Supermarkets are traditionally viewed by development economists, policymakers, and practitioners as the rich world's place to shop. The three regions discussed here have the great majority of the poor on the planet. But supermarkets are no longer just niche players for rich consumers in the...

Asset, activity and income diversification lie at the heart of livelihood strategies in rural Africa. This paper introduces a special issue on the topic “Income Diversification and Livelihoods in Rural Africa: Cause and Consequence of Change.” We concentrate on core conceptual issues that...

African farmers have traditionally pursued shifting cultivation in response to population growth and declining soil fertility. Rural population growth and displacement, due to urban expansion and the gazetting of parks and protected areas, have long encouraged the cultivation of new land by...

To satisfy continued growth in food demand without further degrading already low fertility soils or extensifying onto fragile margins, African farmers must pursue "sustainable agricultural intensification" (SAI). SAI requires adequate use of capital to maintain soil fertility and conserve the...

Asset, activity and income diversification lie at the heart of livelihood strategies in rural Africa. This paper introduces a special issue on the topic "Income Diversification and Livelihoods in Rural Africa: Cause and Consequence of Change." We concentrate on core conceptual issues that...

This book chapter presents evidence and explanation on the midex effects market-oriented policy reforms have had on sustainable agricultural intensification in Africa, focusing in particular on incentives to clear forest for cultivation. Much policy reform has been blind to the net effects on...

This paper offers a new, comparative perspective on income diversification in African agriculture. Comparative analysis using household data from three quite different sites -in Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda reveals distinct livelihood strategies, some of which offer demonstrably superior...

The triple challenge of rapid population growth, declining agricultural productivity, and natural resource degradation are not isolated from one another; they are intimately related. However, strategic planning and development programming tend to focus on individual sectors such as the...