Submissions Accepted for Presentation at the World Bank Land Conference 2024

Session
04-02: Key issues affecting rural structural transformation
Time:
Tuesday, 14/May/2024:
10:30am - 12:30pm

Session Chair: Shuhei Kitamura, Osaka University, Japan
Location: MC 7-100


Presentations

To cluster or not to cluster? Land as a binding constraint to cluster-based development in Ethiopia

Guyo Godana Dureti, Martin Paul Tabe-Ojong

University of Bonn, Ethiopia

Cluster farming is increasingly promoted in Ethiopia as one of the agglomeration models spurring rural development. We examine the role of land as a constraint to the development of cluster-based development in Ethiopia. We further disaggregate farm households based on their landholding to better understand potential heterogeneities. We also document other household socio-economic and network characteristics that may matter in cluster farming. Our findings show a positive association between landholding and cluster farming both at the extensive and intensive margins. We also find suggestive evidence that participation rates are lower for small-scale farms, but also declines for large-scale farms. In addition, we show that access to information and network matter in enabling cluster farming. Our findings are relevant in the framework of plans to upscale the cluster-based development initiative in Ethiopia. Attention to landholding issues is key area where policy action can be geared to boost cluster farming.

04-02-Dureti-245_paper.docx


Agricultural mechanization services, moral hazard and by-stage productivity of small farms: evidence from wheat production in northern China

Sheng Yu1, Hangyu Zhang1, Jiping Ding2

1Peking University, China, People's Republic of; 2NORTHWEST A&F UNIVERSITY, China, People's Republic of

The rapid expansion of mechanization services has significantly influenced agricultural production, particularly in developing countries with small farms. This paper investigates how these services affect productivity across different production stages. Utilizing data from 145 wheat farms in Northern China (2013-2020), we analyze inputs and outputs at each stage. Results indicate that while mechanization services generally benefit productivity, they adversely affect the plant protection stage. This stage's inefficiency hampers overall farm productivity, suggesting that carefully selecting mechanization services and providers for each production stage could be crucial for small farms seeking to maximize productivity.

04-02-Yu-455_paper.pdf
04-02-Yu-455_ppt.pdf


Land property rights and resource misallocation evidence from land certification programs in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania

Mamadou Mouminy Bah

University Felix Houphouet-Boigny (UFHB), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

The study employs a farm household-level panel dataset from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania to investigate the relationship between property rights and agricultural socio-economic development. The findings reveal a no-relationship between operated land size, capital, and farm Total Factor Productivity (TFP), indicating significant frictions in land and capital markets. These frictions, associated with land institutions favoring less productive farmers, lead to resource misallocation. However, the study demonstrates that securing land rights through certificates facilitates the reallocation of factor inputs to more efficient farms, resulting in positive aggregate effects. Land certificates also promote rentals, reduce misallocation, and enhance agricultural productivity. Furthermore, the research highlights that obtaining a land certificate influences households' decisions to remain in agriculture, indicating a potential link between secure property rights and migration patterns. The overall implication is that implementing a secure property rights system could significantly improve productivity and resource allocation efficiency in agriculture.

04-02-Bah-284_paper.pdf
04-02-Bah-284_ppt.pptx


Impacts of a mandatory shift to decentralized online auctions on revenue from public land leases in Ukraine

Klaus Deininger1, Daniel Ayalew Ali1, Roman Neyter2

1World Bank, United States of America; 2Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine

We analyze the impact of a 2021 reform in Ukraine that—after earlier digitization efforts did not produce desired results—mandated use of transparent online auctions by local governments rather than a central agency to lease rights to public agricultural land. The shift to a collusion-proof electronic auction system increased lease revenue by 175% for our preferred specification. Had all public land that Ukraine transferred since 2015 been auctioned using postreform mechanisms, local governments would have received incremental lease revenue of US$500 million per year. Where public land is important, reforms to ensure rights to such land are allocated transparently, competitively and in a decentralized way could improve social, economic, and environmental outcomes.

04-02-Deininger-590_paper.pdf
04-02-Deininger-590_ppt.pdf