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Begin New Search Topic Agriculture Political Geography Asia Content Type Policy Brief Publication Year within 10 Years

1. A Comprehensive Evaluation on Korea’s ODA to Rwanda’s Agriculture Sector and Its implications for Strategic Approaches

Author:
Young Ho Park, Minji Jeong, and Soo Hyun Moon
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
There has been a growing consensus in the national and international aid architecture that sporadic or scattered aid modality should be avoided. This study conducted a comprehensive cluster evaluation on Korea’s agricultural ODA to Rwanda between 2013 and 2017, with two newly devised indexes: Cluster Performance Index (CPI) and Resource Allocation Index (RAI). Every Korean agricultural ODA project was categorized into five clusters and numerically evaluated against criteria widely used in the evaluation of development projects: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Our cluster evaluation reveals that projects are mostly planned appropriately, but in some clusters, large amounts of the budget have been invested in poorly planned projects. Regarding efficiency, there was considerable room for improvement in all clusters. Particularly, in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) category, all clusters scored below average. Concerning performance evaluation, all clusters scored relatively high in effectiveness, specifically in goal achievement. Lastly, in terms of sustainability, risk management was found to be relatively inadequate in all clusters. Based on the lessons from the aforementioned observations and analysis results, this study suggests ODA quality can be improved by optimizing budget allocation, improving monitoring efficiency, creating synergistic effects through cluster linkage, and developing agricultural value chain program.
Topic:
Agriculture, Foreign Aid, Economy, and Value Chains
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, Korea, and Rwanda

2. When the Water Runs Dry: What is to be done with the 1.5 million settlers in the deserts of southwest Afghanistan when their livelihoods fail?

Author:
David Mansfield
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
It was following the fall of the Taliban regime that people began to encroach upon the deserts of south west Afghanistan and claim it as their own. After an initial investment in shallow wells that ran dry, increasing numbers of settlers began to use percussion drills to sink wells into the ground up to 130 metres in depth. Then, with affordable diesel generators and waterpumps imported from Pakistan and China these farmers transformed what was once rocky desert soil into productive agricultural land.
Topic:
Agriculture, Water, Rural, and Land
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Middle East, and Asia

3. ABCs of the IFIs: The African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development

Author:
Scott Morris, Erin Collinson, and Alysha Gardner
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are among the international financial institutions seeking pledges from donor countries as part of upcoming replenishment cycles in 2019 and 2020. The United States is a leading donor to these funds and has played a crucial role in shaping the institutions’ agendas throughout their histories.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Finance, Banks, Institutions, and Banking
Political Geography:
Africa and Asia

4. Building Inclusive Coconut-Based Livelihoods in Post-Haiyan Reconstruction in the Philippines

Author:
Joel Rodriguez
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The most powerful storm ever to hit the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda) has affected about 16 million people. Four million people have been displaced; the majority of them are fisherfolk, and small-scale farmers and farm workers.
Topic:
Agriculture, Humanitarian Aid, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Asia and Philippines

5. Rubber Plantations Expand in Mountainous Southeast Asia: What Are the Consequences for the Environment?

Author:
Jefferson M. Fox, Jean-Christophe Castella, Alan D. Ziegler, and Sidney b. Westley.
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
For centuries, farmers in the mountainous region of mainland Southeast Asia have practiced shifting cultivation, with plots of land cultivated temporarily and then allowed to revert to secondary forest for a fallow period. Today, more than one million hectares have been converted to rubber plantation. By 2050, the area under rubber trees in the montane regions of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China's Yunnan Province is predicted to increase fourfold. Preliminary research suggests this massive land-use change could lead to drier conditions at the local level plus surface erosion, loss of soil quality, sedimentation and disruption of streams, and risk of landslides. And it appears that when primary or secondary forests are converted to rubber, carbon emissions are likely to increase. Despite environmental concerns, both local farmers and outside entrepreneurs are likely to continue expanding rubber plantations because of high economic returns. Production systems that provide the best balance between economic return and environmental sustainability are needed to improve the long-term outlook for the region.
Topic:
Agriculture and Environment
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

6. ASEAN Food Security: Towards a More Comprehensive Framework

Author:
Barry Desker, Mely Caballero-Anthony, and Paul Teng
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
This Policy Brief is based on the Issues Paper on ASEAN Food Security: Towards a More Comprehensive Framework. The key message is that food security is a priority agenda for the AEC, and the issues to be addressed are: (1) current impediments to agricultural trade and food production; (2) standardisation mechanisms and regulatory frameworks; (3) disjunctions between regional arrangements and domestic policies; (4) public-private partnerships; and (5) crucial indicators for food security robustness.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Regional Cooperation, Food, Food Security, and Farming
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia