Policy

The agriculture sector is shaped by laws, policies, and norms that can support or hinder the production and flow of goods and services. To create policies that lead to “enabling environments” benefiting all actors in the agricultural sector, policymakers must consider evidence from policy impacts and models.

Agricultural policy analyses and reforms seek the right balance of incentives so that smallholder producers, the private sector, and consumers all benefit from their involvement in agriculture.  For example, policies permitting fertilizer subsidies, while they facilitate access to inputs for producers in the short term, discourage the participation of manufacturers and input suppliers by setting prices too low to make a profit. In addition to encouraging investment in the sector, agricultural policy reform also considers the controls needed to ensure food safety.

The BASIS CRSP was the first CRSP to support research on land and credit policies and their impact on employment opportunities. It also conducted workshops on the intersections of agricultural policy, resource access, and human nutrition; on land and water issues; on rural finance, and on the effectiveness of policies to combat persistent poverty in Africa (1999-2004). Since then, other Feed the Future Innovation Labs for Collaborative Research and CRSPs have increasingly addressed policy issues in their research. Both SANREM and IPM have researched the impact of environmental policies on adoption of conservation-oriented and IPM practices; the Livestock-Climate Change Innovation Lab investigates policy issues related to livestock markets, risk reduction through insurance for small producers, livestock and wildlife interactions, and on the role of policy to influence climate change and livestock mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Resources

Complementarities of Training, Technology, and Credit in Smallholder Agriculture: Impact, Sustainability, and Policy for Scaling-up

Programs of training and time-limited subsidization of inputs or capital are often pursued to overcome barriers to farmers’ technology adoption. How successful is this model in […]

Responsible Aquaculture in 2050: Valuing Local Conditions and Human Innovations Will Be Key to Success

Abstract: As aquaculture production expands, we must avoid mistakes made during increasing intensification of agriculture. Understanding environmental impacts and measures to mitigate them is important for […]

  • Date of Publication: April 2013
  • Author(s): James S. Diana; Hillary S. Egna; Thierry Chopin; Mark S. Peterson; Ling Cao; Robert Pomeroy; Marc Verdegem; William T. Slack; Melba G. Bondad-Reantaso; Felipe Cabello
  • Type of Document: Scholarly Article

Governance of Global Value Chains in Response to Food Safety and Certification Standards: The Case of Shrimp from Vietnam

Abstract: We use global value chain (GVC) theory to understand governance of Vietnam’s shrimp farming industry. We describe this GVC as buyer-driven with important food safety […]

  • Date of Publication: 2013
  • Author(s): Nhuong Tran; Conner Bailey; Norbert Wilson; Michael Phillips
  • Type of Document: Scholarly Article

Maximizing Return on Investments in Land Management with Ecological Site Information

Abstract: Return on investments in land management can be increased by targeting management interventions based on knowledge of the potential of different types of land to […]

  • Date of Publication: March 2012
  • Author(s): Corinna Riginos
  • Type of Document: Research Brief

Coping with Drought: Assessing the Impacts of Livestock Insurance in Kenya!

Abstract: Uninsured risk challenges the more than 3 million pastoralist households who live in northern Kenya’s arid and semi arid lands. Whenever drought hits this region, […]

  • Date of Publication: March 2012
  • Author(s): Michael R. Carter; Sarah A. Janzen
  • Type of Document: Research Brief

BASIS Assets and Market Access Collaborative Research Support Program AMA CRSP Final Report

Contains an Overview of activities undertaken by the BASIS/Assets and Market Access CRSP from October 2010-March 2012.

  • Date of Publication: March 2012
  • Author(s): BASIS AMA CRSP
  • Type of Document: Annual Report

BASIS Brief 2012-05: Insuring Health and Wealth? An Evaluation of Health Insurance in Cambodia

Highlights the methodology and impact of BASIS CRSP research.

  • Date of Publication: March 2012
  • Author(s): David I. Levine; Rachel Polimeni
  • Type of Document: Research Brief

BASIS Brief 2012-02: Who Owns the Land? Perspectives from Uganda

Highlights the methodology and impact of BASIS CRSP research.

  • Date of Publication: February 2012
  • Author(s): Allan Bomuhangi; Cheryl Doss; Ruth Meinzen-Dick
  • Type of Document: Research Brief

BASIS Brief 2011-03: Insuring Health: Adverse Selection and Micro-health Insurance in Cambodia

Highlights the methodology and impact of BASIS CRSP research.

  • Date of Publication: December 2011
  • Author(s): David I. Levine; Rachel Polimeni
  • Type of Document: Research Brief

Increasing Food Safety and Creating a Niche in the Market for Smallholders by Educating Them in Production, Postharvest, Food Safety, and Marketing and Branding their Produce According to Specific Food Safety Standards

The rapid economic and population expansion of Cambodian and Vietnam within the greater SE Asian region presents opportunities for impacting the livelihood of many people where […]

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