Does Agricultural Intensification Pay?

dc.creatorAihounton, Ghislain
dc.creatorChristiaensen, Luc
dc.date2023-04-17T22:42:22Z
dc.date2023-04-17T22:42:22Z
dc.date2023-04-17
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-01T00:30:43Z
dc.descriptionModern inputs and mechanization are promoted across Africa to raise smallholder labor productivity and broker the structural transformation. Yet, adoption has remained low and the implications for returns to labor and labor allocation remain poorly understood. This paper explores the effects of different intensification packages on farm performance, market orientation, and food security using data from lowland rice farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. Employing a multinomial treatment effect model, the findings reveal that intensification increases land and labor productivity, especially when agro-chemicals and mechanized land preparation are combined. Returns to labor double to triple, inducing specialization and greater market orientation as well as greater food security, while productively releasing agricultural labor for other activities. Labor in agriculture becomes more waged. The gender balance remains the same. Child labor input does not decrease. The findings call for greater attention to labor productivity and confirm that agricultural intensification can pay, and enhance rural transformation.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.formattext/plain
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099712204172313714/IDU04dc2640501148049d908da207087df89833b
dc.identifierhttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39701
dc.identifier10.1596/39701
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/404933
dc.languageEnglish
dc.languageen
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relationJobs Working Paper; Issue No. 73
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rightshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.rightsWorld Bank
dc.subjectRURAL TRANSFORMATION
dc.subjectINTENSIFICATION
dc.subjectFARM PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectSPECIALIZATION
dc.subjectFOOD SECURITY
dc.titleDoes Agricultural Intensification Pay?
dc.typeWorking Paper

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