This paper outlines the role of improved soil fertility in the process of structural transformation, and examines specific financial, economic, social, and political arguments in favor of promoting increased fertilizer use, particularly in smallholder farming systems. This paper draws...

Critics argue that high external input technologies are too costly for African farmers, and that pilot programs to promote them are economically unsustainable. This paper assesses Sasakawa-Global 2000 programs in Ethiopia and Mozambique; budgets, yield models and subsector analysis help explain...

This paper provides guidelines to assist policymakers and analysts in (1) identifying promising public and private actions for promoting agricultural intensification by improving the availability and profitability of agricultural inputs; and (2) evaluating the relative costs and benefits of...

A wide variety of multilateral and bilateral agencies, private sector firms, and African governments have a need for high quality, reliable data on agricultural productivity. This paper identifies numerous situations where poor data lead to incorrect estimates of African land and labor...