This paper reviews the literature on the subject of the role of improved agricultural technology ... more This paper reviews the literature on the subject of the role of improved agricultural technology in alleviating poverty in developing countries. Focusing primarily on improved cultivars produced by the international agricultural research system, it shows how new technology combines with other socioeconomic and institutional factors to determine poverty alleviation utcomes. Technology's role in alleviating poverty is both indirect and partial; technology alone cannot overcome poverty, nor can continued poverty be blamed on improved technology. The review is organized into three parts: Part I introduces poverty and the achievements of agricultural research. Part II provides a conceptual framework and evidence from the literature for the link between new agricultural technology and poverty alleviation. It takes a historical perspective, examining evidence from the literature. The discussion simplifies the complexity of the relationship between technological change and poverty allev...
been significantly improved as a result of several watershed projects such as the Loess Plateau i... more been significantly improved as a result of several watershed projects such as the Loess Plateau in China and the Land Management 11 project in Brazil. This Note discusses the major issues and challenges involved in watershed management. From the point of view of the WSM Program, the terms watershed and catchment are interchangeable. They both a. refer to an area that supplies water by . surface or sub-surface flow to a given drain_ age system, be it a stream, river, or lake. On the higher slopes common in 2v ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ upper watersheds, land-use changes tend = to generate downstream effects to which other stakeholders in the watershed are subjected. The magnitude of these effects u depends on many factors, including the Rice planted on a terraced hillside in Indonesia provides good protection against erosion. size of the watershed. Although the effects of changes in land use are most readily many stakeholders. They are directly catchments, both the underserved comfelt in...
This study addresses three main research questions: 1) What projects are most successful in promo... more This study addresses three main research questions: 1) What projects are most successful in promoting the objectives of raising agricultural productivity, improving natural resource management and reducing poverty? 2) What approaches enable them to succeed? 3) What nonproject factors also contribute to achieving these objectives? The major hypotheses are that participatory approaches that devote more attention to social organization yield superior project impact, and that favorable economic conditions and good infrastructure also support better natural resource management and higher productivity.
Motivated by recent increases in water pollution in major US agricultural watersheds and by the s... more Motivated by recent increases in water pollution in major US agricultural watersheds and by the shortcomings of government programs to control non–point source pollution, this paper examines the prospects for using product certification (ecolabeling) and business-to-business supply chain standards for environmental protection in commodity crop production. We introduce the sources of demand for certification and supply chain standards and the political and economic context in which they have expanded since the 1990s. We explore how various agrifood certification and supply chain standards have been used to achieve changes in production methods and/or in product attributes to meet social goals, and we discuss the prospects for applying these models to commodity crops. We conclude that the nature of corn and soybean production, distribution, and consumption—with numerous sales outlets and invisible consumption as part of processed foods and other products—makes certification schemes to...
Page 1. Tenure and Access Rights as Constraints to Community Watershed Development in Orissa, Ind... more Page 1. Tenure and Access Rights as Constraints to Community Watershed Development in Orissa, India Kundan Kumar1, John Kerr2, and Pranab Choudhury3 Watershed development is the focal point of efforts for agricultural development, ...
This paper investigates the impacts of a social forestry program in Indonesia, Hutan Kamasyarakat... more This paper investigates the impacts of a social forestry program in Indonesia, Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm), based on analysis of a survey of 640 HKm and comparable non-HKm plots in the Sumberjaya watershed of southern Sumatra, and of the households operating those plots. The HKm program provides groups of farmers with secure-tenure permits to continue farming on state Protection Forest land and in exchange for protecting remaining natural forestland, planting multistrata agroforests, and using recommended soil and water conservation (SWC) measures on their coffee plantations. Using farmers' perceptions, econometric techniques, and propensity score matching, we investigated the impacts of the HKm program on perceived land tenure security, land purchase prices, farmers' investments in tree planting and SWC measures, and plot-level profits. A significant fraction of HKm group members are not aware of the program or fully aware of its requirements. Although farmers who are aware ...
This paper assesses the economic impacts of the Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm) social forestry progra... more This paper assesses the economic impacts of the Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm) social forestry program in the Sumberjaya watershed in West Lampung District of Sumatra, Indonesia, which began in 2001 to provide farmer groups permits to use already deforested state Protection Forest (PF) land in exchange for protecting remaining forests, planting timber and agro-forestry trees in their coffee plantations, and using soil and water conservation measures. The study is based on analysis of a survey conducted in 2005 for 640 plots in the watershed, selected using a stratified random sample of land of different tenure categories, and their operator households, and surveys of communities with PF land and HKm groups in the watershed. We find that HKm permit holders are poorer on average than owners of private land, but have comparable wealth to users of other eligible PF land who have not applied or received HKm permits, and users of National Park (NP) land, which is not eligible for HKm. Compare...
