Agriculture and Industry in Brazil is a study of the economics of Brazilian agriculture and industry, with a special focus on the importance of innovation to productivity growth. Albert Fishlow and José Eustáquio Ribeiro Vieira Filho examine technological change in Brazil, highlighting the role of public policy in building institutions and creating an innovation-oriented environment. Fishlow and Vieira Filho tackle the theme of innovation from various angles. They contrast the relationship between state involvement and the private sector in key parts of the Brazilian economy and compare agricultural expansion with growth in the oil and aviation sectors. Fishlow and Vieira Filho argue that modern agriculture is a knowledge-intensive industry and its success in Brazil stems from public institution building. They demonstrate how research has played a key role in productivity growth, showing how prudent innovation policies can leverage knowledge not only within a particular company but also across whole sectors of the economy. The book discusses whether and how Brazil can serve as a model for other middle-income countries eager to achieve higher growth and a more egalitarian distribution of income. An important contribution to comparative, international, and development economics, Agriculture and Industry in Brazil shows how the public success in agriculture became a prototype for advance elsewhere.

Governments, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and the private sector have increasingly embraced value-chain development (VCD) for stimulating economic growth and combating rural poverty. Innovation for Inclusive Value-Chain Development: Successes and Challenges helps to fill the current gap in systematic knowledge about how well VCD has performed, related trade-offs or undesired effects, and which combinations of VCD elements are most likely to reduce poverty and deliver on overall development goals. This book uses case studies to examine a range of VCD experiences. Approaching the subject from various angles, it looks at new linkages to markets and the role of farmer organizations and contract farming in raising productivity and access to markets, the minimum assets requirement to participate in VCD, the role of multi-stakeholder platforms in VCD, and how to measure and identify successful VCD interventions. The book also explores the challenges livestock-dependent people face; how urbanization and advancing technologies affect linkages; ways to increase gender inclusion and economic growth; and the different roles various types of platforms play in VCD.

Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Post-war Latin American economies have failed to close the development gap with advanced industrial countries despite more than six decades of attempted reform and undoubted economic and social progress. Two decades into the twenty-first century, there is little sign of this situation changing for the better. Compared with other emerging regions, notably East Asia, Latin America has underperformed in income, productivity, and innovation terms. All of this suggests that the time is right for a thorough assessment of why Latin America's recent pursuit of economic development has proven so elusive. Innovation, Competitiveness, and Development in Latin America provides a balanced and topical analysis of the successes and failures of development policy in post-war Latin America. Across nineteen chapters, experts in the economics and policy of Latin American development and policy identify the challenges at hand. They explore why the region is caught in a middle-income trap, where structural impediments frustrate the achievement of accelerated and sustainable growth. At the same time, potential actions are suggested for creating lasting progress. The chapters address vital issues in the region including established or emerging sources of competitive advantage and technological capability; future areas for comparative advantage; policy effectiveness to address under-investment in human capital; poor infrastructure; and uncompetitive market structures. The chapters in the volume draw on evidence from across the region, including countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Costa Rica. The structural characteristics of economies within the region are identified and the potential implications considered of the re-primarization process witnessed in recent years. The volume concludes with a consideration of policy lessons from these countries and illuminates potential pathways for effective policy action in the region as a whole. With fresh insights grounded in the reality of modern-day Latin America, Innovation, Competitiveness, and Development in Latin America offers scholars and professionals a crucial window into Latin America's long-term developmental trajectory.

Published also in French and Spanish.

Agro-industries are an important source of employment and income generation worldwide, occupying a dominant position in the manufacturing sector of the economy and representing a significant demand driver for agricultural products. As part of its mandate to provide food security for the world s growing population, FAO promotes the development of agro-industries through its technical programs, including activities in the areas of policy advice, capacity building, advocacy, awareness raising and investment promotion. This book represents a contribution of FAO to broaden the understanding of approaches and mechanisms to foster the emergence and sustainability of agro-industries that are competitive and inclusive. With emphasis on experiences from the developing world, the book presents and discusses innovative policies and institutions that are supportive of agro-industries development."