Bøker i Development Economics & Policy-serien

The issue of maintaining a diverse gene pool in the form of crop varieties is very topical world wide. This is caused by the potential benefit of crop genetic resources for addressing future demand emanating from unforeseen agricultural problems. This volume is mainly concerned with on-farm conservation as a supplement to the other in situ and ex situ conservation options. The study aims at generating relevant information for maintaining local varieties on farmers¿ fields in Ethiopia. In order to effectively devise policies for on-farm conservation, the volume argues that an improved understanding of farmers¿ incentives, attribute preferences and opportunity costs is indispensable. These issues are extensively addressed (both theoretically and empirically) with a focus on policy that is expressed by the guiding question Given the socioeconomic set-up, what policy options are available to undertake on-farm conservation of crop diversity in Ethiopia? The study results are intended to help identify optimal policies for on-farm conservation taking sorghum, coffee, and wheat as empirical examples.

This book presents an analysis of the transition process with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector in Vietnam. Focusing on the ethnic minority of the Black Thai in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam, the impact of the rural reform process on their livelihood is examined. The analytical tool used in this work is a stochastic frontier analysis model, whose parameters are estimated by a regression analysis. Although the transition process in general has had a positive impact on the livelihood of the population, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened during the last ten years. Imperative measures are the introduction of technical innovations in the agricultural sector and their promotion through governmental as well as national and international non-governmental organisations.