Thanks to the implementation of CRIAR's program, beneficiary households diversify their crop portfolio, producing nontraditional crops with greater value added in larger areas. At the same time beneficiary households are modifying their household economy, moving from self-sustainment toward a more market-oriented structure. Carlos Pacheco is one of 17,000 beneficiaries … [Read more...] about Short-term triggers of agricultural productivity in Bolivia
IADB
Protecting the Mesoamerican Lung
by Joseph Milewski* After decades of abuse in Guatemalan jungle, the IDB launched a program compatible with the conservation of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. It develops alternative activities for the inhabitants in the fields of agriculture, tourism, environment and culture. In Guatemala, the deafening chatter of macaws and guttural shrieks of monkeys are but two of … [Read more...] about Protecting the Mesoamerican Lung
How effective are land property rights interventions on improving investments and agricultural productivity?
by Mario González Flores and Leonardo Corral Recent studies show that de jure recognition of tenure through the provision of a registered title or certificate boosts productivity by 40%; and increases consumption or income of beneficiary households by 15%. Access to land and the ability to make productive use of that land is critical to poor people worldwide … [Read more...] about How effective are land property rights interventions on improving investments and agricultural productivity?
A homemade recipe for a completely sustainable sewage treatment process
by Gastón Gertner How to treat wastewater in an environmentally friendly and cost effective manner. This summer, I got to know Violeta Reynal and Ezequiel Bella in Villa La Angostura, on the shores of Nahuel Huapí Lake in Argentina. Thirty-something, married, and fed up with the chaos of Buenos Aires, they decided on a change of lifestyle after a year of … [Read more...] about A homemade recipe for a completely sustainable sewage treatment process
Cows and kilowatts: opportunities for development
by Jesús Tejeda A program in Ecuador is a classic example of how electrification in isolated rural and urban areas can raise living standards and boost economic growth. Each morning at 4 a.m. as the cocks begin to crow, women in the Prado communities of Ecuador's Pichincha province put on their woolen pants, wrap-around shawls, and bowler hats, and head into the hilly … [Read more...] about Cows and kilowatts: opportunities for development