Throughout the year, EBA engages with key stakeholders from government, the private sector, civil society, and academia to ensure effective dissemination of EBA data and analysis. Feedback on EBA indicators and methodology is welcome as part of these activities, and feeds into EBA's research agenda. Please find additional details below.
March 5-6, 2019 | Cameroon
In Cameroon, project findings were presented to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) and senior officials of the Ministry. The presentation was well received, and the Minister appreciated the effort of the Bank in undertaking relevant research for Cameroon that assesses the enabling environment for agriculture and agribusiness. As the next steps, the project findings will be shared extensively within the country among various Government entities and the updated 2019 report is planned to be presented to the Steering Committee meeting of Strategie de Developpement du Secteur Rural (SDSR) and to the Cameroon Business Forum.
November 20, 2018 | Liberia
In Liberia, project findings were presented at a workshop organized by the WB country office in Monrovia with the participation of key Government officials and private sector representatives. The dissemination event was an extension of a World Bank mission on a preparation of the Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P). One of the project’s components focuses on improving the enabling environment for agriculture, within which some of the project's findings will be integrated for developing project activities. In addition, findings for Liberia were also presented to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and other high-level Government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.
February-June 2018 | Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, and Mozambique
Over the last few months, a series of national workshops were organized in Ghana (February 1-2, 2018), Burkina Faso (February 5-6, 2018), Nigeria (February 12-13, 2018), Kenya (April 27-30, 2018), Mali (May 21-25, 2018) and Mozambique (June 4-8, 2018), co-led by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the respective World Bank Country Offices, to launch and discuss the EBA 2017 Report. During the workshops, EBA17 report topic level findings for the respective countries were discussed in the context of broader country plans and challenges and used to support the work program of AGRA’s policy reform unit, Micro Reforms for African Agribusiness (MIRA). The outcome of the evidence-based consultations was the development of a matrix prioritizing key policy and regulatory issues constraining performance in the agriculture sector, formulating policy actions to address them, and proposing next steps for improvements in the respective areas. The workshops drew together participants from the public sector, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the research community – including representatives from the relevant Ministries.
May 28 - June 1, 2018 | Nepal
In Nepal, the team met with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission. In each case, the team examined results of the EBA 2017 Report, deliberated on how they could be used for Nepal’s policy dialogue and discussed next steps. The team also led a workshop to present and discuss EBA results and their relevance within the context of Nepal’s agriculture sector. The participants, which represented a number of input companies, financial institutions, investment firms and agricultural marketing organizations from the private sector, helped tie findings to challenges faced by the sector and expressed their support in the use of EBA findings for targeted policy improvements. The group had useful recommendations on the need to revisit the regulatory framework hindering private sector investments in the country around inputs (seed and fertilizers), challenges related to the availability of finance for agribusinesses and SMEs, and quality control leading to trade facilitation with neighboring countries and beyond.
May 14-17, 2018 | Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, EBA was presented at the Investors Round Table session of the Astana Economic Forum, led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Umirzak Shukeyev. The presentation led to a roundtable dialogue by key government, academic and private sector representatives on conditions for private sector investment in the country. The team also participated in a high-level discussion on enabling agribusiness conditions at the Second Kazakhstan Competitiveness Forum – which gathered several dozen firms and private sector firms, with high level officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Culture and Sport, and Justice.
April 5-6, 2018 | India
In New Delhi, the team participated in an event organized to launch and discuss the EBA 2017 Report. The launch event drew together some 50 participants from the public sector, the private sector, civil society organizations, the research community and multilateral development agencies. The event was co-chaired by the World Bank’s Director for the Food and Agriculture Global Practice, who presented EBA as an instrument to operationalize Maximizing Finance for Development in agriculture, and the representative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, who described key goals and challenges in the country’s agribusiness sector that required an improved enabling environment and enhanced investments. Along with the launch event, a technical workshop was held the same day to discuss further details on EBA and its relevance at state levels. The participants were interested in the implementation of regulations, formal and informal transaction costs, the interpretation scores particularly for topics where India had low scores. A number of points were raised around federal vs state conditions, and the importance of having a similar discussion at the State level.
