This paper explores how Zambia's policy and organizational environment has shaped the development, spread, and more recently, the disadoption of maize technology. It also traces the political motivations that drove the establishment of the policy and organizational framework supporting maize...

This paper is intended to address primarily the determination of the rate of return to previous investments by USAID and GOU in soybean, sunflower, and maize research in Uganda, but will, to a more limited extent, also discuss the anticipated returns to ongoing research in these three commodity...

The objective of this research was to provide USAID with a diagnostic-prescriptive assessment of the mango commodity system that would be useful in the design and management of USAID’s project portfolio. A secondary objective was to demonstrate how a market-guided food systems approach could...

Michigan State University (MSU) is currently assessing the impact of agricultural research on various commodities in seven African countries: Cameroon (maize, cowpea, sorghum), Kenya (maize, wheat), Malawi (maize), Mali (maize), Niger (sorghum, cowpea, millet), Uganda (oilseeds), and Zambia...

This research addresses two questions: Why is fertilizer not yet fulfilling its potential as a major stimulus to agricultural productivity in SSA? What can be done to improve the situation? Our answers are based on an extensive review of fertilizer response, profitability, and policy literature...

To reverse the declining trends in soil fertility levels in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the use of fertilizers and other land augmenting technologies needs to increase. While overall fertilizer consumption in SSA has increased by as much as 200% from 1970 levels, the growth has been highly...

The objective of this report is to analyze the effects of smallholder commercialization on food crop input use and productivity in rural Kenya. The main research issues were: (1) To examine the determinants of smallholder fertilizer use on food crops, with a focus on the effects of household and...

In 1993, the Sasakawa/Global 2000 Program (SG) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) began a joint program to demonstrate that substantial productivity increases could be achieved when farmers were given appropriate extension messages and agricultural inputs were delivered on time at reasonable...

Throughout Africa, per capita food production has been declining since the early 1960s. Cameroon has sought to counter this trend by increasing agricultural productivity through research and extension. In order to establish future investment priorities, policy makers need to know if past...