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Resource
Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security in Developing
Countries—Within Sub-Saharan Africa, the productivity of
agricultural land is 28 percent higher in countries with favorable
soils and climate than it is in countries with poor land quality,
everything else being equal; in Asia, the difference is 34 percent.
Productivity is especially responsive to increases in the use of
fertilizer and irrigation in countries with poor land, while productivity
in countries with good land is more responsive to improvements in
labor quality and transportation infrastructure. Food Security Assessment.
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Resource
Quality and Agricultural Productivity: A Multi-Country Comparison—Presents
econometric analysis of spatially referenced data on soils, climate,
and land cover, along with panel data on agricultural inputs and
outputs from 110 countries for 1961-97. Quantifies the significant
impact that differences in land quality have on agricultural productivity.
Global Resources and Productivity, chapter 3.5
in Agricultural Resources
and Environmental Indicators—Global food production has grown faster than population in recent decades, due largely to improved seeds and increased use of fertilizer and irrigation. Soil degradation which has slowed yield growth in some areas, depends on farmers' incentives to adopt conservation practices, but does not threaten food security at the global level.
Green Technologies for a More Sustainable
Agriculture—For U.S. agriculture to continue along a sustainable
path of economic development, further production increases must
be generated by technologies that are both profitable and more environmentally
benign. In this context, we assess the role of these "green"
or sustainable technologies in steering agriculture along a more
sustainable path. However, the lack of markets for the environmental
attributes associated with green technologies can limit their development.
In addition, simply making a technology available does not mean
it will be adopted. Experience with green technologies such as conservation
tillage, integrated pest management, enhanced nutrient management,
and precision agriculture demonstrates that even when technologies
are profitable, barriers to adopting new practices can limit their
effectiveness.
"Land Tenure and the Adoption of Conservation Practices,"
American Journal of Agricultural Economics," Meredith
Soule, Abebayehu Tegene, and Keith Wiebe (Nov. 2000).
"Resource Quality and Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan
Africa: A Multi-Country Comparison." Keith Wiebe, Meredith
Soule, Clare Narrod, and Vince Breneman. Paper presented at the
International Conference of Agricultural Economists, Berlin, 13-18
Aug. 2000.
"Agriculture, Sustainable Resource Use, and Food Security
in the 21st Century," Choices, Keith Wiebe and Pierre
Crosson (4th Quarter, 1999), pp. 6-11.
"Agricultural Productivity
and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa," In Food Security
Assessment (International Agriculture and Trade Report No. GFA-10).
K. Wiebe, M. Soule, and D. Schimmelpfennig—Patterns of agricultural
productivity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa are mixed. Most of the
variation between countries in the region is due to differences
in the application of conventional inputs, especially labor, but
further gains from increased labor application are likely to be
limited. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa still have considerable
potential to raise productivity through increased use of other conventional
inputs, such as fertilizer. Realizing such increases, however, will
depend on additional investment in roads, education, research, and
(in some areas) the cessation of armed conflict.
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