Successful agricultural development has resulted in substantial alleviation of poverty and food security in Asia and Latin America since the 1960s. Much of this success can be attributed to the introduction of high-yielding varieties of crops, especially wheat and rice, which have addressed the...

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...

The objective of this paper is to review progress made and challenges remaining as Sahelian governments and entrepreneurs work together to develop the input markets that are so essential to the modernization of Sahelian agriculture. The paper is designed to inform Sahelian decision makers....

A joint research activity of: Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation Grain Marketing Research Project/ Michigan State University. Ethiopia, one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, faces increasing food insecurity unless it can dramatically boost agricultural productivity...

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...

Many African governments responded to the dramatic increases in international and domestic grain prices of 2008 and 2009 through a mixture of trade policy changes and input/output market subsidies. In the case of Mali, the Government put in place a rice promotion program at the beginning of the...

This paper assesses the role that cereal markets have played in stimulating farm-level productivity growth and marketing of staple foods, in responding to changing demand patterns, in satisfying minimum food security needs, and in contributing to poverty reduction in both urban areas (through...

The study of the Linkages between Child Nutrition and Agricultural Growth (LICNAG) seeks to understand the positive and negative repercussions that agricultural-led growth has on children's health and nutritional status. The project's goal is to identify means of strengthening positive linkages...