A principal-agent problem was specified to define the equilibrium solution of a contracting strategy for a U.S. supplier exporting wheat to meet EU traceability requirements. The buyer (principal) offers a contract, the supplier (agent) accepts the contract, and then the supplier decides whether...

This report evaluates the 2006/7 Malawi Government Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme (AISP). The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the impact and implementation of the AISP in order to provide lessons for future interventions in growth and social protection. The evaluation...

This selective brief on Mali’s agricultural sector trends and performance focuses on cereal, livestock and fisheries production. We also review recent developments in the fertilizer sector given the importance of sustainable intensification to reduce pressure on natural resources. We begin...

A key role for USAID and its partners is to identify how their resources can best contribute to increasing the capacity of the private and public sectors in Mali to scale up their investments, and increase the impact of those investments, in relation to the food security dimensions of...

Mali has a high incidence of malnutrition. The fourth Demographic and Health survey reports that in 2006 the incidence of wasting, stunting and underweight children under 5 years of age was 13.8%, 37.9% and 24.5% respectively in rural areas, and 12%, 24% and 25% respectively in urban areas....

This study provides a framework to value investment strategies to mitigate possible agro-terrorism occurrences in the food supply chain and to determine where these investments would reduce the most risk. This framework is applied to two food sectors that could be at risk: milk and green onions....

The grain handling sector in Canada and the United States is vital to agriculture and trade. In a typical year on the Canadian prairies, about 140,000 producers deliver some 20 to 30 mmt of grain for export to primary elevators. In the United States, about 2.1 million producers deliver about 300...

The prospective commercialization of GM traits leads to several strategic questions for agbiotechnology and seed firms. Important issues addressed in this study include the method of trait commercialization by agbiotechnology firms and variety production decisions by seed firms. Specifically,...

Consistency of functional characteristics in hard red spring (HRS) wheat is a concern confronting sellers and buyers. This research analyzes contract incentives for importers with respect to cost and potential risk of acceptance. A principal-agent framework is utilized to examine contract...

Roundup Ready® Wheat (RRW) was one of the first genetically modified (GM) traits for the wheat sector and was under review by regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada when Monsanto withdrew it from further consideration. There are a multitude of issues associated with the ex ante...