AgBEE Key Focus Areas

The Enabling Agricultural Trade project examines the business enabling environment for the agricultural sector (AgBEE) through twelve key focus areas. Each of these areas of inquiry provide a comprehensive method to diagnose the root causes and inefficiencies of an under-performing agricultural sector with a focus on the pertinent legal framework, implementing institutions, supporting institutions and social dynamics unique to the country in question. Missions can further target their analysis by focusing on those areas most relevant to their strategic needs.

More information on Key Focus Areas

• Starting a Business analyzes the conditions under which new or informal enterprises may enter the formal economy, and whether the process for doing so is clear, transparently administered, and business-friendly. In addition to considering the sufficiency of basic inputs (land, labor and capital), the team also considers procedural aspects of launching a firm and operating within the given business environment.
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• Dealing with Licenses covers the breadth of the various types of agricultural licenses required all along the value chain: certification and use of inputs; production; transformation; transport and storage; and marketing. The chapter considers whether or not licenses required for various agribusinesses are lawful, necessary and business friendly, and puts a strong emphasis on the ability and practice for government and industry to work together to facilitate a strong agribusiness environment.
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• Employing Workers examines the legal, institutional and social dynamics underlying the flexibility of labor regulations, as well as other matters critical to the effectiveness and productivity of a country's labor market. This chapter considers not only the legal regime underlying formal employment, but also the system that supports access to education, access to foreign workers as necessary and special labor issues that may arise in the agricultural sector, such as the role of migrant or seasonal workers.
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• Registering Property examines the legal, institutional and social dynamics of registering property in a country, beginning with traditional assumptions about the importance of registering real property (e.g. land), and moving into the related area of moveable (e.g. farm equipment) and intangible property (e.g. intellectual rights). With respect to all three topics, this chapter focuses on the critical concerns of farmers and agribusinesses, including property rights, land use, water rights, and fragmentation of land parcels.
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• Getting Credit examines the overall credit environment in a country with particular focus on 'access to credit' for agribusinesses (large and, informal small). The legal and regulatory framework for secured transactions based on land as collateral is a fundamental starting point. However, this lens is also sharpened to consider special products and opportunities unique to agriculture, including rural and mobile banking, the availability of crop insurance, value-chain financing, and other pertinent topics.
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• Protecting Investors delves into issues pertaining to whether the government sufficiently protects and promotes investor interests, thereby encouraging commitments in the agricultural sector. This chapter also examines alternative dispute resolution, treatment of foreign direct investment and the role of the state versus private industry in investments.
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• Paying Taxes examines the legal, institutional and social dynamics underlying tax collection and compliance in a rural setting. The inquiry is structured to assess multiple levels of trade-related taxation that often pose as an unnecessary burden on agribusiness, and the role of the private sector in related policy making.
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• Competing Fairly looks at the overall "culture of competition" in the agriculture sector. It examines the conditions for free and fair access to inputs, business opportunities, and markets throughout the agricultural sector and whether there is interference or distortion of the sector by governmental or quasi-governmental actors.
  
• Accessing Marketing Infrastructure focuses on marketing infrastructure that is, the physical and information systems necessary to effectively trade agricultural products- and evaluates the laws, institutions, and dynamics that contribute to the development, maintenance, and governance of agricultural marketing infrastructure.
  
• Trading across Borders examines the trade environment in two stages. Trade Policy examines the legal, institutional and social dynamics of international and regional trade commitments, bilateral trade agreements, import and export laws and regulations (including the country's system of tariffs), and "ag-specific" national trade policy. The Trade Facilitation portion of the chapter then assesses the ease of moving agricultural goods across borders.
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• Enforcing Contracts considers the laws, business practices, and social dynamics underlying the use of business contracts in the agricultural economy. The assessment captures the level of effectiveness of the key institutions charged with resolving contract-related disputes, namely courts and mediators.
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• Closing a Business examines the legal, institutional and social dynamics underlying business insolvency and foreclosure in the agricultural sector. Emphasis on private sector treatment vis- a?-vis State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and the importance of the perishable nature of agribusiness commodities are stressed within a broader discussion on the importance of being able to close a business with as few hindrances as possible.
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