The focus of this report is crop
biotechnology, as developing countries are faced with
evaluating genetically engineered plants for human,
livestock, and environmental safety. These genetically
engineered plants can potentially contribute to agricultural
productivity in developing regions when appropriately
deployed, but there is uncertainty about the potential for
adverse consequences to environmental and human health. The

This study by the World Bank indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. An estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. Forest dwellers, which include a high proportion of tribals, are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. The government of India has adopted Joint Forest Management as a principal approach for community-based forestry.

Farming households that differ in their
ability, or willingness to take on risks are likely to make
different decisions when allocating resources, and effort
among income-producing activities, with consequences for
productivity. The authors measure voluntary, and involuntary
departures from efficiency for rice-producing households in
Bicol, Philippines. They take advantage of a panel of
household observations from 1978, 1983, and 1994. The

This social assessment (SA) is part of
the Sanliurfa and Harran On-farm Development Project in
Turkey, and aims at identifying an appropriate mix of
project inputs to reduce poverty. The objectives of the SA
are to understand the impact of rapid agricultural
modernization on various social groups, according to
ownership criteria, and gender issues, and, to learn how
those benefiting from irrigation, assess the quality of

The process by which different
ecological conditions and historical trajectories interacted
to create different social and cultural systems resulted in
major differences in economic development performance within
Southeast Asia. In the late 19th century, Indonesia, the
Philippines, and Thailand commonly experienced
vent-for-surplus development through exploitation of unused
lands. Nevertheless, different agrarian structures were

The overall finding of this report is
that much agricultural policy is made at the regional level,
and here the explicit price, and trade policy distortions
are significantly worse than at the federal level. The
result is patchwork of inconsistent policies, that has
fragmented the Russian national market. The most serious
policy issues at the federal level, are in the legal
framework, the continued state domination of some markets,

The aim of this study is to improve
understanding of how biological resource conservation
concerns can be better incorporated into projects and
programs that primarily address the objective of rural
development rather than environmental conservation. A
multi-disciplinary study team was assembled and six
background papers produced, along with the main overview
paper. The six papers were on: 1) measuring biodiversity,

The report reviews the Bank's
development assistance to Lesotho, a poor country, of
predominantly rural populations, landlocked and completely
surrounded by, and economically dependent on, South Africa.
Not surprisingly, a major development challenge for the
country is that half the population lives below the poverty
line, and income inequality is among the highest in the
world. Other challenges are low quality of education, and

Cereal production accounts for about
seventy percent of all agricultural land in Morocco. Cereal
producer prices, influenced by the government, are higher
than world prices. Production is divided into six broad
agro-climatic zones. About half of cereal production is
concentrated in the favorable, and intermediate zones; the
rest occurs mostly in less favorable (arid and semi-arid)
zones, with average annual rainfall below 450 millimeters.

The report reviews basic growth, as
being one of four pillars for Nicaragua's poverty
reduction strategy. The well-being of the rural poor will
continue its dependence on - to a great extent -
agriculture. The study analyzes main agricultural
development aspects, and stipulates the broad basic growth
may be enhanced by strengthening agricultural
competitiveness. Yet, export growth is key to economic

This has to be accomplished against a
background of high illiteracy rates, rapidly growing
populations, low and erratic rainfall, inherently infertile
soils, and development strategies which have had a strong
urban bias. Under such conditions, traditional production
systems are unable to sustain the population. Without
significant change, land degradation will accelerate and the
natural resource base on which agricultural production

The authors compare changes in gender
roles and women's empowerment in China, India, and the
Republic of Korea. Around 1950, these newly formed states
were largely poor and agrarian, with common cultural factors
that placed similar severe constraints on women's
autonomy. They adopted very different paths of development,
which are well known to have profoundly affected development
outcomes. These choices have also had a tremendous impact on