Latest briefs

• Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture (focus on food security) in Asia-Pacific region - Dev, Mahendra, S (2011)
  This paper Focuses on small-scale agriculture and vulnerable population groups form effective climate change adaptive and mitigation strategies in the Asia-pacific region.
• Rural Women’s Access to Financial Services: Credit, Savings and Insurance - Diana Fletschner and Lisa Kenney (2011)
  Enhancing financial access for women is contingent upon specific targeting of women through suitable innovations in financial products that account for the differential socio-economic working conditions for women.
• Dial 'A' for Agriculture: A Review of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries - Jenny C. Aker (2011)
  This paper makes the case for mobile phone based agricultural extension services.
• Agricultural growth and poverty reduction in Tanzania 2000-2010: where has agriculture worked for the poor and what can we learn from this? - Oswald Mashindano, Kim Kayunze, Lucia da Corta, Festo Maro (2011)
  High economic growth and moderate agricultural growth in Tanzania has not translated into poverty reduction. Based on evidence gathered from six research sites, the authors show that distortions in market, high rate of inflation, skewed distribution of assets are some factors that lie at the root of the mismatch between agricultural growth and stagnating or worsening living standards among a large section of the Tanzanian population.

• When is Capital Enough to Get Female Microenterprises Growing? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Ghana - Marcel Fafchamps, David McKenzie, Simon Quinn, and Christopher Woodruff (2011)
  In contrast to the results of three recent randomized controlled trials conducted in Asia, this randomized controlled trial finds that grants benefit male enterprise owners more than female enterprise owners, and wealthier female enterprise owners tend to benefit more than poor female enterprise owners.

• Building Sustainable Small-Scale Agriculture in Southern Africa - International Finance Corporation (2010)
  This report summarizes a recent conference that brought together representatives from agriculture, development organizations, and financial institutions to identify ways to improve productivity in African agriculture.

• Enhancing Food Security in an Era of Global Climate Change - William C. Clark, Patti Kristjanson, Bruce Campbell, Calestous Juma, Noel M. Holbrook, Gerald Nelson, and Nancy Dickson (2010)
  The spectre of climate change casts a shadow over already pressing food sustainability issues. This report documents major themes to emerge in discussions on strategic approaches to food security and climate change at the recent Harvard-organized session in Venice bringing together over 25 experts on the issue.

• African Poverty is Falling… Much Faster Than You Think! - Xavier Sala-i-Martin and Maxim Pinkovskiy (2010)
  This paper impressively documents trends in poverty and inequality in Africa, where outcomes are more positive than many scholars and organizations claim.