The Southern African region, from a purely biophysical perspective, has huge potential for biofuel production, especially in Mozambique and Zambia. Although many of the soils are sandy and acidic, with careful management and correct fertilization, they should be highly productive. We suggest...

The need for energy security and climate change mitigation have increased blending mandates worldwide; in Southern Africa, demand for biofuels could increase following South Africa's planned blending mandates. However, land constraints limit local industry expansion, with demand likely to be met...

Given likely increases in biofuel demand across Southern Africa, we identify suitable production models in Zambia for the Southern African market. This is crucial given, on the one hand, the problems of contract failure and transaction costs that plague outgrower models in Southern Africa and,...

World biofuel production has been increasing to improve energy security and mitigate global warming. Southern Africa's bioenergy demand could increase with South Africa's planned fuel blending mandates, triggering increased demand for feedstocks and agricultural land. Ensuring sustained...

This paper evaluates the greenhouse gas emissions and economic impacts from producing biofuels in Tanzania. Sequentially-linked models capture natural resource constraints; emissions from land use change; economywide growth linkages; and household poverty. Results indicate that there are economic...

South Africa has a nascent biofuels industry and emerging regulatory framework, and although water scarcity limits local supply potential, that of the southern African region appears substantial. This paper describes the results and modelling approach of an assessment of potential biofuel demand...

Many low income countries in Africa are optimistic that producing biofuels domestically will not only reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels, but also stimulate economic development, particularly in poorer rural areas. Skeptics, on the other hand, view biofuels as a threat to food...

We exploit a spatial discontinuity in the coverage of an agricultural extension program in Uganda to causally identify its effects on malaria. We find that eligibility for the program reduced the incidence of malaria by 8.8 percentage points, with children and pregnant women experiencing most of...

This paper presents a descriptive analysis on the ownership of different types of technology - both agricultural machinery and information technology - within households in rural areas of Vietnam. We find that there has been little development in the ownership of agricultural machinery, but a...

The sub-Saharan Africa region recorded the fastest conversion of forest land to agriculture in the past 20 years. The region also has the widest yield gap and together with Latin America and Caribbean has the largest unused arable land. However, there are wide variations across countries and...