Mmatlou Kalaba

Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) · Commodity Markets and Foresights

This article aims to estimate the effects of ICT intensity on labor productivity, employment and output of agro-processing industries. To achieve this, the ICT intensity index is applied to rank industries into ‘more ICT-intensive’ and ‘less ICT-intensive’ groups. Thereafter, the annual growth rates of labor productivity, employment and output were...

The Returnable Plastic Crates (RPCs) were introduced into the tomato industry due to its effectiveness in curbing tomato postharvest losses in Nigeria; however, the level of adoption remains low. The study examines the factors including the socioeconomic characteristics and barriers influencing the adoption of RPCs among tomato traders in Lagos sta...

Background: Very little has been researched about the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and impact of food-based approaches on the diets and nutritional status of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. This study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hu...

Amidst conflicting narratives in development circles regarding the drive for nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the displacement of household production by supermarket penetration into deep rural areas, little is documented about the design of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programmes in the context of changing food systems. This is the first co...

Amidst conflicting narratives in development circles regarding the drive for nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the displacement of household production by supermarket penetration into deep rural areas, little is documented about the design of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programmes in the context of changing food systems. This is the first co...

Background Very little has been researched about the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and impact of food-based approaches on the diets and nutritional status of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. This study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hung...

Executive Summary (max 400 words) South Africa has committed to becoming a low-carbon and climate-resilient nation by signing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The country set greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets of 34% and 42% by 2020 and 2025, respectively. While these are ambitious, the gesture is commended. A c...

This paper serves to examine whether the growth in labour productivity (LP) in South Africa’s manufacturing sector, following policy reforms after 1994, can be attributed to ICT use. To achieve this, we examine the link between ICT intensity and LP growth of 23 manufacturing industries for the period 1970–2016 and sub-periods 1970–1995 and 1996–201...

With African economies slowly departing from the emphasis on the theory of comparative advantage, which seemed to imply a policy of continuing export of primary goods, the interest in exporting processed or value-added products has become quite widespread, leading to questions about the empirical effects of such measures on local industries. The ai...

South Africa has a competitive and viable food production sector which enables the country to be a consistent net exporter of agricultural products. Lately, the business and labour organisations have raised concerns that the government’s intention to implement the carbon tax policy will affect the food supply, subsequently exacerbating the unemploy...

In spite of the enormous risks facing developing countries in the trade arena, empirical studies have not adequately addressed the impact of risk on bilateral trade. The research that has been done isolates the impact of one type of risk and this methodology falls short in helping us understand the true impact of risk on trade. This situation is as...

The computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is often used to analyse the effects of policy changes because of its ability to capture multi-sectoral inter-linkages within the economy. The results of a CGE analysis largely depend on the database, policy shock and elasticities. Trade elasticities, such as the Armington elasticities, play a central...

The aim of this paper is to identify the types of rural financial services and their effect on livestock production in Ethiopia. Financial services are essential for protecting and improving the livelihoods of rural populations. The financial service offerings to the agricultural sector in Ethiopia face gaps in terms of demand and access to financi...

The aim of this paper is identifying the types of rural financial services and its effect on livestock production in Ethiopia. Financial services are essential for protecting and improving the livelihoods of rural populations. The financial service offerings to agricultural sector in Ethiopia face gaps in terms of access to financial services and d...

The establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995 and the subsequent proliferation of regional and bilateral trade agreements resulted in the decline of global tariffs. However, other trade and regulatory measures have increased and thus restricted potential trade to some extent. These measures, non-tariff measures (NTMs), have also affecte...

The article identifies South Africa's strategic citrus markets among its major export partners using three complementary methodologies. Firstly, South Africa's major markets for citrus are characterised according to a growth-share matrix to identify strategic country markets. Secondly, the paper uses an Indicative Trade Potential analysis to identi...

A source differentiated, almost ideal demand system was estimated for the EU's import demand to examine the competitiveness of South African fruits. South African fruit products appear to be influenced by changes in expenditures in European Union. There is evidence of complimentary relationship between South African apples and those from United Sta...