Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
Agricultural Productivity in Africa: Trends, Patterns, and Determinants presents updated and new analyses of land, labor, and total productivity trends in African agriculture. It brings together analyses of a unique mix of data sources and evaluations of public policies and development projects to recommend ways to increase agricultural productivity in …
This paper uses a large national household panel from 1999/2000 and 2007/08 to analyze the short-term effects of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on wages, labor supply, agricultural labor use, and productivity. The scheme prompted a 10-point wage increase and higher labor supply to nonagricultural casual work …
There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farming households globally, who comprise a large proportion of the world’s poor living on less than $2 a day. In CGAP’s Smallholder Diaries, researchers met with 270 smallholder farmers in Mozambique, Pakistan, and Tanzania every two weeks for a year to understand their …
Smallholder farmers constitute the largest contingent of the poor and yet they produce more than 80 per cent of the world's food, in value terms. Though there are marked differences by country and region in the average size of small farms, it is estimated that more than 90 per cent …
MGNREGA Sameeksha II is proposed as a continuation of the objective of nurturing a discourse around MGNREGA which is open, scientific, critical and constructive. It reviews research studies carried out and published over the last two years (2012–14) to foster reflection and understanding about MGNREGA and its impact. It is …
Women too vulnerable; five among victims As many as 18 farmers and landless labourers have committed suicide in the Sangrur-Mansa belt during the past two months. “We will submit a report to Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur, in a few days,” said Inderjeet Singh Jaijee, who has been working on suicides cases …
With the help of a new training guide developed by FAO and the International Labour Organization (ILO), extension workers in Africa and elsewhere are engaging with rural communities to reduce children's exposure to toxic pesticides used in farming. Nearly 100 million boys and girls between 5 and 17 years old …
Agriculture has been a way of life and continues to be the single most important livelihood of the masses. Agricultural policy focus in India across decades has been on self sufficiency and self-reliance in food grains production. Considerable progress has been made on this front. Food grains production rose from …
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is approaching eight years of implementation. Since 2006, it has offered up to 100 days per year of guaranteed public works employment to tens of millions of rural Indian households. It is intended to augment the purchasing power of the rural …
Farmers in State’s rice bowl take to other lucrative crops Though Palakkad district continues to be the traditional rice bowl of Kerala, having the largest acreage under paddy cultivation, there has been an alarming trend of rice growers gradually moving to cultivation of other crops that promise instant returns. As …
If the figures presented by AHIVF & Infertility Research Centre, Ranchi are to be believed then rural males associated with agriculture are facing the risk of becoming infertile due to their exposure to pesticides. The situation calls for attention as a large number of rural males are directly dependent on …
Punjab -- famed as the granary of the country -- continues to be troubled by suicides in the agriculture sector. The latest to join the victims was one Jugraj Singh of Hassanpur village near Budhlada in Mansa district. His brother, who is admitted to a hospital at Mansa, also made …
Malihabad: Voter consciousness and power of democracy came to the fore at Jankinagar village of Malihabad area where none of the 378 voters exercised franchise to protest apathy of leaders. About 38 km from Hazratganj, the heart of the state capital and on the border of the city off ring …
Focus on the Global South, with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS), has started a collaborative programme to bring out educational materials and other publications focusing on the small and marginal farmers. These will highlight their concerns, and attempt to grasp the various governance issues that have made …
The 1.7 million farm labourers in Chhattisgarh have reason to smile on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday today. The state government launched a scheme that will provide them insurance cover. Soon after taking over as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh for the third term in a row, Raman …
The Pocket book on Agricultural Statistics 2013 is intended as a quick reference guide for essential data frequently used by the policy makers and officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and related agencies. Data for this pocket book is largely derived from the Flagship Publication of the Directorate of Economics …
States that increase minimum wage will have to bear extra cost from their own resources A committee set up by the Ministry of Rural Development to revise wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has offered suggestions that are likely to iron out long-standing issues relating …
For years, mysterious epidemics of kidney disease have been simmering within agricultural hotspots in the developing world, from tropical El Salvador to the South Asian highlands of Sri Lanka and India. The deadly string of chronic kidney disease (CKD) outbreaks have barely made the news since it first struck farmers …
Only 18% Have All 3 Facilities; Fall In Agriculture’s GDP Share: Report One in five rural households has none of three basic facilities — drinking water, electricity and sanitation — while only about 18% have access to all three. The India Rural Development Report 2012-13 released by Jairam Ramesh on …
With the ambitious National Food Security Bill getting the nod of the Lok Sabha, another big ticket legislation — Land Acquisition Bill — will come up for discussion in the lower House on Thursday. The two legislations have been the key promises of the Congress to the people and are …
