Do transgenic crops cause agrobiodiversity erosion? We hypothesize that they increase productivity and reduce production risk and may therefore reduce farmer demand for on-farm varietal diversity, especially when only a few transgenic varieties are available. We also hypothesize that varietal...

With numerous challenges hindering smallholders’ adoption of externally developed technologies, it is often argued that farmer innovation can play an essential role in rural livelihoods. Yet a rigorous assessment of the impact of farmer innovation is lacking. We address this issue by analyzing...

This paper identifies the effect of aspirations on the adoption of agricultural innovations in the context of rural Ethiopia. While most studies on agricultural innovations have focused on identifying observable and resource-related deprivations or 'external' constraints, a related stream of...

Small-scale irrigation has been identified as a potential adaptation strategy for climate change and boosting food security and livelihoods in dry regions. This study presents the analysis of the potential adoption of small-scale irrigation in two West African countries (Mali and Niger) by using...

Digital tools may help to study socioeconomic aspects of agricultural development that are difficult to measure such as the effects of new technologies, policies and practices on the intra-household allocation of time. As new technologies, policies and practices may target different crops and...

Implementation of suitable innovation packages into cropping systems is required to address the issues of food security and improvement of the crop yield in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, quantification of the effects of innovation packages such as increase in fertilizer application rates,...

After many years of neglect, there is a renewed interest in agricultural mechanization in Africa. Since government initiatives to promote mechanization, e.g., by importing and subsidizing tractors, are confronted with major governance challenges, private-sector initiatives offer a promising...

This discussion paper analyzes the economy-wide impact of a series of agricultural innovations in Malawi. Using an agricultural focused computable general equilibrium model disaggregated to reflect Malawi agro-ecological zones, we simulate three scenarios: one involving smallholders catching up...

In this study, we develop an economy wide model for Burkina Faso to assess the most promising opportunities for technological innovations to enhance maize production and productivity and their economywide effects. We simulate the implementation of two agricultural technological innovations using...

This study seeks to assess the complementarity of education and use of use of agricultural inputs-improved seeds, fertilizers, access to credit facilities (loans)), and the incremental effects of education on intermediate to longer-term economic outcomes (consumption expenditure and poverty)...