The rapid increase in adult mortality due to the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa raises great concern about potential intergenerational effects on children. This article estimates the impact of AIDS-related adult mortality on primary school attendance in rural Kenya using a panel of 1,266...

Using a two-year panel of 1,422 Kenyan households surveyed in 1997 and 2000, we measure how primeage adult mortality affects rural households’ size and composition, agricultural production, asset levels, and off-farm income. First, the paper uses adult mortality rates from available data on an...

This study looks at the urban consumption patterns of fresh fruits and vegetables and the major supply chain systems used in the distribution of fresh produce. The study integrates issues of supply chain organization and performance into the analysis of consumer demand for fresh produce. In...

This study examines current consumption patterns of the main staple carbohydrate products in Nairobi -- maize, wheat, rice, and cooking bananas -- in an effort to update policy makers’ knowledge of current urban food consumption patterns. The study also identifies the factors driving changes...

This paper uses information from rural household surveys in 24 districts in Kenya to inform current debate on maize pricing policy. Specifically, it sheds light on how rural farm households are being affected by governmental efforts to support maize price levels. Using information on landed...

Agricultural commodities typically show a strong seasonal pattern in production, with supplies which come off the farm during one or perhaps two distinct periods of the year having to meet relatively stable demand over the course of the entire year. This seasonal pattern in production can give...

Prepared for the COMESA policy seminar on “Variation in staple food prices: Causes, consequence, and policy options”, Maputo, Mozambique, 25-26 January 2010 under the Comesa-MSU-IFPRI African Agricultural Marketing Project (AAMP)

This report uses panel data on 1,267 smallholder households to monitor changes in their access to markets and services. We find that Kenyan smallholders’ proximity to infrastructure, markets, and services has improved markedly over the last decade. These improvements, however, have not been...