The study examines the determinants of improved agricultural technologies adoption in Uganda, using a nationally representative panel data set of 1,600 farming households, collected by the Ugandan Bureau of Statistics in 2005/6 and 2009/10. Two agricultural technologies—improved seeds and...

If agricultural markets do not work well in sub-Saharan Africa, it will be inconceivable to increase crop yields, as this requires the increased application of purchased inputs and the marketing of increased output. This study therefore investigates whether and to what extent rice markets...

Selecting sites is an essential step in enabling the assessment of the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site. This paper reports on the process of identifying distinct administrative territories (sites) in which to establish...

Conventional agricultural research approaches have generated research results with limited adoption rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Recently, a new research approach – integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D) was introduced in SSA. The IAR4D approach goes beyond the...

In this paper we investigate the role of poultry in households’ livelihood portfolios, and the livelihood impacts of supply and demand shocks that may be caused by avian flu outbreaks and scares. We focus on four sub-Saharan African countries that represent a spectrum of disease status...

This paper attempts to assess the link between poverty and efficiency in Ethiopia. Based on 214 households drawn from eight Peasant Associations (PAs) from two zones in Ethiopia’s Amhara National Regional State, the study measures the levels of poverty and efficiency, and assessed the...

This paper investigates the interdependence of decisions on the adoption of agricultural technology and the simultaneous interaction between adoption and food security situations of smallholders, using a sample of 260 households from rural Ethiopia. Three agricultural technologies and two food...

Caracal (Caracal caracal) and leopard (Panthera pardus) are perennial problems for sheep farmers on the southern fringe of South Africa’s arid Karoo. In the past, farmers responded to the conflict with blanket culling of predators, a strategy that ecologists understand to be harmful. This...

Using household data from the 2009 General Household Survey, this paper examines the role of natural resource scarcity in rural development in South Africa, with a particular focus on water scarcity. It seeks to examine whether there is a direct link between household water and economic poverty...

Improving local rice production capacity is a key element on the agenda of most countries in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). There are several reasons for this drive: (1) the high levels of rice imports, which constitute a burden on the countries’ financial...