"On average, a typical developing country in Africa is assisted by about 30 aid institutions in the implementation of development strategies, yet Africa is still far from achieving food and nutrition security. Adequate access to food that is necessary for food security must be complemented with...

"Momentum is building in and around Africa today for policy action to decisively confront hunger and malnutrition. If we are to succeed, it is vital that food and nutrition security strategies be both sound and able to be implemented. Ultimately, strategies deficient in either of these two areas...

In the process of transformation from a centrally-planned to a market-orientated economy, the domestic financial sector plays two important roles. First, the financial sector itself has to be fundamentally restructured, and second, its efficient functioning is a crucial precondition for the...

The non-farm sector is crucial to rural households in transition economies since it offers employment, reduces urban migration and can contribute to poverty reduction, economic growth and a more equal income distribution. This study on diversification decisions and rural incomes reviews evidence...

Sustainable development requires a mix of policies that can simultaneously address social, economic and environmental objectives. While the preceding chapters of this book have focused on agricultural, environmental and socio-economic aspects and related policies, this chapter looks at the...

In Vietnam, a quasi-private property regime has been established in 1993 with the issuance of exchangeable and mortgageable long-term land use right certificates. Using primary qualitative and quantitative data collected in a mountainous district of Northern Vietnam, this paper investigates the...

Economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa has been lagging behind. At the time of independence, a number of Sub-Saharan countries had relatively favourable development prospects and income levels comparable with those in Southeast Asian countries. Yet, many Southeast Asian countries today have...

The current depth and future development of rural finance in Romania are discussed in the context of Romania's macroeconomic and agricultural transformation. The rural finance system in CEE countries is part of the overall agricultural support system and still serves to transfer implicit...

After independence around 1960, African countries started with high hopes for rapid growth and development. Whereas the initial performance was remarkable, economic development slowed in the 1970s and stagnated in the 1980s. In response, the states’ attempts to reinvigorate economic...