sector interventions have been mostly of a technical nature, focusing on the elements of animal husbandry, feeding/nutrition and disease control. While important, these interventions tended to disregard the broader policy and institutional framework within which farmers operate. In other words, the range of incentives and disincentives that underpin household production and consumption decisions have thus been overlooked. In addition, when on rare occasions adequate attention has been paid to policy and institutional dimensions, livestock sector policies/programmes have been designed by technical staff in livestock departments, NGOs or international organizations with little consultation with other ministries, and limited appreciation of and connection with the ‘non-livestock’ policies and markets critical for livestock sector development.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food for work, livestock, Asia, markets, policies, poverty, reduction, agricultural, products, animal, husbandry

Innovations in rural and agriculture finance

Renate Kloeppinger-Todd and Manohar Sharma (editors)

IFPRI 2010/07

This set of 14 briefs clearly points out the importance of business realities faced by small farmers, including low education levels, the dominance of subsistence farming, and the lack of access to modern financial instruments. These conditions mean that new and innovative institutions are required to reach small farmers. Emerging communication technologies provide new opportunities for rural banking by reducing business costs and alleviating information asymmetries. New financing instruments, such as weather index-based insurance and microinsurance, also have great potential for managing the risks faced by small farmers.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food, for, work, finance, microinsurance, small, farmers, agriculture, market, risks, communication, technologies, innovation, business, costs

Livestock development planning in Uganda : Identification of areas of opportunity and challenge

Todd Benson and Samuel Mugarura

IFPRI 2010/07

Livestock are an important element of the livelihoods of many Ugandan households, and considerable efforts at economic development by the government of Uganda have focused on the livestock sector. However, these development efforts have suffered due to a lack of detailed data on the distribution of livestock in Uganda to guide the targeting of such programs. This paper uses data from the 2008 National Livestock Census to develop a better understanding of where in Uganda there might be potential for significant investment to intensify the production of livestock and, conversely, where there are important challenges, such as conflicts between human populations and livestock that need to be addressed.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food, for, work, livestock, development, planning, Uganda, agriculture, census, investment, population, challenges

Cooperatives for Staple Crop Marketing: Evidence from Ethiopia

Tanguy Bernard, David J. Spielman, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse and Eleni Z. Gabre-Madhin

IFPRI 2010

The evidence from Ethiopia indicates that they do increase farmers’ profits from crop sales, but that the beneficiaries do not tend to be the poorest smallholders. Moreover, a rural producer organization’s marketing effectiveness is precarious: it can easily diminish if the number or diversity of its members increases or if it provides more nonmarketing services. The authors conclude that these organizations have a role to play in the agricultural development of Sub-Saharan Africa, but that role should be complemented by other programs that directly target the poorest farmers.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Keywords: food, for, work, cooperatives, diversity, effectiveness, Africa, agriculture, development, farmers, profit, poor, smallholders, producers, beneficiaries, rural, marketing

The Potential for Scale and Sustainability in Weather Index Insurance: for Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods

P. Hazell, J. Anderson, N. Balzer, A. Hastrup Clemmensen, U. Hess and F. Rispoli

IFAD 2010/03

Risk is inherent in agriculture. Farmers face a variety of market and production risks that make their incomes unstable and unpredictable from year to year. Input prices may increase out of reach, crops may be destroyed by drought or pest outbreaks, selling prices may plummet and harvests may rot in poor storage facilities. In many cases, farmers also confront the risk of natural catastrophe. Assets and lives may be lost due to severe droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. The type and severity of the risks confronting farmers are particularly burdensome to small-scale farmers in the developing world. Unless adequately managed, agricultural risks slow economic development, hamper poverty reduction and contribute to humanitarian crises.

Keywords: food, for, work, poor, storage, livelihoods, rural, agriculture, insurance, smallscale, farmers, developing, countries, economic, growth, poverty, humanitarian, crisis

Impact of Water based Interventions of Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Mission on Tribal Livelihood: Case Study of Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh

Archana Londhe

Unpredictable variations in agricultural productivity in rain fed areas coupled with increased exploitation of the natural resources had led to an increasingly fragile ecosystem. In early 90's problems of resource degradation, declining land productivity, prevailing draught conditions and the mixed experience of "sarkari" departmental approach necessitated a move towards community involvement in natural resource management. As a result Central Government issued resolutions like Joint Forest Management and Guidelines for Watershed Development emphasizing the need for greater community involvement in planning and management of interventions, reorientation of line department roles and issues of efficiency, sustainability and equity. Keeping in pace with the nation wide trend and its own policy of decentralization, Madhya Pradesh government started Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Mission program.

Keywords: food for work, India, Madhya Pradesh, irrigation, Clnl, Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Mission

NAFTA: Fueling Market Concentration in Agriculture

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Share The World's Resources 2010/03/12

Following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), changes in US farm policy fuelled market concentration in agriculture. The real losers in this scenario are farmers and rural communities in Mexico and Canada, says a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Keywords: food, for, work, agriculture, farmers, rural, development, market, supply, chain, Mexico, Canada, policy