Through the Notification of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the project “Advisory Services – Program Management for Development and Implementation within the Agricultural Sector” (DCO-PR-18-0293) issued a to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) described a series of information needs and how IFPRI could provide research and analysis that would help the MCC maximize the effectiveness of their agricultural interventions. This report focuses on how agricultural investment should be prioritized across territories within countries to maximize economic returns. With this purpose in mind, we develop a spatial and economic tool for strategic analysis and visioning to help understand where the best opportunities for investments in agriculture, with specific examples for investments in irrigation and roads in Ethiopia and Malawi. For such investments to be effective for poverty alleviation, it is necessary that they lead to farm-level increases in productivity and are translated into higher incomes and better livelihoods for rural households. Our proposed approach utilizes stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate smallholders’ agricultural potential under optimal conditions and compare it with their current performance to assess their efficiency levels. SFA allows the econometric exploration of the notion that, given fixed local agroecological and economic conditions in a region and the occurrence of random shocks that affect agricultural production, the decisions farmers and policymakers make translate into higher or lower production and profits. Inefficiency is then defined as the loss incurred by operating away from an ideal production frontier, and by estimating where this frontier lies, and how far each producer is from it, SFA helps to identify local potential and efficiency levels to construct the typology. For this report, we show how this approach can allow us to compare estimated agricultural potential and efficiency levels under current conditions and hypothetical investment scenarios and calculate what are the agricultural profit gains linked to each case. We can then extrapolate these results at the regional level for the whole country and combine them with GIS data on local agroecological conditions, water availability, topography, and road infrastructure to construct our typology. In particular, we use our typology results to assess where investments in agriculture would be more effective in bringing rural households out of poverty (closing the poverty gap), and how two different types of investments can increase rural households’ incomes through an increase in the profitability of smallholder agriculture. The first scenario looks at the impact of an increase in access to irrigation through river diversion methods, while the second scenario looks at the impact of an increase in market access, which we simulate by analyzing what would be the impact of reducing travel time to the nearest market (city of least 25,000 inhabitants) from any farm in the country by 50%. For Ethiopia, we find pockets of considerable unattained farm profits located throughout the central and western parts of the country, where opportunities for investments to close efficiency gaps in agricultural production and marketing can yield high returns. Low potential in the eastern lowlands limit opportunities for gains from efficiency-oriented investments, and development efforts in these regions should be focused in long-term, large scale interventions that shift the agricultural frontier. With respect to poverty alleviation, our results show that for many regions in the country, especially in the high central plateau, investing in increasing the efficiency of smallholders would be enough to close the poverty gap. In contrast, many areas in the Somali, Tigray, Afar, Oromia, and SNNP regions would require unrealistically high shifts in their agricultural potential due to its current low level combined in many cases with higher than average poverty gaps. The results from the improved irrigation access scenario are heavily constrained by the surface water availability constraint and show that the largest impacts would be observed in Somali and Afar, while in the case of the improved market access scenario, these benefits would extend to Tigray as well. For Malawi, our maps show higher agricultural potential in the Northern and Central regions of the country, consistent with the higher precipitation levels and the agroecological suitability for horticulture in the Kasungu Lilongwe Plain (central), and the staple crop producing areas in the north (such as Chipita). The southern region suffers from lower potential due to poorer general weather conditions and lower rainfall levels. The unattained potential map shows that despite high levels of efficiency, potential in the north is high enough for the remaining gap to be significant, and that the levels of efficiency in the southern tip of the country are low enough to offer some opportunities for efficiency enhancing investments in those areas as well. The poverty analysis shows that the incidence and depth of poverty are higher in the Southern Region of Malawi, but that the poverty gap in all districts of the country could be closed by investing in efficiency enhancing interventions in agriculture without depending on investments that shift the agricultural profit frontier. The results from the improved irrigation access scenario show a larger impact in the Central Region of the country, particularly the districts of Kasungu, Dowa, and Salima, while the improved market access scenario benefits are more evenly spread out across the country.

Priority assessment for commodity improvement programmes has received methodological attention, yet innovation is needed for other, newer areas of research which have impact pathways that are harder to predict. Focusing on priority setting practices utilized in different international agricultural research institutes, this book discusses real world experiences and innovations with priority assessment methods. Chapters present approaches that have been used to articulate, explore and assess impact pathways and research priorities, while also considering their strengths and weaknesses and drawing together methodological lessons.

This report answers the question: “What guidelines can be used to identify the types of agricultural investments that have the highest economic return, where “agriculture” is broadly defined to include primary production, handling, storage, transportation, distribution, processing, and retailing?” Using the literature and MCC’s ERR analyses, we explain how agricultural investments fit in a wider development context, identify information useful to MCC’s decision making that is not provided by the ERR analyses, and suggest IFPRI tools for exploratory and ex-ante evaluative analysis that MCC can use in their decision-making process.

