The prevalence of small farmers and small-scale agri-food processors creates unique challenges for agri-food value-chain development in Kyrgyzstan. That is, the Kyrgyz farm structure itself, with its dominance of small farmers, is one of the main constraints for the effective functioning of...

South Africa's weak post-apartheid trade performance has been a significant factor in its inability to create more jobs and achieve higher growth and productivity. Exports and inbound foreign direct investment as a share of gross domestic product have lagged other middle-income countries and...

The innovation economy has become a driving force in transforming entire industries, which has been happening at an accelerated pace. Cities are making massive investments in innovation and research and development (RandD) to support and attract technology-driven industries that are leading the...

Smallholder production predominates in many areas of primary food production in Indonesia. Yet, outside of oil palm and poultry, contract farming is rare as are other forms of collective action or vertical coordination. Fragmented production and market interfaces give rise to high transaction...

Mongolia has a comparative advantage in agribusiness, especially downstream industries using livestock products. Yet its share in worldwide exports of agribusiness commodities is insignificant. Enhancing the efficiency of the central economic corridor (CEC) is vital to Mongolia's effort to...

Cassava is the principal starch in Mozambique, at 30 percent of calories. It can be stored unharvested up to 30 months, but fresh cassava lasts only 3 days once harvested. Most processing in Mozambique is artisanal, to eliminate cyanogenic glycosides in the 90 percent of production from pest...

Mozambique has a low average yield of raw cashew nut (RCN) of 3 kg/tree. The latest census of agriculture in 2015 estimated that 1.33 million households owned cashew trees. Another 30,000 households were involved post-harvest. One-half of RCN production sold was processed in 2015, up from 1/3 in...

The global construction industry is the world's largest consumer of raw materials, and constructed objects account for between 25 and 40 percent of total carbon emissions in the world. The industry is projected to grow at 4.2 percent annually between 2018 and 2023 in terms of market value, with...

Cambodia's economy continues to show signs of robust growth, underpinned by solid export performance and strong domestic demand. Key macroeconomic data for the first six-months, however, indicate a slight deceleration of economic activity this year, compared to a strong growth performance of 7.5...