The productive potential of agriculture is highly varied and depends on the natural
endowment, geographical location, links to the rest of the economy and social dimensions
of the population. But the general failure in recent decades to achieve sustained rates of
agricultural sector productivity and the pro-poor growth linked to it, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa, can be put down to inappropriate policies; inadequate institutions and
services; failures to invest in appropriate infrastructure; and failures to invest in the
development of the human, social and natural capital that agricultural households need to
achieve higher productivity.
Governments need to make choices in allocating resources for the support of
agriculture. There is a strong argument to prioritise such support to producers and
enterprises of Rural Worlds 2 and 3, where the stage of economic development of a country
and the availability and relative cost of labour mean that there would be a greater impact
on poverty from government support (Box 2.1). For poorer countries the attraction of small
production units lies in their economic efficiency relative to larger units. They can create
large amounts of productive employment, reduce rural poverty, support a more vibrant
rural economy and help reduce rural-urban migration.
The very limited capacity of the vast majority of poor rural households to access,
analyse and utilise new knowledge on improved practices is a binding constraint to
enhanced productivity. Research, development and information services that address this
constraint have been weakened by years of under-funding and by failures of institutions to
respond in relevant ways to the needs of agricultural producers, especially those in Rural
Worlds 2 and 3 (IFAD, 2004). As a result, producers who lack the resources to obtain it on
their own have not had access to the information and technologies that would enable them
to adopt improved production strategies and increase the income and well-being of their
households.
Pro-poor strategies for agricultural research and its dissemination need to be tailored
to the needs of the rural worlds and be aware of the broad range of factors affecting their
adoption of new technology. Research strategies need to incorporate knowledge from local
actors, and an institutional framework based on much greater participation of a wide range
of stakeholders needs to be developed. Innovative approaches to the delivery of associated
information services, including public, private and civil society actors, also need to be
developed.
In identifying the constraints to productivity enhancement in the different rural
worlds it is important to recognise that both land and labour productivity are central to
pro-poor growth. In the early stages of development, land productivity is most critical in
order to create additional employment opportunities in agricultural production. In the later
stages, labour productivity increases in importance as off farm wage rates rise but
demands for agricultural workers remain high. Three broad categories of technology are
available to increase the productivity of agricultural households: intensifying input-based
production, managing natural resources better, and diversifying outputs in primary
production or household post-harvest processing to capture more value added.
endowment, geographical location, links to the rest of the economy and social dimensions
of the population. But the general failure in recent decades to achieve sustained rates of
agricultural sector productivity and the pro-poor growth linked to it, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa, can be put down to inappropriate policies; inadequate institutions and
services; failures to invest in appropriate infrastructure; and failures to invest in the
development of the human, social and natural capital that agricultural households need to
achieve higher productivity.
Governments need to make choices in allocating resources for the support of
agriculture. There is a strong argument to prioritise such support to producers and
enterprises of Rural Worlds 2 and 3, where the stage of economic development of a country
and the availability and relative cost of labour mean that there would be a greater impact
on poverty from government support (Box 2.1). For poorer countries the attraction of small
production units lies in their economic efficiency relative to larger units. They can create
large amounts of productive employment, reduce rural poverty, support a more vibrant
rural economy and help reduce rural-urban migration.
The very limited capacity of the vast majority of poor rural households to access,
analyse and utilise new knowledge on improved practices is a binding constraint to
enhanced productivity. Research, development and information services that address this
constraint have been weakened by years of under-funding and by failures of institutions to
respond in relevant ways to the needs of agricultural producers, especially those in Rural
Worlds 2 and 3 (IFAD, 2004). As a result, producers who lack the resources to obtain it on
their own have not had access to the information and technologies that would enable them
to adopt improved production strategies and increase the income and well-being of their
households.
Pro-poor strategies for agricultural research and its dissemination need to be tailored
to the needs of the rural worlds and be aware of the broad range of factors affecting their
adoption of new technology. Research strategies need to incorporate knowledge from local
actors, and an institutional framework based on much greater participation of a wide range
of stakeholders needs to be developed. Innovative approaches to the delivery of associated
information services, including public, private and civil society actors, also need to be
developed.
In identifying the constraints to productivity enhancement in the different rural
worlds it is important to recognise that both land and labour productivity are central to
pro-poor growth. In the early stages of development, land productivity is most critical in
order to create additional employment opportunities in agricultural production. In the later
stages, labour productivity increases in importance as off farm wage rates rise but
demands for agricultural workers remain high. Three broad categories of technology are
available to increase the productivity of agricultural households: intensifying input-based
production, managing natural resources better, and diversifying outputs in primary
production or household post-harvest processing to capture more value added.
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