Sources And Determinants Of Agricultural Growth And Productivity In Kenya

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 Africa. This book is timely in light of the recent and ongoing growth recovery across the continent. The good news is that agricultural productivity in Africa increased at a moderate rate between 1961 and 2012, although there are variations in the rate of growth in land, labor, and total factor productivities depending on country and region. Differences in input use and capital intensities in agricultural production in the various farming systems and agricultural productivity zones also affect advancements in technology. One conclusion based on the book’s research findings derives from the substantial spatial variation in agricultural productivity. For areas with similar agricultural productivity growth trends and factors, what works well in one area can be used as the basis for formulating best-fit, location-specific agricultural policies, investments, and interventions in similar areas. This finding along with others will be of particular interest to policy- and decisionmakers.

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, countries within Sub-Saharan Africa reached milestones that seemed impossible only ten years ago: macroeconomic stability, sustained economic growth, and improved governance. Continuing this pattern of success will require enhancing the region’s agricultural sector, in which a large proportion of poor people make a living. The authors of Strategies and Priorities for African Agriculture: Economywide Perspectives from Country Studies argue that, although the diversity of the region makes generalization difficult, increasing staple-crop production is more likely to reduce poverty than increasing export-crop production. This conclusion is based on case studies of ten low-income African countries that reflect varying levels of resource endowments and development stages. The authors also recommend increased, more efficient public investment in agriculture and agricultural markets and propose new directions for future research. The last ten years have been an encouraging time for one of the world’s poorest regions; this book offers an analysis of how recent, promising trends can be sustained into the future.

Post-reform India has seen a decline in agricultural growth as well as supply–demand imbalance and rising prices. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of domestic and international prices and trade since 1980–81, covering the past quarter of a century. Backed with rich data, it provides comparisons between the pre- and post-liberalisation policies and their effect on farm profitability, domestic prices and prices variability, and examines their possible role in determining the trajectory of agricultural growth since 1991. The book will appeal to students, scholars and researchers of agriculture studies, economics, finance, and development studies, as well as policy makers and agriculture experts.

What are the challenges and action points for agricultural sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa? This open access collection of papers offers technical analyses, policy recommendations and an overview of success stories to date. Each carefully selected paper provides valuable insights for improved policy making and defines relevant strategic priorities on Africa’s sustainable transformation process, which is in line with the international development agenda. Although agriculture remains the main source of income for Africa’s population, the sector is rain-fed subjecting it to the vagaries of weather and climate change. This volume demonstrates the rationale of developing a competitive, inclusive and sustainable agribusiness sector for Africa’s food security and structural transformation. From the impact of Bioenergy crop adoption and Drought Index Insurance to Agro-Industrialization, this volume is important reading for individual researchers, academic associations and professional bodies interested in African agricultural development.

Annual data on Kenya from 1950 to 2014 are used to analyze the determinants of the level and composition of government expenditures and estimate the agricultural-output returns to the different types of government expenditures. The paper analyzes expenditures for six functions (general administration, defense, education, health, agriculture, and other economic functions—transport, communications, etc.) as well as the capital-to-recurrent expenditure ratios within each of the six functions. Simultaneous equations modeling methods are employed, and different diagnostic tests are used to check for and address issues with stationarity, causality, and autocorrelation. Different model specifications are used to assess the sensitivity of the results to using different measures and combinations of the conceptual variables that are hypothesized to affect the composition of government expenditures and agricultural production.