This case study describes the history and business model of the Rural and Community Bank (RCB) network in Ghana, analyzes its performance, identifies key issues, and makes recommendations on the way forward. The study analyzes the service delivery and financial performance of the RCBs. Before the establishment of RCBs in the late 1970s and the subsequent expansion of other service providers into rural areas, access to institutional credit for farm and nonfarm activities was scarce. The main sources of credit were moneylenders and traders that charged very high interest rates.
The World Bank has a long relationship with Uruguay's agricultural sector, expanding over a period of more than 60 years in which several projects and various analytical and advisory assistance initiatives have been implemented.
Poverty in Pakistan is overwhelmingly rural. Some two-thirds of Pakistan's population, and over 60 percent of the country's poor, live in rural areas. In 2005, average per capita expenditures in rural areas were 31 percent lower than in urban areas. This inequality between urban and rural areas is re-enforced by inequality within and between rural areas.
African farming systems are highly heterogeneous: between agroecological and socioeconomic environments, in the wide variability in farmers’ resource endowments and in farm management. This means that single solutions (or ‘silver bullets’) for improving farm productivity do not exist. Yet to date few approaches to understand constraints and explore options for change have tackled the bewildering complexity of African farming systems. In this paper we describe the Nutrient Use in Animal and Cropping systems – Efficiencies and Scales (NUANCES) framework.
The Raya valley in Tigray, where Alamata Woreda is located, has suitable climate and rich water resources, among others, to grow various tropical fruits. Development of fruits only started a few years ago (1996) with the Raya Valley Development Project and the OoARD (Office of Agriculture and Rural Development), mostly focusing on papaya. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study conducted by the Woreda stakeholders identified tropical fruits as a potential marketable commodity in 2005.
The food security research project (FSRP) aims to contribute to effective policy dialogue, capacity building, and ultimately an improved agricultural policy environment in Zambia, through collaboration with government and the private sector. It achieves these objectives through in-service capacity building, applied analysis, and policy outreach. A hallmark of the Michigan State University/FSRP approach is the “joint products” approach, whereby training, applied research and outreach are undertaken collaboratively with in-country stakeholders and government counterparts.
The food security research project (FSRP) aims to contribute to effective policy dialogue, capacity building, and ultimately an improved agricultural policy environment in Zambia, through collaboration with government and the private sector. It achieves these objectives through in-service capacity building, applied analysis, and policy outreach. A hallmark of the Michigan State University/FSRP approach is the “joint products” approach, whereby training, applied research and outreach are undertaken collaboratively with in-country stakeholders and government counterparts.
The food security research project (FSRP) aims to contribute to effective policy dialogue, capacity building, and ultimately an improved agricultural policy environment in Zambia, through collaboration with government and the private sector. It achieves these objectives through in-service capacity building, applied analysis, and policy outreach. A hallmark of the Michigan State University/FSRP approach is the “joint products” approach, whereby training, applied research and outreach are undertaken collaboratively with in-country stakeholders and government counterparts.
Commercial Villages Stores (CVS) Programme has been developed and is being implemented by Farm Concern International (FCI) with financial support from USAID/COMPETE (the Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program) in Kenya and Uganda. The programme, which commenced in September 2009, is aimed at graduating smallholder farmers from subsistent farming to market-oriented production as active and reliable agri-commodity value chain players.
The USAID COMPETE (the Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program) funded Commercial Village Stores (CVS) project implemented in Kenya, Meru region in Eastern Province and Eastern Uganda (Jinja) has continued to educate the target communities on post harvest solutions at the village level. Quarter 4 (July-Sept 2010) activities sought to build on strengthening the Meru sites collective action in post harvest handling and storage at the village level with an outreach to more than 10000 farmers in Igoji, Tigania East, Tigania West and Tharaka Districts.