This Policy Note looks at impacts of European Union accession on agriculture and rural sectors, taking into account specific sectoral features and policy choices pre- and post-accession. The most important lesson learned from recently acceded member states is that policy choices before accession will largely determine whether the agriculture sector will be able to fully reap the benefits of EU membership, by expanding trade, or will struggle in the face of increased market pressure.

This report is comprised of two volumes:
(i) volume one: risk assessment; and (ii) volume two: risk
management strategy. Volume one continues with chapter one,
which characterizes the recent performance of the
agriculture sector, including agro-climatic and market
conditions. It also identifies the productive systems used
for this analysis. Chapter two describes the main risks in
the agricultural sector, capturing market, production, and

The present study is part of an effort
by the World Bank and the State of Bahia to assess
agriculture sector risks as a contribution to the strategic
economic development and poverty reduction agenda of the
state government. It is composed of two phases: an
agricultural sector risk identification and prioritization
(volume one) and a risk management strategy and action plan
(volume two). The study provides practical elements for the

The authors investigate determinants of
individual migration decisions in Vietnam, a country with
increasingly high levels of geographical labor mobility.
Using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards
Survey (VHLSS) of 2012, the authors find that probability of
migration is strongly associated with individual, household
and community-level characteristics. The probability of
migration is higher for young people and those with

Policies that enable rural communities
to participate in expanding economic opportunities can be
central to inclusive growth in Myanmar. Rural communities
are home to the majority of Myanmar’s population, the
majority of its many ethnic groups, and 70 percent of its
poor. Development in rural areas is constrained by low
returns to agriculture, and significantly lower levels of
public service delivery and human development outcomes

This paper is motivated by the emphasis
on secure property rights as a determinant of economic
development in recent literature. The authors use village
and household level information from about 800 villages
throughout China to explore whether legal reform increased
protection of land rights against unauthorized reallocation
or expropriation with below-average compensation by the
state. The analysis provides nation-wide evidence on a

Even after several decades of green
revolution, malnutrition continues to be a major development
challenge in much of South Asia, and India has a major share
of the malnourished people in the region. For nutrition
goals to be integrated into extension the curricula provided
to current and future agricultural extension agents must be
revisited. As part of the South Asia Food and Nutrition
Security Initiative (SAFANSI), this paper focuses on

This report directly provide
recommendations for improvement of the quality of the
regional master socio-econsomic development plan and
national laud use plans for Vietnam, to the year 2020. It
provides analysis and assessment of the
reviewed-adjusted-ammended socio-economic development plan
for the Mekong Delta, which is aimed at improvement of the
quality and feasibility of regional socio-economic

Rice is the world’s most heavily
consumed staple crop. Its production requires enormous
volumes of water and emits large quantities of atmospheric
methane, a greenhouse gas some many times more powerful than
carbon dioxide - particularly during a medium term period of
about seven years. In a global context of growing
population, increasingly scarce water resources, and climate
change, more productive, sustainable, and efficient rice

This report centers on the problems
stemming from land issues in Nicaragua. The report's
main recommendations deal with four priority actions:
institutional reform; adjustments to the legal framework;
systematic regularization of land rights; and, firmly
addressing previous land invasions, and preventing future
invasions. The issue of land distribution, and ownership is
especially critical in Nicaragua; indeed, the country

Over the last 20 years, poor rural
farmers in Nigeria have seen the benefits of community
organization as a tool for local economic development under
the National Fadama Development Project series. They have
witnessed improvements in rural areas that have embraced a
more inclusive and participatory model of local economic
decision making. Many communities have come together under
the umbrella of new institutional arrangements for

This module provides guidance and a
comprehensive menu of practical tools for integrating gender
in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of
projects and investments in climate-smart agriculture (CSA).
The module emphasizes the importance and ultimate goal of
integrating gender in CSA practices, which is to reduce
gender inequalities and ensure that men and women can
equally benefit from any intervention in the agricultural