Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia are likely to hold large numbers of very poor rural people into the foreseeable future. Although both history and theory suggest a preeminent role for agricultural growth in poverty reduction in poor agrarian economies, such growth today faces new...

State and market led agricultural development policies are reviewed in terms of their success in addressing ‘low level equilibrium traps' that arise from coordination and transaction cost challenges in poor rural economies characterised by limited economic activity and exchange, seasonality,...

Recent years have seen a resurgent interest in large scale input subsidies, and particularly fertilizer subsidies, in agricultural development and food security policies in Africa. Very high global grain prices in the first part of 2008 appeared to make such subsidies even more attractive, but...