Application of Telecommunications Technologies to Agricultural Market Information Systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Chalemba
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Market Information ◽  
Agricultural Market ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Telecommunications Services ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Donor Agencies

This review presents a comparison of the potential of offering agricultural market information services that incorporate information and communications technology (ICT) in Ghana and Malawi. A comprehensive analysis was done involving data on economic indicators related to telecommunications services provided by the statistics division of the United Nations, and the current initiatives on agricultural market information systems in the two countries. The review reveals that Malawi needs more work to be done to improve service delivery of its ICT-based market information system projects than Ghana. Main areas for improvement are mobile phone subscriptions by low-income smallholder farmers, Internet access by the same category of farmers, and sustainability of offering the services in question without heavy reliance on governments and international donor agencies. The recommendations drawn from this review do not only apply to Malawi and Ghana but also to other Sub-Saharan African countries.

Monetary Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Export Prices ◽  
Policy Work ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Policy Guidance

Having broadly stabilized inflation over the past two decades, many policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa are now asking more of their monetary policy frameworks. They are looking to avoid policy misalignments and respond appropriately to both domestic and external shocks, including swings in fiscal policy and spikes in food and export prices. In many cases they are finding current regimes—often characterized as ‘money targeting’—lacking, with opaque and sometimes inconsistent objectives, inadequate transmission of policy to the economy, and difficulties in responding to supply shocks. At the same time, little existing research on monetary policy is targeted to low-income countries. What do we know about the empirics of monetary transmission in low-income countries? (How) Does monetary policy work in countries characterized by a huge share of food in consumption, underdeveloped financial markets, and opaque policy regimes? (How) Can we use methods largely derived in advanced countries to answer these questions? And (how) can we use the results to guide policymakers? This book draws on years of research and practice at the IMF and in central banks from the region to shed empirical and theoretical light on these questions and to provide practical tools and policy guidance. A key feature of the book is the application of dynamic general equilibrium models, suitably adapted to reflect key features of low-income countries, for the analysis of monetary policy in sub-Saharan African countries.

scholarly journals The Finance Growth Link: Comparative Analysis Of Two Eastern African Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Beyene Fanta ◽  
Daniel Makina
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Structural Breaks ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Vector Autoregressive ◽  
Stock Market Development ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper examines the finance growth link of two low-income Sub-Saharan African economies – Ethiopia and Kenya – which have different financial systems but are located in the same region. Unlike previous studies, we account for the role of non-bank financial intermediaries and formally model the effect of structural breaks caused by policy and market-induced economic events. We used the Vector Autoregressive model (VAR), conducted impulse response analysis and examined variance decomposition. We find that neither the level of financial intermediary development nor the level of stock market development explains economic growth in Kenya. For Ethiopia, which has no stock market, intermediary development is found to be driven by economic growth. Three important inferences can be made from these findings. First, the often reported positive link between finance and growth might be caused by the aggregation of countries at different stages of economic growth and financial development. Second, country-specific economic situations  and episodes are important in studying the relationship between financial development and economic growth. Third, there is the possibility that the econometric model employed to test the finance growth link plays a role in the empirical result, as we note that prior studies did not introduce control variables.

scholarly journals The acceptance of covid-19 vaccines in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 6 national phone surveys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelton Kanyanda ◽  
Yannick Markhof ◽  
Philip Wollburg ◽  
Alberto Zezza
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Representative Sampling ◽  
Sub Saharan

Introduction Recent debates surrounding the lagging covid-19 vaccination campaigns in low-income countries center around vaccine supply and financing. Yet, relatively little is known about attitudes towards covid-19 vaccines in these countries and in Africa in particular. In this paper, we provide cross-country comparable estimates of the willingness to accept a covid-19 vaccine in six Sub-Saharan African countries. Methods We use data from six national high-frequency phone surveys from countries representing 38% of the Sub-Saharan African population (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda). Samples are drawn from large, nationally representative sampling frames providing a rich set of demographic and socio-economic characteristics by which we disaggregate our analysis. Using a set of re-calibrated survey weights, our analysis adjusts for the selection biases common in remote surveys. Results Acceptance rates in the six Sub-Saharan African countries studied are generally high, with at least four in five people willing to be vaccinated in all but one country. Vaccine acceptance ranges from nearly universal in Ethiopia (97.9%, 97.2% to 98.6%) to below what would likely be required for herd immunity in Mali (64.5%, 61.3% to 67.8%). We find little evidence for systematic differences in vaccine hesitancy by sex or age but some clusters of hesitancy in urban areas, among the better educated, and in richer households. Safety concerns about the vaccine in general and its side effects emerge as the primary reservations toward a covid-19 vaccine across countries. Conclusions Our findings suggest that limited supply, not inadequate demand, likely presents the key bottleneck to reaching high covid-19 vaccine coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa. To turn intent into effective demand, targeted communication campaigns bolstering confidence in the safety of approved vaccines and reducing concerns about side effects will be crucial to safeguard the swift progression of vaccine rollout in one of the world's poorest regions.

