New Reports

Policy Recommendations to Enhance Rice Productivity in Nepal

Author: Sandesh Dhital (Ministry of Agricultural Development in Nepal)
Shova Dhakal (Ministry of Agricultural Development in Nepal)
Surendra Subedi (Ministry of Agricultural Development in Nepal)
Kim, Jong-sun (Korea Rural Economic Institute)
Publisher: Korea Rural Economic Institute(KREI)
Publication Date: December, 2017

Nepal is predominantly an agricultural country where two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture. The productivity of milled rice in Nepal is low, as it hovers around 2 metric ton per hectare. Hence, the domestic production of rice is not sufficient for the growing population of the country. As a result, rice is imported in large volumes from neighboring countries every year. On the other hand, in Korea, where rice is also a staple food, the productivity of rice is around 5 metric ton per hectare. Korea shifted from a rice importing country in the early 1970s to a self-sufficient country in 1980s. In Korea, appropriate land management, farm mechanization and agricultural R&D and extension policies on rice were adopted depending on the need of the country at various periods of agricultural development. Thus, this study aims to review and identify key problems in farm mechanization, farmland management and research and extension system in Nepal and recommend appropriate policies and programs based on the Korean experience of enhancing rice production and productivity. The study was conducted during KAPEX Academy 2017 organized by KREI and mainly consisted of desk reviews, expert consultation, study visits and lectures.

Full text will be updated in the KREI Website(www.krei.re.kr) soon.

Cherry Export Market in Korea

Author: Ilkhom Ibragimov(International Finance Corporation)
Ph.D. Lee, Dae-sub (Korea Rural Economic Institute)
Salomat Abduramanova (Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Wine-making)
Chulpanoy (Kashkabaeva Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Wine-making)
Publisher: Korea Rural Economic Institute(KREI)
Publication Date: December, 2017

This work is an analysis of the cherry export market in Korea. The report presents data on the volume and dynamics of the cherry market for the period 2012-2016.
The structure was studied for each producer country, in kind and in value terms. When analyzing the data, the main recipient companies of imported sweet cherries in Korea were identified. The price analysis was carried out, presenting data on average wholesale, retail and general market prices. The volumes of actual and potential market capacity were also determined. The main criterion for calculating the potential market volume is the possible level of consumption. Based on the available data and the statistical information received, the export potential of the Uzbek sweet cherry and the forecast export volumes of cherries by producer countries were determined. The basic quarantine requirements for Uzbek sweet cherries were also studied and presented.

Full text will be updated in the KREI Website(www.krei.re.kr) soon.

Lessons from Korean Cooperatives in Strengthening Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) for Small Dairy Farmers in Ubaté, Colombia

Author: Fabián Gilberto Ardila Pinto (National University of Colombia)
Jennifer Guzmán Romero (National University of Colombia)
William Fernando Pedraza Martínez (National University of Colombia)
Jang Heo (Korea Rural Economic Institute)
Publisher: Korea Rural Economic Institute(KREI)
Publication Date: December, 2017

Small-scale dairy farmers in the Ubaté Province, Colombia face various problems such as food insecurity, low income and poverty, low schooling, and difficulties in accessing technical assistance, as well as milk losses, and high costs in agricultural inputs.
To identify the elements that have contributed to the success of Korean agricultural cooperatives, and to utilize such elements to provide recommendations for small producers and decision-making processes, in order to improve the food and nutritional security of these actors and their families. Small producers need to diversify their production through multiple activities in order to link their products to value chains and marketing circuits, which reduce intermediation. It is necessary to make progress in the implementation of public policies that improve local infrastructure, roads and basic services, and strengthen inter-sectoral committees to form agreements with private companies on prices and product quality. Small producers can be organized non-hierarchically to support each other and manage cultural activities, housing improvement, rural extension, tourism services and climate change mitigation.

Full text will be updated in the KREI Website(www.krei.re.kr) soon.

