Agriculture for Development : World Bank Report

Following are some pieces of information from the World Bank Report titled "Agriculture for Development" as put forward by the co-author Alain de Janvry:-

• The return on investment is 5-10 times more than the return on subsidies


• Growth originating in agriculture is two-three times more effective for the poor than growth originating in non-agriculture.


• One of the big changes in Indian agriculture is the rise in the number of small farmers as landholdings were being fragmented all the time

And here is the eight-point agenda to tackle these issues:-

1. Focus on taking farm labour out of agriculture and use agriculture for environmental conservation.


2. Concentrate on food security; reduce subsidies and redirect public expenditure towards investments and "protection of net-food consumers"; make sure the trade policies help reduce price instability.


3. Improve efficiency of value chains and increase value addition in agribusinesses.


4. Improve competitiveness of smallholders by giving them access to productive assets.


5. Address productivity constraints of subsistence farmers and assist them so that they can take risks.


6. Move excess farm labour to the rural non-farm economy while improving the quality of employment of farm labour through regulation.


7. Involve the private sector in the rural non-farm economy.


8. Make a massive investment in improving human capital of farm labour so that excess labour can move to other jobs.