This chapter uses supply chain analysis (SCA) to identify transport and logistics bottlenecks that add costs, times and uncertainty to the exportation of perishable agricultural products from Central America. Macro-level analyses of logistics performance, including the logistics performance index, Doing Business Reports and Enterprise Surveys of the World Bank, as well as the Global Competitiveness Index of the Global Economic Forum, often leave policy-makers unclear on exactly what poor performance means for exporters and producers in Central America.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the challenges and the practical successes that a selected number of countries are experiencing in moving towards 'climate-smart' agriculture while also meeting the food requirements of a growing population, broader economic development and green growth objectives. It complements papers prepared in 2010 on technologies and policy instruments, research, and farmers' perspectives.

Agricultural investments made by developing countries and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have declined in recent decades. This decline is associated with a slowdown in the growth of agriculture productivity. Most development institutions have recognized the damage caused by this past neglect, in part evident in rising food prices, and renewed attention to agriculture and agribusiness is emerging. But this renewed interest will need to deliver results, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the MDBs have had the least success but where the needs and opportunities are enormous.

The current edition of the Rwanda economic update is titled seeds for higher growth and specially features the agriculture sector. The importance of agriculture's contribution to growth in Rwanda remains considerable, despite the emergence of other significant growth drivers, such as services. Rwanda's agriculture sector will play an essential role in attaining the country's development vision of sustainable growth and increased poverty reduction, due to its employment weight.

The Double Burden of Malnutrition (DBM) is the coexistence of both under nutrition and over nutrition in the same population across the life course. 'Across the life course' refers to the phenomenon that under nutrition early in life contributes to an increased propensity for over nutrition in adulthood. The DBM affects all countries, rich and poor, and is a particular concern in countries with high stunting rates. The consequences of the DBM are enormous; early life under nutrition is an underlying cause associated with about a third of young child deaths.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the World Bank Group's (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [IBRD], International Development Association [IDA], and International Finance Corporation [IFC]) effectiveness in promoting growth in agricultural productivity in Azerbaijan, and to derive lessons that may be relevant for the World Bank Group's future engagement in Azerbaijani agriculture.

Russia has seen even higher oil windfall in the past few months, which translates into likely fiscal surpluses this year and next. The government should not miss the opportunity provided by a large oil windfall to substantially improve its long-term fiscal position, further reduce inflation, and, therefore, ensure a strong basis for durable stability and healthy growth in the future. Rising domestic demand and credit activity are increasingly supporting solid growth.

East Java is the second largest contributor to Indonesia's economy with a growth rate similar to national level and other major provinces in Java. Nevertheless, for a province that is expected to be a major economic center in the country, there has been very little change in the region's economic structure in the past 10 years. Since 1995, the share of industry and agriculture in the economy is almost unchanged. Furthermore, the growth in both of these two sectors has been low, despite the fact that industry was once the main driver of the East Java economy.

In this paper the author analyze the link between spatial agglomeration, spatial disparities and political governance with an emphasis on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The agglomeration index and the urban-rural consumption ratio are used respectively as a measurement of spatial agglomeration and spatial disparities. The author distinguishes two aspects of political governance: political rights and political stability.

Over the last decade, Kenya's society and economy have changed fundamentally and these deep trends will continue. Rapid population growth and urbanization will create many new challenges which need to be managed well to support Kenya's economic take-off in the medium-term. This fourth edition of the Kenya economic update argues that Kenya can turn the tide in turbulent times and make the most of the ongoing structural shifts.

Cattle are one of the main instruments for economic (e.g., milk, meat, and cattle sale) and social (e.g., marriage, death, dispute settlement, and gift giving) exchange in Uganda. They serve as the main source of livelihood for a large majority of rural Ugandans, especially in the cattle corridor. Recent statistics demonstrate that the livestock sector contributes 13.1 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and 5 percent of the national GDP.

The Central America region is a small market. The region contains around 43 million inhabitants (0.6 percent of total world population) who generate around 0.25 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the region has successfully embarked on a regional integration agenda and has strong commercial links with the US, extra-regional trade-mainly with large fast-growing emerging economies-remains a challenge.