Since 2002, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded programs to promote maize, dairy, and horticulture enterprises among smallholder farmers in Kenya under the Strategic Objective 7 of Increased Rural Household Incomes. On behalf of USAID, Tegemeo Institute has...

The development and diffusion of hybrid maize seed in Kenya is a widely documented success story. Yet, to our knowledge, a missing link in existing research on maize hybrids in Kenya has been a rigorous analysis of the impacts of seed adoption on farmer welfare. The objective of this study is to...

Off-farm earnings account for a substantial and growing share of household income among smallholder farmers in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, but evidence concerning the effects of these earnings on investment in food production remains sparse. Conceptually, some factors may push farm families to...

This paper aims to identify the geographic extent of major staple food market sheds in West Africa as well as the major trade corridors that link surplus producing areas with the deficit markets they serve. The method employed combines data on the spatial distribution of rural and urban...

After a burst of enthusiasm through the middle part of this decade regarding the supermarket revolution, there now exists a broad consensus that this phenomenon is likely to proceed much more slowly than once thought in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is especially true in fresh produce supply chains,...

This paper describes the different food policy courses pursued in recent years by four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and documents their differential effects on farmer and consumer behavior. Results are based primarily on a survey and synthesis of recent analysis. The paper...

This paper attempts to develop a set of principles and approaches to food aid, and specifically to monetization, that balance pragmatic short-run considerations against the need to pursue better long-term solutions. The paper summarizes trends in U.S. foreign assistance, and reviews historical...

During April and May, 1994, the questionnaire was completed with the person in each household who was responsible for food purchases. At this time, white maize availability was increasing due to the recent harvest, while yellow maize availability was beginning to decline after a long period of...

This report summarizes an appraisal of input utilization and marketing in Mozambique, focusing on the following research questions: (1) What are current smallholder yields for major commodities, and what is the potential for increasing yields through the use of improved technologies? (2) To what...

Performance of the agricultural sector in developing countries is fundamental to ensuring robust and equitable economic growth and broad-based food security. Yet donor support to agricultural development in developing countries has declined continuously for 30 years. This same period saw...