The policy reforms introduced in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s have induced profound and beneficial changes in the overall productive structure of most Latin American countries, and particularly concerning the increased competitiveness and profitability of some agro-export activities....

Many dryland regions are considered less favoured areas as they face a variety of either biophysical or socio-economic constraints to agricultural production and sustaining livelihoods. Growing population numbers, limited infrastructure and market access, land tenure problems as well as...

This paper examines the economic determinants and impacts of agricultural research, particularly biotechnology research, with a view to understanding the potential of agricultural biotechnology to address the needs of the poor in developing countries. It surveys public and private agricultural...

This paper considers how the design of agricultural policies and programmes might be modified to better achieve policy objectives in the context of severe HIV epidemics and underscores the central role of agricultural policy in mitigating the spread and impacts of the epidemic. Based on...

This paper contains the main results of a FAO study on staple food prices and real wages in Afghanistan during the period 1996-2002, based on information systematically collected weekly by WFP in all major cities (Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Faizabad). The main...

Rice is of key importance to Indonesia’s national and household level food security. The choice of tariff policy has important implications for consumers and producers with policy makers having to decide between the trade-offs implied for the various stakeholders. In this study we use a...

While sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, and the management of migration flows are among the most pressing items on the policy agenda in Albania, very little systematic analysis exists of the income generating strategies of Albanian households within the emerging market economy, and...

This paper provides an assessment of the agricultural diversification trends in South Asia. In the first part food consumption and crop production patterns in the region during the last twenty years are reviewed. Next, the agronomic and economic options for and constraints to diversification in...

This paper outlines a methodological approach for use by FAO to collect, analyze and monitor agricultural policy indicators (API) for developing countries. The aim is to establish a consistent and comparable set of policy indicators, allowing analysts to examine whether agriculture in particular...

The Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis Unit (ESAF) of FAO has undertaken a number of pilot studies to develop a methodology for understanding why certain groups of people are vulnerable to becoming food insecure. The studies use the sustainable livelihoods approach adopted for food...