The present paper studies price linkages between the food, energy and bioenergy markets. We develop a vertically integrated multi-input, multi-output market model with two price transmission channels: a direct biofuel channel and an indirect input channel. We test the theoretical hypothesis by...

Throughout human history, technology has proven its ability to contribute to higher material living standards, yet the work of poverty alleviation is far from complete. We believe that in the modern age, biotechnology holds remarkable potential for reducing poverty and its attendant adversities....

Potato is the fourth major food crop after rice, wheat and maize in Bihar. It occupies less than 5% of net sown area with production only 4th after rice, wheat and maize. Potato a short duration crop has special significance since it gives exceptionally high yields/unit area/unit time and has...

One of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations is to reduce the global level of “extreme poverty” (the roughly 1.5 billion people whose income is less than $1 a day) by half by 2015. How can such a goal be reached? This paper argues that since the vast majority of the...

There is widespread consensus that agricultural technology has an important role to play for poverty reduction and sustainable development. There is less consensus, however, about the types of technologies that are best suited for smallholder farmers in Africa. While some consider natural...

This paper reviews the tools applied in plant biotechnology and explores the prospects for biotechnology to generate benefits for developing countries. Possible near-term applications are identified. Needed capability in biological research, intellectual property management and biosafety are...

Digital farm advisory services can be a cost-effective way to provide relevant information to smallholders in developing countries. Information provision has been shown to generate positive impacts on agricultural practices and farmers' income across various settings. We conducted a...

The debate in less developed nations over whether to adopt stronger patent protection laws emphasizes the tradeoff between encouraging development of relevant technology through the promise of monopoly profits and discouraging application of existing technology through monopoly control of patent...

The debate in less developed nations over whether to adopt stronger patent protection laws emphasizes the tradeoff between encouraging development of relevant technology through the promise of monopoly profits and discouraging application of existing technology through monopoly control of patent...

This paper addresses various aspects of risk and risk management for smallholders in developing countries, and presents a quantitative assessment of farm-level risks and risk management strategies in three emerging economies: Brazil, China and Viet Nam. The analysis covers production, income,...