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Between 2006 and 2010 the World Bank sought to unmask the role of science, technology, and innovation in Ugandan industry. This report presents insights from this research based on case studies of six sectors: agriculture, health, energy, information and communication technology (ICT), transport, and logistics. Based on more than 80 interviews cutting across Uganda's small and medium-sized enterprises, universities, and government entities, the report's findings are intended to offer the government and its partners in industry increased clarity about how better to harness science, technology, and innovation to propel the economy. Enabling implementation of the recent Uganda national science, technology, and innovation policy is a parallel goal of the report. The policy articulates the government's intent to foster research and development that builds the human capital that Uganda requires for a knowledge-based economy. The case studies from which this report's recommendations are drawn depict a diverse range of experiences across industrial sectors in terms of generating, applying, and adapting science and technology to contribute to Uganda's development. Despite the relatively small size of the country's investments in science and technology, the past 20 years have seen considerable advances in building capacity in science and technology, developing related institutions and human resources, advancing collaboration and communication, and expanding the base of available knowledge. But given Uganda's limited investments in science and technology, policies should prioritize near-term investments that benefit key sectors. This report identifies those near-term investments as well as longer-term ones (three to five years in the future).

The aim of this article is to present the process of the development of horizontal integration in the agricultural sector in Poland in relation to the increase in its competitiveness. The article uses the data of the National Cooperative Council in Poland, The Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, as well as Central Statistical Office in Poland. The process of formation of agricultural producer groups accelerated considerably when Poland joined the EU, especially due to the possibility to receive support from public funds. In 2013, at the end of the first full financial framework 2007–2013, there were almost 1300 agricultural producer groups in Poland. The most of them functioned in central, western and north-western regions, where larger and specialised farms are prevalent and where farmers understand the need for joint activity and want to gain a possibility to generate both technological and cost and price advantages and to increase the profitability of production. So far Polish producers of cereals, oilseeds, pigs and poultry have been relatively best organised. In 2017 about 45% of all registered groups of agricultural producers had the status of cooperatives. In pigs and beef cattle production the share of cooperatives in the total number of registered groups was even higher and amounted to 70% and 83%, respectively. Such groups are capable of helping farmers to solve the problems of how to sell their products, to ensure the appropriate quality of those products and to increase the cost-effectiveness of production. Cooperatives are often involved in social, educational and cultural activities provided to their members and rural community. Therefore, it can be said that very presence of cooperatives favours the development of agriculture in a particular region and in the entire country.

The present study aims to capture the implications of palm oil import on the Indian edible oil sector in terms of price, income and international trade. Being the net importer of edible oil over a long period, import tariff simulations on palm oil, which constitute a major share of our import basket on the domestic producer price, consumer price, income of the domestic edible oil processing industry and government revenue were studied under by partial equilibrium setting. The domestic edible oils considered for the study were palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed and mustard oil, sunflower oil and other major traditional oils viz., coconut oil, groundnut oil and cotton seed oil - categorised as other edible oils. The import of palm oil had significant influence on the domestic edible oil sector indicating the higher substitutability of palm oil owing to its low price and compatibility to blend with domestic edible oils. The variation in domestic production, consumer price, industry income and government revenue were in the same direction as that of tariff and import price of palm oil. Domestic consumers are the major beneficiaries of reduction in tariff and import price of palm oil, while processors benefitted more than the producers of domestic oils from hike in tariff and import price. The import policy must aim at protecting the welfare of all the stakeholder of edible oil sector, viz., producers, processors and consumers.

Interest in farmland is rising. And, given commodity price volatility, growing human and environmental pressures, and worries about food security, this interest will increase, especially in the developing world. One of the highest development priorities in the world must be to improve smallholder agricultural productivity, especially in Africa. Smallholder productivity is essential for reducing poverty and hunger, and more and better investment in agricultural technology, infrastructure, and market access for poor farmers is urgently needed. When done right, larger-scale farming systems can also have a place as one of many tools to promote sustainable agricultural and rural development, and can directly support smallholder productivity, for example, throughout grower programs. However, recent press and other reports about actual or proposed large farmland acquisition by big investors have raised serious concerns about the danger of neglecting local rights and other problems. They have also raised questions about the extent to which such transactions can provide long-term benefits to local populations and contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Although these reports are worrying, the lack of reliable information has made it difficult to understand what has been actually happening. Against this backdrop, the World Bank, under the leadership of Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, along with other development partners, has highlighted the need for good empirical evidence to inform decision makers, especially in developing countries.

Biofuels offer new opportunities for African countries. They can contribute to economic growth, employment, and rural incomes. They can become an important export for some countries and provide low-cost fuel for others. There is also a potentially large demand for biofuels to meet the rapidly growing need for local fuel. Abundant natural resources and low-cost labor make producing biofuel feedstock's a viable alternative to traditional crops; and the preferential access available to most African countries to protected markets in industrial countries provides unique export opportunities. Biofuels also bring challenges and risks, including potential land-use conflicts, environmental risks, and heightened concerns about food security. This book examines the potential of African countries to produce biofuels for export or domestic consumption and looks at the policy framework needed. It is part of the effort by the World Bank's Africa region to examine critical issues that affect the region and to recommend policies that effectively address these issues while providing an enabling environment for the private sector. The book is intended to inform policy makers and the larger development community of the global and domestic market opportunities facing biofuel producers, as well as the challenges of producing biofuels, in the Africa region.

The development of the agro-industrial complex in Kazakhstan is an urgent problem for agricultural producers and insurers, since agriculture is in the zone of constant natural and economic risks, where the main share of risks is associated with weather events affecting the production of agricultural crops. In order to reduce negative factors in agriculture, to ensure the protection of the property interests of farmers in crop production from the consequences of adverse natural phenomena, animal husbandry, measures are being taken by the state and business, however, there are still problems that agricultural producers face.

The vast majority of the world's poorest households depend on farming for their livelihoods. During the 1960s and 1970s, most developing countries imposed pro-urban and anti-agricultural policies, while many high-income countries restricted agricultural imports and subsidized their farmers. Both sets of policies inhibited economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Although progress has been made over the past two decades to reduce those policy biases, many trade- and welfare-reducing price distortions remain between agriculture and other sectors and within the agricultural sector of both rich and poor countries. Comprehensive empirical studies of the disarray in world agricultural markets appeared approximately 20 years ago. Since then, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has provided estimates each year of market distortions in high-income countries, but there have been no comparable estimates for the world's developing countries. This volume is the third in a series (other volumes cover Asia, Europe's transition economies, and Latin America and the Caribbean) that not only fills that void for recent years but extends the estimates in a consistent and comparable way back in time—and provides analytical narratives for scores of countries that shed light on the evolving nature and extent of policy interventions over the past half-century. 'Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Africa' provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in the Arab Republic of Egypt plus 20 countries that account for about of 90 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population, farm households, agricultural output, and overall GDP. Sectoral, trade, and exchange rate policies in the region have changed greatly since the 1950s, and there have been substantial reforms since the 1980s. Nonetheless, numerous price distortions in this region remain, others have been added in recent years, and there has also been some backsliding, such as in Zimbabwe. The new empirical indicators in these country studies provide a strong evidence-based foundation for assessing the successes and failures of the past and for evaluating policy options for the years ahead.