Keith Palmer
Recent Papers on International Development
Innovation in Internal Development Assistance: Ten Years of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG)
This paper reviews the first ten years of PIDG and sets out a number of new initiatives.
Download 'Innovation in Internal Development Assistance: Ten Years of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) ' paper (pdf 0.85mb)
Financing Early Stage Agricultural Development in Africa, published in World Finance, December 2010
Author: Keith Palmer. The paper explains how catalytic finance and patient capital from donors and social impact investors invested in early stage agribusiness can stimulate viable agribusiness investments by private investors and generate major benefits for smallholder farmers and the communities in which they live.
Download 'Financing Early Stage Agricultural Development in Africa, published in World Finance, December 2010' paper (pdf 1.69mb)
Chiansi Irrigation: Patient Capital in Action: InfraCo Briefing Paper, March 2010
Authors: Keith Palmer, Richard Parry, Peter MacSporran, Han Derksen, Richard Avery and Paul Cartwright.
Chiansi adopts a fundamentally new approach to boost food production and incomes of smallholder farmers. The result will be more than tripling of small farmers incomes, much improved food security and empowerment of rural communities. The paper describes the Chiansi model and highlights the critical importance of ‘patient’ capital.
Download 'Chiansi Irrigation: Patient Capital in Action: InfraCo Briefing Paper, March 2010' paper (pdf 0.28mb)
Agricultural growth and poverty reduction in Africa: The case for patient capital. Briefing Paper March 2010
Author: Keith Palmer. The paper asks why, despite the huge agricultural potential in Africa, there has been so little private investment. It shows that there are high barriers to entry which deter investment. The conclusion is that there is a need for ‘patient’ capital from the international community to overcome the barriers to entry and kick-start sustainable, pro-poor agricultural development.
Download 'Agricultural growth and poverty reduction in Africa: The case for patient capital. Briefing Paper March 2010' paper (pdf 0.29mb)
Towards A Green Revolution in Africa
Author: Keith Palmer. Presentation describing the reasons why investment in agriculture in Africa has been disappointing and setting out how the constraints can be overcome. If focuses on the mutual benefits for commercial agribusiness and small farmers of collaboration to improve productivity and incomes illustrating using case studies.
Download 'Towards A Green Revolution in Africa' paper (ppt 3.79mb)
Further papers on International Development