October 3-5, 2017 | Tajikistan
In Dushanbe, a plenary session on Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) was offered at the Annual Eurasian Food Security Conference, which focused on priorities for policy research to improve food security and nutrition in the region. At the session, the EBA 2017 report and its findings were presented for all Central Asian economies covered by the report, highlighting their relevance for private sector agribusiness investment in the region. The Conference gathered over a hundred participants from the public and private sectors, along with policymakers, representatives of academia and civil society. The evidence provided was appreciated and highlighted by members of the audience, and stimulated dialogue on how to act on this sort of evidence to drive impact on the policy agenda. Representatives from at least two countries expressed interest in further engagement with the work presented to ensure that it informs upcoming policy dialogue and planning in their economies.
September 26, 2017 | Kyrgyz Republic
In Bishkek, a High-Level Roundtable was held on Agribusiness and Value-Chain Development Options, which was centered on findings of the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2017 Report for the Kyrgyz Republic. The two dozen participants gathered at the session included representatives from the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Reclamation, along with the University of Central Asia, the Agribusiness Competitive Center, the Seed Association of Kyrgyzstan, the Aiyl Bank and the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Foundation, amongst others. Participants had the opportunity to discuss some of the benchmarks provided by the EBA report, tying indicator scores to the realities and challenges in each of the areas, and highlighting areas that could be further analyzed and improved based on the report.
June 26, 2017 | The Netherlands
Findings from the Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2017 report focusing on Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Colombia, Vietnam and Myanmar were presented at an event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The event organized in Amsterdam, was attended by over 50 participants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, non-governmental organizations, and private sector and knowledge/research institutes. The launch event was characterized by the high level of interest, engagement and positive response of the audience, and highlighted the use of EBA for country-level analysis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed interest in continuing to support the EBA program.
May 23-25, 2017 | Turkey
In Ankara, EBA was launched and presented at the National Agriculture Workshop organized by Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, to an audience of over 200 participants from several key Government agencies (Ministry of Development, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, etc.) and numerous stakeholders in Turkey’s agribusiness sector. EBA was one of the many pieces presented at the workshop and generated much interest among participants on key issues related to the legislative environment affecting producer organizations, agricultural trade and other marketing-related issues. Through its Director General, the Ministry of Agriculture expressed his interest in EBA findings in a debriefing meeting following the workshop, highlighting the accuracy and value of EBA results for key areas the Government is interested in improving.
May 23, 2017 | Sudan
EBA Presentation in Sudan - May 2017
The World Bank Group Country Office in Khartoum, Sudan successfully launched the Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2017 report at a large event opened by Xavier Furtado, the WBG’s Country Representative for Sudan, and newly-appointed State Minister for Agriculture, HE Sabari Eldow. A high-level panel of public and private sector experts from Sudan’s agribusiness sector was asked to share its views on EBA findings and suggest ways to take forward the report’s recommendations for Sudan. The panel included the Director-General of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the Head of DAL Agriculture, and the Chairman of Mahgoub Sons Group, two of Sudan’s leading agribusiness conglomerates. It was noted that, while Sudan has shown some progress since last year’s report, overall performance has been mixed. It was also suggested that, given the importance of livestock to Sudan’s agriculture and agribusiness sectors, greater attention be given in future reports to regulatory issues surrounding livestock as well as land reforms. Arrangements have been made for the EBA report to be presented later this year to a high-level steering committee comprising Undersecretaries and Directors-General from the Ministries of: Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Water, Irrigation and Energy, Investment, and Animal Resources.
