When food prices shoot over import parity, this often leads to social and political unrest and even the toppling of governments. If markets behaved efficiently and in the absence of trade barriers, food prices should not exceed the price in world markets plus the cost of importing it to domestic...

Zambia’s maize crop grew by roughly 48% between the 2009 and 2010 harvests, leading to the largest crop recorded in recent history. The 2009 maize harvest was also very good, making the 48% rise in 2010 even more remarkable. The forces driving that increase, however, remain widely debated....

One of the Government of Rwanda’s key post-war policy objectives has been to increase agricultural productivity and ensure food security by promoting a transition from semi-subsistence production and marketing practices to intensive production and highly commercialized agricultural markets....

Grain Marketing Research Project, Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation, Addis Ababa

Agricultural commodities typically show a strong seasonal pattern in production, with supplies which come off the farm during one or perhaps two distinct periods of the year having to meet relatively stable demand over the course of the entire year. This seasonal pattern in production can give...

Crop income is the predominant source of income for most rural Mozambican households, accounting for 73% of rural household income on average in 2002, and greater than 80% of the total income of the poorest 40% of rural households. While the Government of Mozambique recognizes the need to...

Rapid urbanization in Zambia means that increasingly heavy demands are being placed on urban food marketing systems. Investment in these systems has been woefully inadequate for many decades, creating supply bottlenecks and health hazards that work against the interests of both farmers and...

Agricultural development is now expected to proceed in a way that maximizes opportunities to improve health and nutrition. Accordingly, the term “nutrition-agriculture linkages” describes the set of relationships that shows the mutual dependence of nutrition, health and agriculture. Changes...

Replaced with revised version of paper 06/16/10.

The 2005 – 2006 marketing campaign was difficult because of the drought that occurred in all countries in the region. As a result, the price of sorghum, millet, maize and rice soared. State actions to improve cereals supply through tax-exempt rice imports did not achieve the expected outcomes....