Farmer`s Perception on Farm mechanization and Land reformation in the Philippines
Improving Aid Effectiveness in International Development Cooperation Efforts

Author: Elmer G. Bautista, Jong-sun Kim(KREI), Yun-jung Kim(KREI), Maria Evic Panganiban
Publisher: The journal of the Korean Society of International Agriculture
Publication Date: Sep. 2017

This paper describes Philippine farmers` perception on farm mechanization and land reformation. For a survey, 280 farmers were interviewed. According to the survey, Philippine farmer-respondents seem to recognize the many advantages of using farm machines over manual, even if these are expensive and will certainly displace laborers. Although land reformation is known to only one third of the farmers, they understand it as a way of re-structuring roads and fields, and will ease farm management. Philippine farmers` awareness of farm mechanization and land reformation appears to be very low and they also have financial problems when they consider to adopt farm mechanization and land reformation. Therefor, it is very essential to raise farmer`s awareness and also provide financial subsidy to farmers who have willingness to adopt mechanization and land reformation. Also introduction of farm land bank system like korean experience is recommended as one of alternatives.

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Enhancing district delivery and management of agriculture extension in Lao PDR

Author: John G. Connell & Peter Case
Publisher: Austrian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Publication Date: Sep. 2017

Lao PDR has a well-established network of central, provincial and district agricultural extension units. The extension system has benefited from several decades of Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects which have helped establish appropriate models of production and extension methods. The District Agriculture and Forestry Office (DAFO) administrators, however, have been by-passed by much of this work. As a result, they lack knowledge and practical experience of extension management and, as a corollary, they have not been trusted by Government of Lao (GoL) authorities to receive/manage state-allocated funds. The result has been a stifling of the potential of frontline extension service delivery with deleterious consequences for smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and well-being.
This project aimed to address this problem by developing an Extension Management System (EMS) and guidelines for implementing a newly mandated set of comprehensive extension interventions, referred to in shorthand as farmer learning (FL), farmer organization (FO) and market engagement (ME). The project strategy was to enable selected DAFO in pilot study districts to operate with relative autonomy in the co-design, implementation and refinement of a set of EMS tools. Achieving demonstrable outcomes and impacts from such independent action would thus demonstrate DAFO’s capacity to perform well and also carry the prospect of persuading GoL authorities to invest in extension services. This strategy informed the three project objectives.

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Is Aid for Agriculture Effective in Sub-saharan Africa?

Author: John Ssozi, Simplice A. Asongu, Voxi Heinrich S. Amavilah
Publisher: Austrian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Publication Date: Sep. 2017

One of the key economic development challenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is its low agricultural productivity. Governments, donors, and foreign investors have underinvested in African agriculture even though research evidence shows that higher agricultural productivity would boost economic growth and poverty reduction. Solutions to the problem require a number of interconnected strategies, including, but not limited to, research on seeds and inputs, extension services, rural development, credit, institutional, and trade and price stabilization policies. We use the system two-step Generalized Method of Moments to examine whether official development assistance (ODA) for agriculture and rural development is helping to boost agricultural productivity. We find a positive relationship between ODA and agricultural productivity. However, when broken down into the main agricultural ODA recipient sectors, there is a substitution effect between food crop production and industrial crop production. While there exists a positive relationship between ODA for industrial and export crops output per worker (agricultural productivity), ODA for food crops has a negative relationship. Better public institutions and economic freedom are also found to enable agricultural productivity growth and to increase the ODA effectiveness. We correct the results for spurious correlation assuming that more ODA might be allocated where agricultural productivity is already increasing due to some other factors. Concerning the determinants of ODA allocation, we find that the allocation of ODA for agriculture is primarily determined by agricultural need, and that the expected effectiveness increases the ODA receipts. Finally, there is a weak ODA-led structural economic change effect in SSA. Labor released from agriculture to the urban sector(s) has a positive market effect on agriculture but is not engendering significant structural economic transformation.

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