May 22, 2017 | Zimbabwe
The EBA 2017 Report was presented at a day-long workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe, which gathered around 80 key players from different stakeholder groups within Zimbabwe’s agribusiness sector, including government, private sector, trade associations, CSOs, development agencies and academia. Beyond the broader findings of the report, which focused on Zimbabwe’s regulatory environment for agriculture overall, small-group sessions were held on fertilizer, water, finance, markets and land, with valuable contributions from national experts in each field. The event was chaired by Mr. Kumbirayi Katsande, former President of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, who provided valuable insights into Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector and led a panel discussion of experts that included Mr. Tafadzwa Musarara (Chairman of the Zimbabwe Grain Millers Association), Mr. Graeme Murdoch (CEO of Kurima Gold), Mr. Bothwell Nyajeka (CEO of Sable Chemicals), Dr. Sakupwanya (CEO of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority), and Mr. Alex Bara (Senior Economist, Agribank) among other stakeholders.
May 19, 2017 | Zambia
EBA report launch in Lusaka, Zambia - May 2017
The report launch in Lusaka, Zambia was chaired by Mr. Chance Kabaghe, President of Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), who opened the event by offering remarks on the importance of EBA for Zambia and welcoming some of the distinguished participants in the audience – including Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya, Minister of Finance Felix Mutati Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mhango Mwanakatwe and Vice-President of the World Bank for Sub-Saharan Africa Makhtar Diop. The event was attended by 120 individuals from a range of stakeholder groups, including government, private sector, farmer organizations and trade associations, and development agencies from Zambia and across the region.
The launch event was preceded by a technical workshop held with a group of 30 key participants from both the public and the private sectors, in which the report was presented and several topic areas discussed. After describing the importance of and opportunities for agribusinesses in Zambia’s development, and the relevance of EBA to strengthening the surrounding regulatory environment, the EBA team presented the report, with a particular focus on data findings for seed, fertilizer, markets and finance. National experts in each of the topic areas offered a series of comments building on the report’s findings and a constructive discussion with participants followed.
April 3-7, 2017 | Nicaragua & Honduras
The launch event, organized in Managua, Nicaragua in collaboration with the World Bank Group country office, was attended by about 60 participants, including the Ministers of agriculture, water and transport, together with the Ministers’ policy directors, representatives of private sector partners and associations, academia, civil society and think tanks. Other partners included the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC) and the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN). The launch was followed by a technical workshop for the Government’s technical agencies where practical examples of EBA use for policy making and drafting of action plans were discussed. In Tegucigalpa, Honduras, EBA presented the 2017 report and discussed the potential inclusion of Honduras in upcoming EBA reports with the government and the World Bank Group country office.
March 28-30, 2017 | Rwanda & Malawi
Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) launched its 2017 report in Lilongwe, Malawi as part of the Doing Business Forum, organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development. The launch took the form of a technical workshop attended by about 50 participants, including members of the parliament of Malawi, input suppliers, and representatives of the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM). Among the questions discussed were the importance for Malawi of agriculture mechanization, access to finance and harmonization of seed regulations. In Kigali, Rwanda, EBA briefed the Ministry of Agriculture on EBA 17’s findings for Rwanda, and presented the report at a launch event attended by about 20 key participants from the Ministry of Agriculture and donor partners. It has been agreed that EBA will be used to inform current policy discussions and design lead by the government of Rwanda and the World Bank Group country office.
March 1-3, 2017 | Tanzania & Uganda
The Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) held its first regional launch in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, at the 3rd annual Agricultural Policy Conference, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Tanzania and the World Bank. Over 250 participants attended the conference. EBA was heralded as a valuable tool for all stakeholders working in the agriculture sector, particularly as it allows Tanzania to learn from the experiences of others and share its own experience with the global community. Presentations were followed by a technical workshop attended by 30 representatives from the public sector and different regional and international development agencies, focusing on the EBA 2017 report findings for Tanzania.
EBA report launch event in Tanzania - March 2017
A launch event was also held in Kampala, Uganda, with the country’s key CSOs in agriculture. EBA discussed report findings and presented ideas on their use for policy gains with representatives of various CSOs including the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance, the National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE), the Uganda Cooperative Alliance, and the Kilimo Trust. Feedback was collected on the relevance and use of EBA indicators nationally, and participating entities expressed their interest in ongoing engagement.
