Agriculture and Agribusiness

One billion people around the world are still chronically poor. Agricultural growth and productivity remains central to poverty reduction, particularly in the poorest countries, where a large share of the population relies on agriculture and agribusiness for their livelihood.

In recent years, IEG has undertaken a series of evaluations of World Bank Group’s support to agriculture, rural development and agribusiness and other relevant fields such as rural finance, land redistribution, safeguards and sustainability policies, and competitive grant schemes. These evaluations aim to provide an opportunity for the institution to learn from the past experiences and to inform emerging strategies and programs.

• Key Points

  Impact evaluations found that primary constraints for farmers are: low quality of inputs, limited knowledge, low quality of land, policy environment, post-production promotion assistance, and limited access to loans or insurance. (IEs in Ag.,p. 34)

  Interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa, including public and private partnerships, are greatly affected by borrower commitment and capacity. (Growth and Prod., p.85 and 81)

  Most productivity growth will need to come from rain-fed areas, where most production occurs. Because natural resources are scarce, promoting efficiency is critical to increasing productivity. (Growth and Prod., p. 3 and xi)

  Adoption of new farming technologies specifically related to production inputs, such as fertilizer, delivered positive impacts more than 60 percent of the time. (IEs in Ag.,, p.25)

  Interventions implemented by the private sector report a high level of positive outcomes. (IEs in Ag., p. 42)