This book is centred around various interwoven topics which are fundamental to policy analysis in agriculture. Key concepts and tools that are fundamental for the analysis of agricultural policies and programmes are presented. Key concepts introduced include, the role of the state in a market economy with examples from the Sri Lankan and other developing economies, the international trade environment, and conceptual frameworks for analysing important domestic and international trade policies. It also highlights interconnections among agriculture, development, policy and illustrates the extent to which the agricultural sector contributes in achieving economic growth objectives, equity and equality objectives and environmental objectives. The book takes the readers through the nature of agricultural markets in developing countries, with special emphasis on Sri Lanka, and illustrates how the degree of competitiveness is measured at various market levels using multiple indices and methods. Several tools, with accompanying case studies, for the analysis of policies and programmes are detailed. These tools include the GTAP model, gravity models, extended benefit cost analysis, and linear programming. Tools and models are applied to the analysis of trade policies and agreements, marketing policies, environmental services, extension programmes, land tenure reforms and climate change adaptations. Case studies in relation to the agri-food policy and strategy response to COVID-19 Pandemic are also covered. This book is of interest to public officials working in agricultural planning and agricultural policy, teachers, researchers, agro-economists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, development studies, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful read.

Assessing impacts of public investments has long captured the interest and attention of the development community. This paper presents the evolution of different methods and approaches used for ex ante appraisal, monitoring, project evaluation, and impact assessment over the last five decades. Among these tools, impact assessment (IA) conducted retrospectively comes closest to providing the proof of development effectiveness. It is defined as the systematic analysis of the significant or lasting changes in people's lives brought about by a given action or series of actions in relation to a counterfactual. There are three basic types of retrospective IAs: macro-level IAs that focus on the contribution of developmental efforts to an impact goal aggregated at a sector or a system level; micro-level impact evaluations (IEs) concerned with estimating the average effect of an intervention on outcomes at the beneficiary level; and micro-level ex post impact analysis concerned with total effects of a development effort after the outputs are scaled-up. Ex post IAs have evolved and expanded over the decades in both breadth and depth of analysis in response to evolving development themes and methodological advancements. The increased emphasis on learning from evaluations has also seen responses from both quantitative and qualitative camps of the evaluation community. The paper argues that generation of robust knowledge that feeds into making developmental policies and investment decisions requires a hierarchical and cumulative approach to "improving the proof" through rigorous and a variety of impact assessment methods applied incrementally at the project, program and system level. Subjecting as many development interventions as resources allow to rigorous impact assessment based on a common framework can help build a critical body of evidence on impacts of development interventions, which can then be subjected to meta-analyses to help assimilate results across different studies and build a knowledge base on what works and what does not.

This reference provides the groundwork, tools, and terminology required when conducting specialized searches for information and resources pertaining to traditional and emerging fields of agriculture. The editors present 16 contributions from librarians and other information workers that offer information on research resources across the academic a

This book is designed to raise awareness of the use of wild plants in farming systems around the world. It describes the contribution of wild plants as a source of food, fuel wood, shelter, medicines and dyes, and their role in income generation for the improved welfare of farm households and local people. Wild plants are also of paramount importance as sources of wild germplasm that might enhance the productivity, disease resistance, winter hardiness, drought survival of cultured species. This publication analyses the potential of wild species, as well as the natural, social, economic, legal and institutional factors that constrain their use and development potential.