Engagement with Lao PDR
April 2019
EBA 2017 Report results were presented, in April 2019, at the Government’s Agriculture Sector Working Group meeting, chaired by Vice Minister Dr. Phouang Parisak Pravongviengkham. Given the Prime Minister’s call to strengthen the business environment in Lao PDR, a Government board has been formed to drive this agenda, providing an opportunity to integrate into its analyses and approach the findings of EBA. Follow up meetings were held with the Departments of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and of the Ministry of Agriculture, to discuss how EBA results can be used to support the Ministry’s work on the country’s business climate. Joint actions are being planned to analyze and localize EBA findings in order to identify priority regulatory areas to be strengthened for private sector investment.
Engagement with Cambodia
April 2019
In Cambodia, the project team has been engaging with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Technical Working Group on Agriculture and Water (TWGAW) to discuss regulatory weaknesses underpinning the agribusiness enabling environment. In a March 2019 engagement with the Working Group, co-chaired by MAFF’s Secretary of State Dr. Hean Vanhan, EBA 2017 Report results were presented to close to 100 participants from across relevant government ministries, policy and research institutions, development partners, private sector and NGOs. The Working Group, which is a cross-Ministry entity that focuses on agriculture, has been designated by the country’ Secretary of State for Agriculture as a government technical working committee to develop a work plan around EBA findings. The Ministry of Agriculture also aims to incorporate into its Agriculture Sector Strategic Development Plan (ASDP) and Agriculture Sector Master Plan (ASMP), which delineates the country’s strategy for agriculture until 2030, input based on EBA. Further meetings held with private sector players in the agribusiness sector (agricultural marketing firms, financial institutions and input suppliers) provided further information on regulatory constraints to be examined in upcoming activity around the EBA report.
Engagement with Zimbabwe
February 26-28, 2019
Following up on the launch of the EBA 2017 report in Zimbabwe in May 2017, EBA findings have been included as one of the components of the technical assistance that has been provided by the Bank to the Government of Zimbabwe. As part of this activity, a three-day Agriculture Sector Vision Development workshop was jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank in February which launched the development of a vision for the Agriculture sector for Zimbabwe. A wide range of stakeholders actively participated in the event, including senior policy makers, private companies, development agencies, research institutes, academia and civil society organizations. During the workshop, participants deliberated on some of the EBA17 findings in assessing options for Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector and are preparing to present their assessment at the Investors Forum to be held in Harare in August 2019.
Engagement with Mozambique
February 2019
Following up on a country-level workshop carried out jointly with AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) in June 2018, in which policy options were formulated based on the project's data to develop a national reform program, eight months later project findings were presented to Minister of Agriculture Higino de Marrule and his team. Recent improvements in the enabling environment were discussed, and attention was given to prominent gaps and weaknesses within the agribusiness regulatory framework impacting private investment in the sector. It was agreed that issues raised by the project's data and other relevant enabling environment issues would be included in the processes set in motion to inform the development of a national agricultural strategy for 2020-2030.
Engagement with Kenya
February 2019
After EBA was presented in 2018 to Minister of Agriculture Mwangi Kiunjuri and to Ministry leadership (Permanent Secretaries and Directors), discussions were held in February 2019 to make progress on issues raised by the report. Flanked by a call from President Uhuru Kenyatta to address issues constraining private sector performance in the agriculture sector, the Minister has been keen on making swift and focused progress on some of the issues raised by EBA. Relevant government entities, such as the Department of Crop and Agribusiness Development and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), have been involved in the discussions and have requested World Bank support in the areas covered. World Bank projects will be leveraged with this aim.
Engagement with Kazakhstan
May 2018
EBA was presented in May 2018 to high level officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Culture and Sport, and Justice, and discussed with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of the country, Umirzak Shukeyev. The Minister of Agriculture has announced a decision to form a Working Group to study the Enabling the Business of Agriculture report, and to develop plans and recommendations to address the weaknesses identified by the indicator set.