This paper reviews the literature on the subject of the role of improved agricultural technology ... more This paper reviews the literature on the subject of the role of improved agricultural technology in alleviating poverty in developing countries. Focusing primarily on improved cultivars produced by the international agricultural research system, it shows how new technology combines with other socioeconomic and institutional factors to determine poverty alleviation utcomes. Technology's role in alleviating poverty is both indirect and partial; technology alone cannot overcome poverty, nor can continued poverty be blamed on improved technology. The review is organized into three parts: Part I introduces poverty and the achievements of agricultural research. Part II provides a conceptual framework and evidence from the literature for the link between new agricultural technology and poverty alleviation. It takes a historical perspective, examining evidence from the literature. The discussion simplifies the complexity of the relationship between technological change and poverty allev...
been significantly improved as a result of several watershed projects such as the Loess Plateau i... more been significantly improved as a result of several watershed projects such as the Loess Plateau in China and the Land Management 11 project in Brazil. This Note discusses the major issues and challenges involved in watershed management. From the point of view of the WSM Program, the terms watershed and catchment are interchangeable. They both a. refer to an area that supplies water by . surface or sub-surface flow to a given drain_ age system, be it a stream, river, or lake. On the higher slopes common in 2v ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ upper watersheds, land-use changes tend = to generate downstream effects to which other stakeholders in the watershed are subjected. The magnitude of these effects u depends on many factors, including the Rice planted on a terraced hillside in Indonesia provides good protection against erosion. size of the watershed. Although the effects of changes in land use are most readily many stakeholders. They are directly catchments, both the underserved comfelt in...
This study addresses three main research questions: 1) What projects are most successful in promo... more This study addresses three main research questions: 1) What projects are most successful in promoting the objectives of raising agricultural productivity, improving natural resource management and reducing poverty? 2) What approaches enable them to succeed? 3) What nonproject factors also contribute to achieving these objectives? The major hypotheses are that participatory approaches that devote more attention to social organization yield superior project impact, and that favorable economic conditions and good infrastructure also support better natural resource management and higher productivity.
Motivated by recent increases in water pollution in major US agricultural watersheds and by the s... more Motivated by recent increases in water pollution in major US agricultural watersheds and by the shortcomings of government programs to control non–point source pollution, this paper examines the prospects for using product certification (ecolabeling) and business-to-business supply chain standards for environmental protection in commodity crop production. We introduce the sources of demand for certification and supply chain standards and the political and economic context in which they have expanded since the 1990s. We explore how various agrifood certification and supply chain standards have been used to achieve changes in production methods and/or in product attributes to meet social goals, and we discuss the prospects for applying these models to commodity crops. We conclude that the nature of corn and soybean production, distribution, and consumption—with numerous sales outlets and invisible consumption as part of processed foods and other products—makes certification schemes to...
Page 1. Tenure and Access Rights as Constraints to Community Watershed Development in Orissa, Ind... more Page 1. Tenure and Access Rights as Constraints to Community Watershed Development in Orissa, India Kundan Kumar1, John Kerr2, and Pranab Choudhury3 Watershed development is the focal point of efforts for agricultural development, ...
This paper investigates the impacts of a social forestry program in Indonesia, Hutan Kamasyarakat... more This paper investigates the impacts of a social forestry program in Indonesia, Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm), based on analysis of a survey of 640 HKm and comparable non-HKm plots in the Sumberjaya watershed of southern Sumatra, and of the households operating those plots. The HKm program provides groups of farmers with secure-tenure permits to continue farming on state Protection Forest land and in exchange for protecting remaining natural forestland, planting multistrata agroforests, and using recommended soil and water conservation (SWC) measures on their coffee plantations. Using farmers' perceptions, econometric techniques, and propensity score matching, we investigated the impacts of the HKm program on perceived land tenure security, land purchase prices, farmers' investments in tree planting and SWC measures, and plot-level profits. A significant fraction of HKm group members are not aware of the program or fully aware of its requirements. Although farmers who are aware ...
This paper assesses the economic impacts of the Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm) social forestry progra... more This paper assesses the economic impacts of the Hutan Kamasyarakatan (HKm) social forestry program in the Sumberjaya watershed in West Lampung District of Sumatra, Indonesia, which began in 2001 to provide farmer groups permits to use already deforested state Protection Forest (PF) land in exchange for protecting remaining forests, planting timber and agro-forestry trees in their coffee plantations, and using soil and water conservation measures. The study is based on analysis of a survey conducted in 2005 for 640 plots in the watershed, selected using a stratified random sample of land of different tenure categories, and their operator households, and surveys of communities with PF land and HKm groups in the watershed. We find that HKm permit holders are poorer on average than owners of private land, but have comparable wealth to users of other eligible PF land who have not applied or received HKm permits, and users of National Park (NP) land, which is not eligible for HKm. Compare...
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Papers by John Kerr