In this episode of Development Dialogues, a panel of experts dissect one of Africa’s most persistent development challenges: the low productivity of smallholder farmers. Despite decades of investment, innovation, and policy reform, yields on African small farms remain significantly below those in high-income countries—even when similar technologies are used.

The discussion explores the nuanced landscape of African agriculture with panelists Gérardine Mukeshimana, Christopher Udry and Mark Rosenzweig. Together, they examine the limitations of smallholder models, opportunities for structural transformation, and the imperative of inclusive rural development.

• Gérardine Mukeshimana is Vice-President of the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). She has extensive knowledge of and networks in agricultural and rural development, including with other multilateral development banks and climate funds.
• Christopher Udry is the Robert E. and Emily King Professor of Economics at Northwestern University and former director of the Yale Economic Growth Center. He is a development economist whose research focuses on rural economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa. His current research examines technological change, risk and financial markets, gender and households, property rights, psychological well-being and economic decision-making and a variety of other aspects of rural economic organization.
• Mark Rosenzweig is is the Frank Altschul Professor of International Economics at Yale University and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is an elected fellow of the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of Labor Economics, and the Bureau of for Research and Analysis of Development (BREAD).

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In this episode of Development Dialogues, host Catherine Chaney is joined by Max Bearak, Anant Sudarshan and Jessica Seddon to examine one of the most complex challenges in global development: how can the clean energy transition move forward both quickly and equitably, particularly for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) still grappling with poverty?

A central tension throughout the discussion is the balance between emissions reductions and economic growth. While wealthy nations historically contributed the most to climate change, LMICs are now under pressure to take costly action.

• Max Bearak is a reporter for The New York Times who covers international climate negotiations, energy politics, and new approaches to reducing emissions. His recent Poynter Lecture at Yale asked: Why are the rich failing the poor on climate change?’
• Anant Sudarshan is an economist at the University of Warwick and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. His work focuses on environmental regulation and air pollution, and he’s the senior editor of an upcoming VoxDevLit on that topic.
• Jessica Seddon is a governance and environmental policy expert whose career spans India and the U.S. She focuses on how institutions can better use data to tackle challenges like air quality and climate risk. She is currently a Senior Fellow at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, director of the Deitz Family Initiative on Environment and Global Affairs, and faculty affiliate of Yale’s Economic Growth Center.

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Vocational training programs are designed to boost employment in low- and middle-income countries — but often they fall short. In the fourth in our series of Development Dialogues, we examine the real impact of vocational training programs in low- and middle-income countries. Our guests take on pressing questions around evidence, expectations, market realities, and coordination challenges in designing skills-based interventions for employment:

• Oriana Bandiera is the Sir Anthony Atkinson Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, where she also directs the Hub for Equal Representation. Her research explores how economic policies and institutions shape labor markets and development outcomes. Bandiera delivered the 34th Simon Kuznets Memorial Lecture on the topic of “Development and the Organization of Labor,” hosted by EGC.
• Stefano Caria is a Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick. He uses experimental methods to investigate how to make labor markets work better for the poor. Caria was also senior editor for a VoxDevLit on Barriers to Search and Hiring in Urban Labour Markets.
• Munshi Sulaiman is the Director of Research at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development and a Professor in the Master of Development Studies program at BRAC University. He brings a unique lens from decades of applied work in organizations like BRAC and Save the Children, focusing on labor markets, poverty, and the practical realities of designing and scaling programs.

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