Engagement with Kenya
April 2018
EBA was presented in April 2018 to newly appointed Minister of Agriculture Mwangi Kiunjuri and to the Ministry leadership (Permanent Secretaries and Directors). The Minister instructed his Permanent Secretaries to study the report findings and to follow up on the issues raised. Several Permanent Secretaries and Directors expressed interest in deepening on certain topics and in arranging follow up activity to discuss some of the areas highlighted by the report.
World Bank / AGRA Workshops
October 2017 and March 2018 | Tanzania and Malawi
Following up on the launch of the EBA 2017 Report in each of these two countries, a national workshop was organized in both Tanzania and Malawi, co-led by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the respective World Bank Country Offices, to discuss the EBA 2017 Report and identify reform opportunities that would strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness. During the workshops, EBA17 report topic level findings for the respective countries were discussed in the context of broader country plans and challenges and used to support the work program of AGRA’s policy reform unit, Micro Reforms for African Agribusiness (MIRA). The outcome of the evidence-based consultations was the development of a matrix prioritizing key policy and regulatory issues constraining private investment and performance in the agriculture sector, formulating policy actions to address them, and proposing next steps for improvements in the respective areas. The workshops drew together participants from the public sector, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the research community – including representatives from the relevant Ministries.
Law, Justice and Development Week
November 7, 2017 | Washington DC, USA
EBA presented EBA Land dataset at panel discussion on women's right in access to and control over land, and explained how the data produced by the EBA project can inform the research in this field and contribute to strenghtening the legal and policy frameworks promoting women's security of tenure. The Law, Justice and Development Week aims to build and strenghten collaboration and exchange among lawyers and judges working with development institutions, governments, academia, civil society and others.
Agribusiness Development Workshop
October 12-13, 2017 | Nairobi, Kenya
Presentation of EBA findings at workshop organized around EBA, attended by around 30-40 key stakeholders from the agricultural sector, including government representatives, private sector players, civil society and the development community. The enthusiastic response of the participants led to the development of a solid set of recommendations for strengthening the country’s agribusiness enabling environment, and laid out the prospect of presenting the EBA report and the associated recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture.
Private Sector Development Task Force
October 10, 2017 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Presentation and discussions on EBA findings for Ethiopia at the Private Sector Development Task Force (PSDTF) chaired by the Agriculture Transformation Agency (ATA). Discussions were attended by the Ethiopian government, development partners, civil society organisations and other international organisations, chambers of commerce, private sector associations and representatives of private sector companies. The PSDTF expressed great interest in EBA findings for Ethiopia. Comments highlighted its relevance for ongoing policy dialogue and planning. Complementarity and synergies between the aims of the Grow Africa Partnership and the work of EBA were also highlighted, given the recognized impact of the enabling policy/regulatory environment and the streamlined processes on investments. Joint efforts between the two initiatives will be an important part of the progress that the Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) aims to drive. Discussions identified further opportunities to bring the evidence provided by EBA to the attention of policy makers, including meetings and dialogue with the Ministry of Agriculture and with the Investment Climate Commission. The PSDTF will be a primary platform for incorporating EBA findings into the sector’s development, and the leadership and support of both ATA and AGRA will help identify and develop some of these opportunities to enhance the value of EBA findings for Ethiopia’s policy dialogue.
IPPC Seminar on Plant Health and Trade Facilitation
October 10 , 2017 | Rome, Italy
EBA's Coordinator, Cesar Chaparro Yedro, presented the background of the programme, its country coverage, thematic coverage, and the methodology used by the programme, highlighting that in its current stage, the programme had finalized data collection for 62 countries and was now analyzing policies, and refining its methodology. Some findings from the programme were detailed, including data indicating that it is cheaper and faster to obtain a phytosanitary certificate in countries that have electronic processes in place and that can conduct inspections and issue certificates on-site.
International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage
October 9, 2017 | Mexico City, Mexico
EBA presentation entitled “Water law’s untapped potential for supporting water security in developing countries,” during a dedicated session on water security for growth and development. This presentation introduced the EBA Water dataset to a broader audience of potential end users, and explored several examples of how the EBA Water dataset can be used to create new models for cross-learning between countries. The presentation aimed to spread recognition among technical audiences of the importance of the legal framework for supporting the spread and implementation of the new water management practices and techniques being discussed at the Congress.
