This paper estimates the profitability of fertilizer and hybrid seeds in Uganda, using agronomic evidence on the yield returns to inputs from experimental fields, as well as output price data from local markets between 2000 and 2012. The results suggest that the returns to fertilizer are...

Might a malaria control intervention entail agricultural effects that allow a commercial agribusiness to offset its costs? The randomized allocation of 39,936 insecticide-treated mosquito nets among 81,597 smallholder cotton farming households in 1,507 clusters helps evaluate this in the context...

Improving the productivity of smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa offers the best chance to reduce poverty among this generation of rural poor, by building on the limited resources farming households already possess. It is also the best and shortest path to meet rising food needs. Using...

While scholars agree on the importance of land rental markets for structural transformation in rural areas, evidence on the extent and nature of their operation, including potential obstacles to their improved functioning, remains limited. This study uses household-level data from six countries...

This paper argues that climate change poses two distinct, if related, sets of challenges for poor rural households: challenges related to the increasing frequency and severity of weather shocks and challenges related to long-term shifts in temperature, rainfall patterns, water availability, and...

Clean, safe energy for rural areas is an important component of green growth and sustainable development. Biogas could be an important contributor, if its record in reality lives up to its expected potential. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of biogas use by smallholder farmers in...

This paper reports the results of a field experiment that randomly assigned smallholder cash crop farmers formal savings accounts. In collaboration with a microfinance institution in Malawi, the authors tested two primary treatments, offering either: 1) "ordinary" accounts, or 2) both ordinary...