News
Why merely owning land isn’t enough to empower Africa’s women farmers
In a new blog, DEGRP agriculture researcher Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt explores what it takes to empower women and girls in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.
Zambia’s informal timber trade
In a new video, Zambian loggers share how they’ve benefitted from informal logging and reflect on the challenge of protecting the forest while safeguarding livelihoods.
Agriculture, Diversification, and Gender in Rural Africa
A new book from DEGRP researchers explores how African farmers’ livelihoods have changed over time, with a focus on how change affects men and women differently.
Zambia’s cotton at a crossroads
DEGRP researchers interview cotton farmers and cotton industry officials for their views on what can be done to resolve the issue of side-trading in the Zambian cotton sector.
DEGRP in the media: The impact of malaria testing on worker wellness and productivity in Nigeria
DEGRP-funded innovation researchers Andrew Dillon, Pieter Serneels and Sarah Kopper have had a new blog published by The Conversation Africa. Based on research into the effects of malaria on worker productivity, the blog suggests that treating and testing for...
Photo-stories on the informal natural resource trade and agriculture in Zambia
DEGRP-funded China-Africa researchers from IIED have recently published two photo stories on informality in the Zambian natural resources and agricultural sectors, based on research conducted in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)...
DEGRP in the media: What Tanzania needs to achieve 2020 irrigation target
In a new blog for scidev.net, DEGRP agriculture lead Steve Wiggins reflects on how to boost irrigation in Tanzania, summarising findings from three DEGRP-funded agriculture projects.
The effect of social ties on smallholder agriculture
Researchers from a DEGRP agriculture project on agricultural innovation have recently collaborated with the N2Africa initiative to create a documentary and website sharing their experiences of engaging in participatory research with a farming community near Lake Kivu,...
DEGRP in the media: Invisible irrigators: how small-scale Tanzanian farmers are making a difference
Like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania has committed to boosting irrigation in a bid to increase agricultural productivity. According to official statistics, Tanzania is well below its declared target of one million hectares of irrigated land, but...
Agricultural Supply Chains, Growth and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Researchers from a DEGRP-funded project on agricultural supply chains in sub-Saharan Africa have just released a book based on their research findings: Agricultural supply chains, growth and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Part of Springer’s Advances in African...
Building economic opportunities for a better future
On 28 and 29 October 2016, DEGRP, the Overseas Development Institute and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) co-hosted a conference in Nairobi, Kenya exploring how to boost inclusive economic growth in low-income countries. Over 100 researchers,...
DEGRP innovation research in the media: Producing medicine in Africa
In a new blog for The Conversation Africa, DEGRP-funded innovation researchers Samuel Wangwe and Maureen Mackintosh discuss the importance of upgrading the domestic pharmaceutical sector in Kenya and Tanzania.
Chinese national oil companies in Africa
DEGRP-funded researchers based at the Open University have released a set of short video clips about their research into Chinese oil companies in Africa. Featuring interviews with researchers and members of the project’s international advisory network, the...
DEGRP research findings in Tanzanian government plan
Research findings from a DEGRP innovation project have been included verbatim in the Tanzanian government’s new five-year development plan, released in June. Led by Maureen Mackintosh at the Open University, the project studied the supply chains of essential...
Policy essays: China-Africa: a maturing relationship?
The latest set of DEGRP policy essays explores the implications of changing China-Africa relations for African economic growth and development. Based on discussions at a China-Africa event co-hosted by ODI and the South African Institute for International Affairs...
Achieving Financial Stability and Growth in Africa
DEGRP-funded researchers investigating financial regulation in low-income countries have just released their latest book, Achieving Financial Stability and Growth in Africa. The newest addition to Routledge’s Critical Studies in Finance and Stability series, the...
Stakeholder engagement in Uganda: From findings to recommendations
Arriving at policy recommendations from research findings is no simple task, and ensuring those recommendations are relevant is more complicated still. DEGRP agriculture researchers exploring agricultural investment decisions in Uganda were well aware of this when...
Local health and industrialisation in Africa
In collaboration with Palgrave Macmillan, researchers from a DEGRP-funded project on Industrial productivity, health sector performance and policy synergies for inclusive growth have released their project’s flagship publication: ‘Making Medicines in...
China-Africa: a maturing relationship? Growth, change & resilience
DEGRP, ODI, and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) recently hosted a one day workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa to explore key issues influencing Sino-African relations. Held at the same time as the second summit of the Forum on...
Raising agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa – new event summary
A new DEGRP event summary report aims to shed light on why agricultural productivity isn’t higher in Africa, bringing together discussion highlights from a panel event held in October 2014, as well as commentary from economist Professor Michael Lipton of...
Diffusion of innovation in Low-Income Countries
On 2 November 2015, DEGRP and the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD, University of Oxford) co-hosted a high-level conference on the diffusion of innovation in Low-Income Countries (LICs). Held at ODI’s offices in London, the...
Shaping economic transformation in Tanzania – Policy essays
Inspired by a high-level conference co-hosted by DEGRP and REPOA in Tanzania earlier this year, the latest set of DEGRP policy essays looks at the challenges of and potential solutions for economic transformation and growth in Tanzania. Featuring contributions from...
DEGRP project in UKCDS top 20 impact case studies
Research from a DEGRP-funded innovation project on industrial productivity, health sector performance and policy synergies for inclusive growth has made it into UKCDS’ top 20 most impressive examples of UK research contributing to global development. Submitted to the...
China’s engagement in Africa – expert interviews
DEGRP has just launched a set of video interviews with researchers from our newest research theme – China-Africa. Filmed as part of a workshop in London in July, the interviews offer insights from leading global experts on the current state of China-Africa relations,...
Improving productivity in developing countries
On 8 – 9 July 2015 the Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies (EDePo) at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) conducted its first summer conference, ‘Improving productivity in developing countries: identifying bottlenecks and obstacles to...
New China-Africa research
Africa has seen unprecedented growth in the last decade, with China’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa playing a part in this. Following the launch of the DEGRP China-Africa research stream, five projects have been selected to examine this development impact and...
Building impact over time in Zimbabwe
Ian Scoones, Director of the ESRC STEPS Centre, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, recently wrote a blog discussing the importance of generating impact and how best to sustain it over time. Based on a 15 year study of rural livelihoods in...
Zimbabwe’s new agricultural entrepreneurs
DEGRP-funded researcher Ian Scoones has written two blogs focusing on new agricultural entrepreneurs:‘Zimbabwe’s new agricultural entrepreneurs I: pig production’ and ‘Zimbabwe’s new agricultural entrepreneurs II: Poultry’. Based on findings from the Space,...
The politics of irrigation in Tanzania
In Tanzania, lack of clarity over who should regulate and control water access causes competition between farmers, urban dwellers and foreign investment. A new article published in the Guardian by DEGRP-funded agriculture researchers draws on DEGRP research to set out...
Gender imbalance in Bangladesh’s Garment Sector
DEGRP-funded researchers based at the International Growth Centre have just released a policy brief summarising new evidence from a study into management practices and productivity in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry. Key findings so far include the...
Shaping Tanzanian transformation
This February, ODI and Tanzanian thinktank REPOA co-hosted a high-level workshop in Dar es Salaam, with the aim of discussing challenges and solutions for economic transformation in the country. The event brought together several DEGRP-funded projects, as well as the...
The rural economy in Zimbabwe
Land reform has radically transformed the rural economy in Zimbabwe. DEGRP-funded Researchers from the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at South Africa’s University of the Western Cape have just launched a new series of films that explore the...