Agricultural productivity and efficiency measurement Overview of the Global Strategy project OECD Network on Agricultural Total Factor Productivity and the Environment (Paris, 23-24 May 2017) Franck Cachia Statistician, Global Strategy FAO, Rome
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
1 The Global Strategy The Global Strategy to improve agricultural and rural statistics is a global initiative aiming at improving the availability, quality and use of agricultural/rural data in developing countries It has 3 pillars: 1 Produce a minimum set of core data 2 Better integrate agriculture in National Statistical Systems 3 Improve governance and statistical capacity building 25 Research lines (Productivity & Efficiency is one of them) Methodologies, guidelines, field test results published on: www.gsars.org
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale Why this renewed interest in agricultural productivity? There is an urgent need to increase productivity in developing countries to: Feed a rising population (especially in less developed regions of Africa and Asia) Better use ever scarcer resources, especially arable land and water Improve livelihoods (food security and/or cash revenues), in countries where agriculture is often the major economic sector Why should efficiency be addressed? Inputs and resources are ever more constrained Efficiency (how well a given set of inputs is used) = one (important) source of productivity gains Research has mostly focused on technological change, not efficiency Efficiency is less well understood and difficult to measure Policy implications of technology or efficiency-driven productivity are different
2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Indicator 2.3.1: Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size ; Indicator 2.3.2: Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status ; Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture. Africa (Malabo Declaration, June 2014) In order to end hunger in Africa by 2025, at least a doubling of agricultural productivity is needed compared to current levels Need for clear and comparable measurement frameworks Need to support countries to produce these indicators
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
3 Challenges in developing countries Measurement issues General lack of data, poor quality, lack of consistency Imprecise measurement of agricultural output (Kelly et al., 1996): o o By-products used for feed, energy, construction, etc. Mixed cropping with 2, 3 or more crops mixed on the same field Complex valuation of inputs and outputs: o o Importance of self-produced inputs (seed, feed, etc.), self-supplied or shared resources (family labour, exchange labour/service, communal land, etc.) Thin/absent markets: for land, labour, certain inputs and outputs Focus on data collection Prioritize gaps/needs Combine/articulate data collection and estimation Provide sustainable solutions (even if from 1 st best)
3 Challenges in developing countries Measuring output?
3 Challenges in developing countries Institutional and organizational issues Weak statistical infrastructure Low and unstable financial resources Multiplicity of donors, low participation/commitment of national governments (in the less developed countries) Unclear distribution of responsibilities for data collection in agriculture: ministry of agriculture, statistical offices, research organizations, etc. Overlapping and competing data collection activities. Ex: farm surveys + household surveys (LSMS-ISA) + census + ad-hoc studies + Articulation with existing data collection activities Sustainable strategies: compromise btw detail/accuracy/frequency Documentation/Training/Transparency
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
4 - Objectives, approach and activities Focus / Scope Fill methodological and data gaps regarding productivity and efficiency measurement Linking data requirements to indicators Propose practical ways to measure technical efficiency Propose concrete, sustainable and cost-efficient solutions Emphasis on developing countries (-> data collection) Addressing the needs created by the SDGs (-> indicators)
4 - Objectives, approach and activities Objectives Clear and operational definitions of the main concepts Identification of the major data/methodological gaps Identification and description of the main measurement methods Recommendations on What data to collect, how, for what purpose How to construct, interpret and disseminate indicators Product/Activities Literature Review and Gaps Analysis (Feb 2017) Guidelines on agricultural productivity and efficiency measurement (Dec 2017) Field-tests and deskstudies
Contents 1 - The Global Strategy 2 - Productivity and efficiency: rationale 3 - Challenges in developing countries 4 - Objectives, approach and activities 5 - Next steps and timeline
5 Next steps and timeline Literature Review and Gaps Analysis June 2016 January 2017 1 st Workshop (USDA, Dec. 2016) Guidelines 1 st draft June 2017 Field Tests September 2017 2 nd Workshop (FAO, Oct. 2017) Final Guidelines December 2017