Transforming Agriculture in Africa & Asia: What are the policy priorities?

The report analyzes agricultural transformation across 117 countries from 1970 to 2015, identifying six phases of transformation and five structural contexts based on land fertility, availability, and population dynamics. It argues that successful transformation requires a tailored mix of 'push' strategies (increasing agricultural productivity) or 'pull' strategies (growing non-agricultural sectors), depending on a country's endowments. Key drivers of success include removing 'anti-agricultural bias' in price policies, strategic public investment in R&D and extension services, and critical institutional reforms such as land redistribution. The report provides specific policy recommendations for 13 focus countries in Africa and Asia, matching them with historically successful 'analogue' countries based on their 2015 structural contexts.

• Agricultural transformation is heavily influenced by a country's structural endowments; those with abundant, fertile land and high birth rates (e.g., Brazil, Colombia) typically prioritize a 'push' strategy to increase agricultural productivity, while those with scarce land and high birth rates (e.g., China, Malaysia, Vietnam) prioritize a 'pull' strategy to grow non-agricultural productivity.
• The removal of 'anti-agricultural bias'—where price policies provide negative assistance to farmers relative to the rest of the economy—was a common factor in all studied successful transformations, including those in Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam.
• While public investment is critical, its composition and quality are more important than the total amount. Investments in research and development (R&D) and extension services are the most impactful, especially when complemented by rural infrastructure like electrification, irrigation, and roads.
• Institutional and legal reforms, particularly land reform, are essential for jumpstarting productivity and facilitating structural change, as seen in the cases of China, Vietnam, and South Korea.
• No single policy measure is sufficient for success; transformation requires a complementary combination of policies and public investments tailored to the specific juncture of development.
• For focus countries with high birth rates and scarce land (Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Rwanda), the top priority should be economic diversification and the removal of anti-agricultural bias to allow rural workers to transition into non-agricultural sectors.
• Focus countries with abundant and fertile land (Mali, Mozambique, Zimbabwe) should prioritize public investment in R&D and extension services to push productivity, as current spending in some cases (e.g., Mali) is too heavily focused on input subsidies.
• Gender inequality remains a persistent barrier to transformation; for example, women-led farms in some regions are 23 per cent less productive than those run by men due to lower-quality extension support.

APA

Laborde, D., Lallemant, T., McDougal, K., Smaller, C., & Traore, F. (2019). Transforming Agriculture in Africa & Asia: What are the policy priorities? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/transforming-agriculture-africa-asia.pdf

Chicago

Laborde, David, Tess Lallemant, Kieran McDougal, Carin Smaller, and Fousseini Traore. Transforming Agriculture in Africa & Asia: What are the policy priorities? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/transforming-agriculture-africa-asia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laborde |first1=David |last2=Lallemant |first2=Tess |last3=McDougal |first3=Kieran |last4=Smaller |first4=Carin |last5=Traore |first5=Fousseini |title=Transforming Agriculture in Africa & Asia: What are the policy priorities? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/transforming-agriculture-africa-asia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laborde2019transforming, author = {Laborde, David and Lallemant, Tess and McDougal, Kieran and Smaller, Carin and Traore, Fousseini}, title = {{Transforming Agriculture in Africa \& Asia: What are the policy priorities?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/transforming-agriculture-africa-asia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }