Productivity gaps of 321 groundnut farmers from Uganda and Kenya were analyzed based on data from the 2009 growing seasons, using the stochastic production frontier model of Battese and Coelli (1995). Productivity gaps associated with the use of improved versus local seed varieties, with the...

This article leverages on the application of the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) to analyze quantitatively the broader livelihood factors confounding cattle market participation in the Okhahlamba Local Municipality (OLM) for the purpose of informing agricultural extension programmes in...

In this paper we examine empirically the effect of Information and Communication Technologies on the adoption of improved rice varieties and its indirect effect on productivity with focus of the rural radio in Burkina Faso. The econometrics framework adopted is the Rubin Causal Model that has...

The study examined resource productivity analysis of small scale root and tuber crop farmers in Niger State, Nigeria. Data used for the study were obtained from primary source using a multi-stage sampling technique with structured questionnaires administered to 150 randomly selected root and...

Information asymmetry has traditionally constrained smallholder farmers’ access to markets. Past studies indicate that it inhibits adoption of modern technologies that have the capacity to enhance productivity of smallholder farms. Hence, farm productivity and agricultural transformation is...

This paper traces the trajectories of successful commercial smallholders operating under differing sets of market institutions. Analysis focuses on maize, cotton and horticulture, three widely marketed crops with strikingly different market institutions. Maize receives intensive government input...

Although many countries have made significant progress in the last decade, poverty and malnutrition continue to be major problems in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Experts estimate that rising food prices have driven about 44 million people into poverty in developing countries since June 2010, as food...

The NERICA varieties are modern rice varieties developed by AfricaRice which won its creator Monty Jones the 2004 World Food Prize. They are widely believed to offer hope for Africa’s Green Revolution because of their ability to grow under multiple stresses as well as their high response rate...

A Tobit model censored at zero was selected to examine factors explaining differences in production efficiency amongst resettled farmers. Efficiency scores obtained from Data Envelop Analysis (DEA) were used as the dependent variable. From the factors inputted in the model, age of household...

Although agriculture is widely regarded as a major channel through which poverty and food insecurity in Africa can be curtailed, the continent’s agricultural productivity has been abysmal. Farm input subsidy is becoming a popular policy tool that African governments are using to improve...