Annual Eurasian Food Security Conference
October 3-5, 2017 | Dushanbe, Tajikistan
EBA attended the Annual Eurasian Food Security Conference held October 3-5, 2017 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to present EBA findings for Central Asia, highlighting their relevance for private sector agribusiness investment in the region. The Conference – which gathers public and private sector leaders and policymakers, representatives of academia and civil society – aims to identify priorities for the agri-food sector in the region and produce actionable, evidence-based recommendations for the Eurasian Food Security Program.
Agribusiness and Value-Chain Development Roundtable
September 26-27, 2017 | Kyrgyz Republic
EBA 2017 was presented to an Agribusiness and Value-Chain Development Roundtable, attended by high-level officials and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration. EBA indicators and data findings for the country were presented, and the discussion focused on the use of EBA as a tool that can inform policy making.
7th IWA-ASPIRE Conference and Water Malaysia Exhibition
September 11-14, 2017 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
EBA presentation on the role of regulations in water security: conflicting evidence from the Asia Pacific Region.
European conference dedicated to the future use of ICT in the agri-food sector, bioresource and biomass sector (EFITA)
July 2-6, 2017 | Montpellier, France
EBA panel participation on the role of ICT regulations in agribusiness and rural development.
CAADP Partnership Plaform
June 2017 | Kampala Uganda
In June 2017, EBA was presented at a plenary session of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform held in Kampala, in the context of the Bank’s continued engagement with the CAADP process in addressing the Malabo declaration and on the value of EBA findings within this process. A session was also offered on EBA in the Agricultural Policy Learning Forum organized prior to the CAADP conference.
IAMO Forum 2017
June 21-23, 2017 | Halle, Germany
EBA’s Program Manager, Federica Saliola, participated as keynote speaker in the international conference on "Eurasian Food Economy between Globalization and Geopolitics". The conference aims to provide a platform to discuss ongoing research and different strategies to ensure food security and intensify trade in the context of geopolitical tensions and divergent trade integration efforts. The conference is organized by the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and in partnership with the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations (OA).
Korea Rural Economic Institute
June 28-30 | South Korea
EBA met with the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) to present and discuss EBA’s progress and findings during its first phase and plans for EBA 2019. Much of subsequent discussion focused on the relevance of EBA findings for small-scale producers and traders. KREI committed to becoming familiar with EBA findings and its plans for future development.
US-Africa Business Summit
June 14, 2017 | Washington DC, USA
Participation to a panel on agribusiness dissecting the Enabling Environment for Agribusiness, focusing on the role that business regulations play in helping or hindering business development on the continent. The focus of the presentation was specifically on seeds, fertilizers, water and the regulatory framework applicable to them.
5th European Research Conference on Microfinance
June 12-14, 2017 | Portsmouth, UK
EBA presented a research paper, titled “How can regulations promote financial inclusion?”, which uses data from the Finance indicators of the EBA project, and finds strong and positive association between regulatory environment and financial inclusion. Countries that have adopted good regulatory practices in the areas measured by EBA Finance indicators are showing better financial inclusion scenario, indicated by higher probability of individuals to open an account and save at a formal financial institution.
International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research
June 2, 2017 | Berkeley, USA
EBA presentation on rethinking agriculture transformation through business regulation and on the Business environment for the bioeconomy in Africa
Presentation of EBA at the Africa Finance and Agribusiness Conference
May 22-23, 2017 | Cairo, Egypt
EBA engagement with CSOs
April 20, 2017 | Washington DC, USA
On April 20, 2017, Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) presented the project and participated in a panel discussion at the World Bank’s annual Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF). The CSPF is held twice per year alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) Spring and Annual Meetings, and provides an open space for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to dialogue and exchange views with WBG and IMF staff, their peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of topics. The agenda includes a roundtable with WBG Executive Directors and about 40, mainly CSO-organized, policy dialogue sessions that reflect the diversity of CSO policy concerns. For more details, see here.
