Improving Agricultural Productivity and Market Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean : How ICTs Can Make a Difference?

Agricultural growth rates in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region have been much slower than the rest of the developing world. In the regions of East Asia, South Asia and Middle East and North Africa, the annual growth of agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1980-2004 exceeded 3 percent, while growth in Sub- Saharan Africa averaged almost 3 percent. This paper attempts to present an overview of the agricultural sector in LAC, discuss its distinctive features, and the potential role of Information and Communication Technology's (ICTs) in improving agricultural productivity and market efficiency in this region. The discussion in this paper will refer to the evidence provided by studies that evaluate the impact of ICTs interventions. While the emphasis will be put on the studies that evaluate interventions in the LAC region, there will also be references to studies in other developing economies whenever these are pertinent to the LAC context. The commercialization of agricultural products has suffered important transformations in recent decades, posing big challenges for farmers in the LAC region. Finally, the adoption of agricultural technologies will also be constrained by insecure land rights. Investing in technologies with long-run returns will not be attractive if farmers are uncertain about their property rights in the future (Jack, 2011). This is certainly an issue in several countries in LAC, where land conflicts, expropriation and de facto ownership are common.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	González-Velosa, Carolina, Goyal, Aparajita
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012-03
Subjects:	ACCESS TO INFORMATION, ACCESS TO MARKETS, ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGIES, AGRIBUSINESS, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY, AGRICULTURAL EXPORT, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES, AGRICULTURAL GROWTH, AGRICULTURAL INCOMES, AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY, AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION, AGRICULTURAL MARKET, AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACCESS, AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, AGRICULTURAL MARKETS, AGRICULTURAL POPULATION, AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AGRICULTURAL PRICES, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, AGRICULTURAL SALES, AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES, AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY, AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, AGRICULTURE SECTOR, ARABLE LAND, BANANA, BANANAS, BROADCASTS, BUSINESS MODEL, BUSINESSES, BUYER, BUYERS, CARIBBEAN REGION, CELL PHONES, CHILD LABOR, CLIMATE CHANGE, COMMODITY, COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, COMPETITIVENESS, CREDIT MARKETS, CROP DIVERSIFICATION, CROP VARIETIES, CUTTING, DAIRY, DAIRY CORPORATION, DAIRY FARMERS, DEFORESTATION, DEMAND FOR FOOD, DIGITAL DIVIDE, DIRECT MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS, DISTRIBUTION OF WATER, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS, DOMESTIC CONSUMERS, E-LEARNING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMICS, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS, EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, EXPORT PERFORMANCE, EXTENSION AGENTS, EXTENSION SERVICES, FAIR TRADE, FARM, FARM EMPLOYMENT, FARMERS, FARMING METHODS, FARMING TECHNOLOGIES, FARMLAND, FARMS, FEED, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FINANCIAL PRODUCTS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, FISH, FISHERIES, FIXED COST, FLOW OF INFORMATION, FOOD DEMAND, FOOD INDUSTRY, FOOD MARKETS, FOOD PRICES, FOOD PROCESSING, FOOD PRODUCTION, FOOD SAFETY, FOOD SALES, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SERVICES, GLOBAL POVERTY, GLOBALIZATION, GRAIN, HARNESS, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HUMAN CAPITAL, ICT, ILLITERACY, INCOME SMOOTHING, INFORMATION FLOWS, INFORMATION GAPS, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, INNOVATION, INSTALLATION, INSTANT MESSAGING, INSTITUTION, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, IRRIGATION, KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION, LACK OF INFORMATION, LAND DISTRIBUTION, LAND OWNERSHIP, LAND REFORMS, LAND RIGHTS, LANDHOLDINGS, LIMITED ACCESS, MARKET INFORMATION, MARKET OPPORTUNITIES, MEAT, MILK, MOBILE PHONE, MOBILE PHONES, NATURAL DISASTERS, NATURAL RESOURCES, NETWORKS, NEW MARKETS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW TECHNOLOGY, NGOS, PERSONAL COMPUTERS, PESTS, PILOT PROJECT, POOR INFRASTRUCTURE, POOR RURAL AREAS, PRICE INFORMATION, PRIVATE INFORMATION, PRIVATE SECTOR, PROCUREMENT, PRODUCER SURPLUS, PUBLIC SERVICES, QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY REQUIREMENTS, QUALITY STANDARDS, RADIO, REGIONAL LEVEL, REGIONAL STUDY, REMOTE AREAS, RESULT, RESULTS, RETAIL SALES, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL POOR, RURAL POPULATION, RURAL POVERTY, RURAL POVERTY REDUCTION, RURAL REGIONS, RURAL SERVICE PROVISION, RURAL SERVICES, RURAL VILLAGES, SANITATION, SATELLITE, SEARCH, SMALL FARMERS, SMALL HOLDERS, SOCIOLOGY, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, SPATIAL DISPERSION, SUBSISTENCE, SUPERMARKET, SUPERMARKETS, SUPPLY CHAIN, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, SUPPLY CHAINS, SUPPLY NETWORKS, TELECOMMUNICATION, TELEPHONE, TELEPHONE SERVICES, TELEVISION, TRACEABILITY, TRADE BARRIERS, TRANSACTION, TRANSMISSION, TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION, USERS, VALUE CHAINS, VOLUME, WHITE PAPER, WIRELESS SERVICES,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/03/16240673/improving-agricultural-productivity-market-efficiency-latin-america-caribbean-icts-can-make-difference https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18017
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