Year Published
- 2008 (0)
- 2009 (7) Apply 2009 filter
- (-) Remove 2010 filter 2010
- (-) Remove 2011 filter 2011
- 2012 (0)
- 2013 (0)
- 2014 (0)
- 2015 (1) Apply 2015 filter
- 2016 (0)
- (-) Remove 2017 filter 2017
- 2018 (1) Apply 2018 filter
- 2019 (1) Apply 2019 filter
- 2020 (0)
- 2021 (1) Apply 2021 filter
Research Topics
Populations
- Countries/Governments (1) Apply Countries/Governments filter
- (-) Remove Rural Populations filter Rural Populations
- (-) Remove Smallholder Farmers filter Smallholder Farmers
- Women (1) Apply Women filter
Types of Research
- (-) Remove Data Analysis filter Data Analysis
- (-) Remove Literature Review filter Literature Review
- Portfolio Review (0)
- Research Brief (0)
Geography
- East Africa Region and Selected Countries (1) Apply East Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
- Global (0)
- South Asia Region and Selected Countries (1) Apply South Asia Region and Selected Countries filter
- Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries (0)
- Sub-Saharan Africa (1) Apply Sub-Saharan Africa filter
- West Africa Region and Selected Countries (1) Apply West Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
Dataset
- ASTI (0)
- FAOSTAT (0)
- Farmer First (0)
- LSMS & LSMS-ISA (1) Apply LSMS & LSMS-ISA filter
- Other Datasets (1) Apply Other Datasets filter
Current search
- (-) Remove Rural Populations filter Rural Populations
- (-) Remove Development Finance & Policy filter Development Finance & Policy
- (-) Remove Food Security & Nutrition filter Food Security & Nutrition
- (-) Remove Literature Review filter Literature Review
- (-) Remove Data Analysis filter Data Analysis
- (-) Remove Political Economy & Governance filter Political Economy & Governance
- (-) Remove 2017 filter 2017
- (-) Remove 2011 filter 2011
- (-) Remove Finance & Investment filter Finance & Investment
- (-) Remove Poverty filter Poverty
- (-) Remove Smallholder Farmers filter Smallholder Farmers
- (-) Remove 2010 filter 2010
The purpose of this literature review is to identify the linkages between increases in agricultural productivity and poverty reduction. The relevant literature includes economic theory and evidence from applied growth and multiplier models as well as micro-level studies evaluating the impact of specific productivity increases on local poverty outcomes. We find that cross-country and micro-level empirical studies provide general support for the theories of a positive relationship between growth in agricultural productivity and poverty alleviation, regardless of the measures of productivity and poverty that are used. The evidence also suggests multiple pathways through which increases in agricultural productivity can reduce poverty, including real income changes, employment generation, rural non-farm multiplier effects, and food prices effects. However, we find that barriers to technology adoption, initial asset endowments, and constraints to market access may all inhibit the ability of the poorest to participate in the gains from agricultural productivity growth.
Market-oriented agricultural production can be a mechanism to increase smallholder farmer welfare, rural market performance, and contribute to overall economic growth. Cash crop production can allow households to increase their income by producing output with higher returns to land and labor and using the income generated from sales to purchase goods for consumption. However, in the face of missing and underperforming markets, African smallholder households are often unable to produce efficiently or obtain staple foods reliably and cheaply. This literature review summarizes the available literature on the impact of smallholder participation in cash crop and export markets on household welfare and rural markets. The review focuses exclusively on evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa regarding top and emerging export crops, with the addition of tobacco and horticulture due to the volume of research relevant to smallholder welfare gains from the production of these crops. It includes theoretical frameworks, case studies, empirical evidence, and historical analysis from 42 primary empirical studies and 112 resources overall.