The EBA session, entitled “An Improved Regulatory Environment for Agricultural Inputs, Services and Market Access,” presented EBA goals and coverage, drawing upon EBA data on finance, gender and environmental issues to highlight the granular nature of the data collected. EBA was presented by the WBG’s Lead Agribusiness Specialist, Christopher Brett, and CSO representatives Alison Griffith (Practical Action), Roger Johnson (National Farmers Union of the United States and the World Farmers’ Organization), and Rufaro Madakadze (Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa) discussed the usefulness and relevance of EBA data. The capacity for global benchmarking exercises such as EBA to spur essential regulatory and policy reform was emphasized by the panel, as was the value of objective metrics to define and measure progress. The panelists and audience further commented on the potential to embed data on environmentally sustainable agriculture and gender-sensitive issues within EBA’s formal scored indicators in future cycles. Finally, members of the audience inquired regarding country coverage for EBA 2019, indicating that EBA could be particularly useful in certain countries that have yet to be included in the dataset. The potential for EBA to expand eventually beyond horticulture to address other sectors such as fisheries or niche markets was also raised, with panelists and the audience expressing the value of any such effort.
Alongside CSOs, a range of stakeholders – governments, donors, companies, investors and other private sector entities, academia, World Bank colleagues – have been critical participants in the development, promotion, refinement and success of EBA. The team welcomes the opportunity to engage with new partners in this regard and encourages any interested parties to reach out with comments via E-mail
Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty
March 20-24, 2017 | Washington DC, USA
Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) reached out to the global community of land governance professionals earlier this year at the 18th Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty (Washington DC on March 20-24, 2017), with a view to explaining its coverage of issues related to rural land productivity and the functioning of land markets. The Conference has become one of the largest international events on land governance, attracting over 1,200 participants from governments, academics, civil society, and the private sector. The 2017 conference, entitled “Responsible Land Governance: Towards an Evidence-Based Approach”, focused on the role of data and evidence for realizing land policy reform, identifying strategies for working at scale, and monitoring achievements. For more details, see here.
The EBA 2017 Report was presented at the session “Global Status of Quality of Land Regulation in 2016,” chaired by Chris Jochnick, President and CEO of Landesa. Augusto Lopez Claros (Advisor to the Chief Economist) opened the panel with a discussion on the importance of indicators for development, explaining how in the last two decades the World Bank has increased the design of actionable and sustainable indicators, with the ultimate goal of sensitizing governments to the need for regulatory and policy reforms. Adrian Gonzales (Senior Economist, World Bank), presented the Registering Property and the Quality of Land Administration Indicators developed by the Doing Business project and Federica Saliola (EBA Program Manager, World Bank), presented the EBA 2017 Report, highlighting its main findings and the challenges for the next round of data collection. Finally, Klaus Deininger (Lead Economist, World Bank), who originally founded the Conference back in 2000, presented the EBA Land indicator and the new data on land tenure.
The CEO of Landesa and several members of the audience highlighted the importance of indicators such those developed by EBA or Doing Business and emphasized their ability to animate and guide important policy debates. Going forward, the EBA team will work to refine the Land indicator and the scoring methodology that was piloted this year to fully integrate it into the EBA scored data set in the 2019 report.
Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) experts consultation
March 2017 | Rome, Italy
The EBA 2017 report was presented at the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) at a seminar attended by 50 experts, including the Assistant Director General and the Director of the Economic and Social Development Department. Discussions focused on EBA objectives, methodology, and main findings at the global, regional and country levels. The seminar was followed by a discussion with the FAO senior management on ongoing and future collaborations with the EBA, and in particular with the Monitoring and Analyzing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) and the Data Portrait of Smallholders programs.
17th African Seed Trade Association Annual Congress
March 1, 2017 | Dakar, Senegal
Presentation of EBA 2017 report's findings for the seed indicator at the annual congress of the African Seed Trade Association attended by nearly 300 delagated from 47 countries representing the seed sector.