Managing and Motivating

2011 ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
Eilish Mc Auliffe ◽  
Ogenna Manafa ◽  
Cameron Bowie ◽  
Lucy Makoae ◽  
Fresier Maseko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Source Countries

It is now more than a decade since the acknowledgement of the health human resources crisis that exists in many low-income countries. During that decade much attention has focused on addressing the “pull” factors (e.g. developing voluntary international recruitment guidelines and bilateral agreements between recruiting and source countries) and on scaling up the supply of health professionals. Drawing on research conducted in two sub-Saharan African countries, we argue that a critical element in the human resources crisis is the poor working environments in these countries that not only continue to act as a strong “push” factor, but also impact on the motivation and performance of those who remain in their home countries. Unless attention is focused on improving work environments, the human resources crisis will continue in a vicious cycle leading to further decline in the health systems of low-income countries.

P1586Research network in Africa (RNA): antihypertensive drugs strategies in 12 African countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Kane ◽  
P Cavagna ◽  
I B Diop ◽  
B Gaye ◽  
J B Mipinda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Antihypertensive Drugs ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background High Blood Pressure is the worldwide leading global burden of disease risk factor. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of adults with raised blood pressure has alarmingly increased from 0.59 to 1.13 billion between 1975 and 2015. Blood pressure-lowering medicines are cornerstone of cardiovascular risk reduction. Data on management of anti-hypertensive drugs in sub-Saharan Africa are squarce. Purpose Our study aims to describe antihypertensive drugs strategies in Africa. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey in urban clinics during outpatient consultation specialized in hypertension cardiology departments of 29 medical centers from 17 cities across 12 African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambic, Niger, Senegal, Togo). Data were collected on demographics, treatment and standardized BP measures were made among the hypertensive patients attending the clinics. Country income was retrieved from the World Bank database. All analyses were performed through scripts developed in the R software (3.4.1 (2017–06–30)). Results A total of 2198 hypertensive patients (58.4±11.8 years; 39.9% male) were included. Among whom 2123 (96.6%) had at least one antihypertensive drug. Overall, 30.8% (n=653) received monotherapy and calcium-channel blockers (49.6%) were the most common monotherapy prescribed follow by diuretics (18.7%). Two-drug strategies were prescribed for 927 patients (43.6%). Diuretics and Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors was the combination most frequently prescribed (33.7%). Combination of three drugs or more was used in 25.6% (n=543) of patients. The proportion of drugs strategies differed significantly according to countries (p<0.001), monotherapy ranged from 12.7% in Niger to 47.1% in Democratic Republic of the Congo (figure). Furthermore we observed a significantly difference of strategies between low and middle income countries (55.3% and 44.7% of monotherapy respectively) (p<0.001). According to hypertension grades 1, 2 and 3, the proportion of three-drugs or more combination was 25%, 28% and 34% in middle-income and lower in low-income countries (18%, 19% and 25%). Furthermore, Grade 3 hypertension in low income countries was still treated with monotherapy (36%) instead of 19% in middle income countries (p<0.01). Antihypertensive strategies by country Conclusion Our study described antihypertensive drugs use across 12 sub-Saharan countries, and identified disparities specific to the income context. Inequity in access to drugs combination is a serious barrier to tackle the burden of hypertension in Africa.

scholarly journals Trade Costs in the Developing World: 1996–2010

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEAN-FRANÇOIS ARVIS ◽  
YANN DUVAL ◽  
BEN SHEPHERD ◽  
CHORTHIP UTOKTHAM ◽  
ANASUYA RAJ
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Trade Costs ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Group ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Very High

AbstractWe use new data on trade and production in 167 countries to infer estimates of trade costs for manufactured goods and agriculture for 1996‒2010. Trade costs are strongly declining in country income level. Among developing countries, only the upper middle income group has been successful in reducing trade costs faster than elsewhere in the world. Sub-Saharan African countries and low income countries remain subject to very high trade costs. Regional trade agreements, maritime transport connectivity, and trade facilitation performance are important determinants of trade costs.

scholarly journals A Review of Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services in sub-Saharan African Countries: Progress with Private Sector Involvement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Nwafor ◽  
Ifeoma Nwafor
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Systems Development ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Advisory Services ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Agricultural extension and advisory services in Africa have significant impact on food security as well as economic and social development. Recent moves towards a pluralistic delivery system, including the emergence of private-sector led initiatives in many countries are subject of policy and academic discourse. Our study used an adapted, fit-for-purpose market systems development framework to review available research in extension and advisory services in selected sub-Sahara Africa countries. Using a literature survey methodology, we report evidence of multiple actors in extension delivery, findings that point towards evolution towards mixed delivery as well as objectives. While there are significant uptake of cost-recovery approaches among commercially-oriented farmers, many smallholder farmers still depended on donor-funded services. Our review adds to existing knowledge through incorporating a market systems development framework, which extends the often-used willingness to pay approach, and highlights the need for merger of the public and private-sector objectives to achieve developmental outcomes.

scholarly journals Agricultural market information systems in developing countries: New models, new impacts

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 245-258
Author(s):  
Franck Galtier ◽  
Hélène David-Benz ◽  
Julie Subervie ◽  
Johny Egg
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Market Information ◽  
Agricultural Market ◽  
New Models
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