The main focus of this report is on climate-resilient irrigation and drainage (I&D) investments, with the aim to improve agricultural production and productivity in Belize. To achieve this task, FAO has developed an innovative methodology based on the preparation of a multi-criteria framework. The objective of this methodology is to identify I&D investments to help policymakers and investors target investment resources. Aligned with Belize's climate resilience commitments, our findings present essential insights that pave the way for stakeholders to develop effective investment strategies to support the agriculture sector. In collaboration with Belize, FAO’s ultimate goal is to promote sustainable and resilient food systems. This publication is part of the Country Investment Highlights series under the FAO Investment Centre’s Knowledge for Investment (K4I) programme.

Given its heavy reliance on rainfed agriculture and projected climatic and weather changes, SSA faces multidimensional challenges in ensuring food and nutrition security as well as preserving its ecosystems. In this regard, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can play an important role in addressing the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change. CSA practices aim to achieve three closely related objectives: sustainably increase agricultural productivity, adapt to climate change, and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The CSA objectives directly contribute to achieving the 2014 Malabo Declaration goals, which include commitments to (1) end hunger in Africa by 2025, (2) halve poverty by 2025 through inclusive agricultural growth and transformation, and (3) enhance the resilience of livelihoods and production systems to climate variability and other related risks. These linkages underscore the importance of including CSA in country and regional plans to achieve overarching development objectives in Africa, in particular food security and poverty reduction. The 2016 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) examines the contribution of CSA to meeting Malabo Declaration goals by taking stock of current knowledge on the effects of climate change, reviewing existing evidence of the effectiveness of various CSA strategies, and discussing examples of CSA-based practices and tools for developing evidence-based policies and programs.

Maize is one of five major crops grown in the uplands of Thailand, along with rice, cassava, sugar cane, and rubber trees. Government-promoted crop diversification, increased population growth, improved transportation networks, inter national trade, expansion of upland farming areas, and increased demand for grains from the domestic livestock and poultry industry stimulated Thailand’s maize production beginning in the 1980s. However, Thailand’s domestic maize supply is currently not sufficient to meet the needs of its in-country demands, and small quantities have to be imported. This study characterized the social and biophysical maize production environment of Thailand; examined its response to increasing maize demand; determined constraints to future productivity growth; indicated the potential environmental consequences, and examined the options available for promoting sustainable growth in maize production.

FAO and the Global Alliance of Geographical Indications (oriGin) have been collaborating since 2016 to develop the Sustainability Strategy for Geographical Indications (SSGI). This strategy for sustainable GIs aims to highlight and strengthen the relationship between GI systems and sustainability, raise stakeholders’ awareness of their role in GI sustainability and boost the sustainability performance of GI systems. Geographical indications (GIs) are signs used on products that originate from a specific territory and possess qualities or a reputation related to that origin. Through their establishment and management, GIs can stimulate endogenous development when ensuring leadership by local producers, product specifications that are tailored to local conditions and recognition by buyers of products’ origin-linked qualities. This guide provides a practical step-by-step roadmap for GI organizations that wish to engage on their own sustainability journey. The roadmap consists of three key stages: 1. prioritize sustainability topics for the GI system and engage with public and private stakeholders; 2. assess needs and establish a baseline for each priority topic; and 3. monitor and improve the GI system’s sustainability performances, and regularly review the roadmap in collaboration with allies. Communication is the fourth crucial and transversal component of the roadmap; it improves efficiency during the process and allows stakeholders to share and celebrate the results. By following the eight steps outlined in this guide, with detailed guidance, examples and models, GI practitioners will be able to design a sustainability roadmap for their GI system, together with stakeholders.

Management geography explores the spatial characteristics of management-related issues, especially of firms. This book discusses management geography in Japan and other Asian countries from Asian perspectives. The field has made significant contributions to the global economy but has not been deeply investigated in English-language geographical literature to date. The book addresses the following critical questions: What kinds of challenges do multinational corporations in Japan and other Asian countries face? How are managerial actors in multinational enterprises (MNEs) embracing boundary-spanning activities in a global context? How do firms and related entities cultivate business pipelines and ‘buzz’ within and beyond local regions? How do actors in Japanese MNEs, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and related institutions embed various managerial processes at overseas locations? This book consists of two parts: Part I discusses the application and roles of Japanese and international managerial practices in the globalizing world. Part II examines changing business communities in the industrial and rural spaces of East Asia, focusing primarily on Japan and China. This work will interest readers in a wide range of fields, including geography, management studies, economics, urban planning and sociology. The book is also suitable for upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in geography, management studies and related fields.

This timely Research Handbook investigates the radically transformative impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), addressing key questions regarding its economic, political and strategic consequences: what does the Chinese government hope to achieve with the BRI? How have recipient states responded? And what are its potential opportunities and risks?

The AgWater Solutions Project, carried out between 2009 and 2012, focused on resolving water issues faced by smallholder farmers. The project examined existing Agricultural Water Management (AWM) solutions, together with factors that influence their adoption and scaling up. The project aimed to identify investment opportunities in AWM that have high potential to improve the incomes and food security of poor farmers. The work was undertaken in the African countries of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, and in the Indian States of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. This Working Paper series summarizes results and recommendations from the research carried out in each of these countries and states.