Participation to the 8th Argus Africa Fertilizer Conference
February 15-17, 2017 | Cape Town, South Africa
Panel participation at the general assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development
February 1, 2017 | Brussels, Belgium
Presentation of EBA's livestock indicators to the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate
January 26-27, 2017 | Surrey, UK
Mapping the legal gender gap in agriculture
Policy Note | December 2018 | Elaine Panter and Nisha Arekapudi
When taken together, two World Bank Group data sets—Women, Business and the Law, and Enabling the Business of Agriculture—consider legal frameworks surrounding women’s access to agriculture and highlight gender gaps in the sector. This paper uses the two data sets to map the legal gender gap in agriculture across economies.
USAID Feed the Future - Policy Data Snapshots
External Publication | June 2018 | USAID Enabling Environment for Food Security Project
The primary objective of the Feed the Future Enabling Environment for Food Security project is to support the Feed the Future Initiative to address enabling environment factors that affect food security outcomes, including but not limited to legal, institutional, and market constraints within the food system. The project has prepared briefs featuring selected data from the EBA 2017 report most relevant to each country's Feed the Future work. Profiles are available for: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
UNCTAD-World Bank Knowledge into Action Note: Creating an Enabling Environment
External Publication | March 2018 | UNCTAD and World Bank
Drawing on EBA project methodology and data, this note produced by the World Bank and UNCTAD seeks to provide guidance on how to create an investment climate that is conducive to attracting high-quality, responsible investment in agriculture.
The role of ICT regulations in agribusiness and rural development
Policy Note | October 2017 | Marina Kayumova
ICT facilitates farmers’ access to real-time data on agricultural practices, seed varieties, pest management, diseases outbreaks, market prices, and weather information. This information is important for farmers to sustain and diversify their production, take well informed decisions on sale activities and negotiate better prices for agricultural products, all of which ultimately contribute to greater market participation and potentially higher income. The author explores the relationship between regulations and ICT development indicators. Results suggest that higher quality regulatory frameworks for ICT are associated with higher mobile internet market penetration and better developed ICT infrastructure.
Regulatory constraints to agricultural productivity
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8199 | September 2017 | Raian Divanbeigi and Federica Saliola
Over the past decades, agriculture has been rediscovered as a sector with great potential for triggering growth, reducing poverty and inequality, providing food security, and delivering environmental services. This paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of agricultural development by investigating the role played by laws and regulations. In this paper, the authors propose new measures of regulatory quality and efficiency in agriculture, and test the relationship between those measures and agricultural performance.
The regulation of agriculture in developing East Asia
Policy Note | June 2017 | Raian Divanbeigi and Marina Kayumova
Regulation is a key component of a country’s business environment due to its impact on costs, risks and barriers to competition. Laws and regulations impact agricultural production through unique and evolving dimensions. The authors examine how governments in East Asian countries foster the competitiveness of agricultural entrepreneurs through better regulation.
Measurement and patterns of the world agribusiness trade
Research Policy Brief from the World Bank Malaysia Hub No. 5 | January 2017 | Fabian Mendez-Ramos and Nina Paustian
How to measure agribusiness trade and how it has evolved over time? How is it linked to other activities of the economy and what role can it play in development? The authors from the World Bank’s Development Research Group and Enabling the Business of Agriculture provide a framework to measure internationally traded agribusiness and discuss patterns of world agribusiness trade in recent decades.
Structural transformation of the agricultural sector: a primer
Research Policy Brief from the World Bank Malaysia Hub No. 2 | March 2016 | Raian Divanbeigi, Nina Paustian and Norman Loayza
The structural transformation of the agricultural sector has been characterized by the relative decline of basic agriculture, the rising importance of agribusiness, which includes the value added for agro-related industries and for agricultural trade and distribution services; as well as the growing share of high-value agricultural products in international trade with respect to traditional exports. The authors look at the processes that shaped structural transformation in agriculture.
