Improving soil carbon through conservation agriculture in developing countries may generate some private benefits to farmers, as well as sequester carbon emissions, which is a positive externality to society. Leaving crop residue on the farm has become an important option in conservation agriculture practice. However, in developing countries, using crop residue for conservation agriculture has the opportunity cost of feed for livestock.

A new EfD/RFF Book titled "Land Reforms in Asia and Africa - Impacts on Poverty and Natural Resource Management" is planned for 2012. Editors are Professors Stein Holden and Keijiro Otsuka.

The research project on land reforms is ongoing, and a first book workshop was held on Jan 24-25, 2010, at Peking University.

New land reforms are again high on the policy agenda and low-cost, propoor reforms are being tested in poor countries.

The chapter explores the links between ecosystem services (ES) and agricultural productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Where feasible, the discussion presents, in economic terms, the contribution of ES to agriculture, the social and agricultural costs of poor management of ES, and the opportunities that harnessing these services present to farmers and to society. Both cropping and animal production systems are covered, as are actors from smallholders to large agribusinesses.

This study evaluates the labor response of rural households participating in the Grain-for-Green program in China, the largest payments for ecosystem services program in the developing world.

This report documents recent policy innovations for the conservation and management of ecosystem services in China.

Poor Kenyan farmers in rain-fed, risky environments are reluctant to adopt new technologies with potential production gain because of enormous downside risks.