Purpose: Since the start of seed and other market reforms in the 1990s, the annual number of improved varietal releases for maize in Kenya has increased substantially. Prior to the reforms, private firms were restricted in introducing new varieties, could not protect their intellectual property...

Technological innovation is vital to enhancing agricultural productivity and reducing poverty in many developing countries. Public investment in research and development has historically driven technological change in agriculture; however, recent trends suggest that the private sector may play a...

Unlike the public-sector research that launched the Green Revolution, private firms based in industrialised countries have done the majority of agricultural biotechnology research and almost all commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops. This paper examines consequences of the...

In disadvantaged districts of Bihar, one of the poorest states in India and an area where smallholders dominate, we find that there have been dramatic increases and rapid up-scaling of modern cold storages, triggered by market reform, investment subsidies, and better overall public service...

Summary Policy makers have high expectations for the rural non-farm economy (RNFE). Given high income shares, growing employment, and frequently low capital requirements, they see the RNFE as a potential pathway out of poverty for their rural poor. Yet available evidence suggests that pro-poor...

Summary Modern retail is quickly becoming an important driver of change in food markets in developing countries. However, the impact of this development on basic food prices facing urban consumers is not well understood. In a detailed case study of Delhi, modern retail is shown to emerge...