Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach
This analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments and rural poverty reduction, and the prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set of internationally comparable poverty dis-aggregated by urban and rural areas, country level undernou...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143414 |
| _version_ | 1855539354274889728 |
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| author | Benfica, Rui Nin-Pratt, Alejandro |
| author_browse | Benfica, Rui Nin-Pratt, Alejandro |
| author_facet | Benfica, Rui Nin-Pratt, Alejandro |
| author_sort | Benfica, Rui |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments and rural poverty reduction, and the prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set of internationally comparable poverty dis-aggregated by urban and rural areas, country level undernourishment, and ASTI data on R&D investments and derived indicators. The study uses agricultural R&D knowledge stocks (KS) to account for the lagged effects of research through depreciation and gestation period of investments, and applies causal mediation analysis to assess the impact of KS on poverty and hunger and measure the relative contribution of KS-induced agricultural productivity growth on those outcomes. Evidence suggests that, while SSA growth in KS has been relatively slow, it helped reduce rural poverty and undernourishment – the percentage point reduction in rural extreme and moderate poverty of a 1% annual increase in KS is 0.218 and 0.146 percentage points per year, respectively. Mediation analysis indicates that a fifth of the KS effect on extreme rural poverty, and a quarter of the KS effect on moderate rural poverty, can be attributed to KS driven gains in agricultural labor productivity. Likewise, KS growth reduces undernourishment – a 1% annual increase in KS leads to a drop of 0.132 percentage points per year in the prevalence of undernourishment, with about 40% of that effect mediated through gains in agricultural land productivity. These results indicate that KS supports poverty and hunger reduction through benefits on-farm and beyond it. They also suggest that there is room for strengthening the role of R&D KS productivity enhancing innovations. Given the current low levels of investments in R&D and resulting KS, increasing its levels will be critical, but that alone is not sufficient. makers will have to rethink the way the innovations from R&D get scaled up and pay attention to the necessary complementary policies and investments that enable a sustainable pathway leading to greater productivity growth and development impacts. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace143414 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1434142025-12-02T21:03:13Z Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach Benfica, Rui Nin-Pratt, Alejandro development undernutrition investment agricultural research research knowledge-based systems agriculture malnutrition poverty rural areas knowledge This analysis explores the relationship between agricultural R&D investments and rural poverty reduction, and the prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set of internationally comparable poverty dis-aggregated by urban and rural areas, country level undernourishment, and ASTI data on R&D investments and derived indicators. The study uses agricultural R&D knowledge stocks (KS) to account for the lagged effects of research through depreciation and gestation period of investments, and applies causal mediation analysis to assess the impact of KS on poverty and hunger and measure the relative contribution of KS-induced agricultural productivity growth on those outcomes. Evidence suggests that, while SSA growth in KS has been relatively slow, it helped reduce rural poverty and undernourishment – the percentage point reduction in rural extreme and moderate poverty of a 1% annual increase in KS is 0.218 and 0.146 percentage points per year, respectively. Mediation analysis indicates that a fifth of the KS effect on extreme rural poverty, and a quarter of the KS effect on moderate rural poverty, can be attributed to KS driven gains in agricultural labor productivity. Likewise, KS growth reduces undernourishment – a 1% annual increase in KS leads to a drop of 0.132 percentage points per year in the prevalence of undernourishment, with about 40% of that effect mediated through gains in agricultural land productivity. These results indicate that KS supports poverty and hunger reduction through benefits on-farm and beyond it. They also suggest that there is room for strengthening the role of R&D KS productivity enhancing innovations. Given the current low levels of investments in R&D and resulting KS, increasing its levels will be critical, but that alone is not sufficient. makers will have to rethink the way the innovations from R&D get scaled up and pay attention to the necessary complementary policies and investments that enable a sustainable pathway leading to greater productivity growth and development impacts. 2021-10-18 2024-05-22T12:13:59Z 2024-05-22T12:13:59Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143414 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134985 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Benfica, Rui; and Nin-Pratt, Alejandro. 2021. Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2048. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134671. |
| spellingShingle | development undernutrition investment agricultural research research knowledge-based systems agriculture malnutrition poverty rural areas knowledge Benfica, Rui Nin-Pratt, Alejandro Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title | Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title_full | Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title_short | Understanding the effects of agricultural R&D investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa: A causal mediation approach |
| title_sort | understanding the effects of agricultural r d investments on poverty and undernourishment in sub saharan africa a causal mediation approach |
| topic | development undernutrition investment agricultural research research knowledge-based systems agriculture malnutrition poverty rural areas knowledge |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143414 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benficarui understandingtheeffectsofagriculturalrdinvestmentsonpovertyandundernourishmentinsubsaharanafricaacausalmediationapproach AT ninprattalejandro understandingtheeffectsofagriculturalrdinvestmentsonpovertyandundernourishmentinsubsaharanafricaacausalmediationapproach |