In many African countries, as well as in other parts of the world where a significant part of the rural population is poor and food insecure, policymakers face what is called the food price dilemma. On the one hand, they need to provide farmers with incentives to increase the quantity of...

Accurate information on farmer and consumer behavior is the foundation for Identifying public investments and policies that can effectively promote national food security and income growth objectives. This report synthesizes recent findings on smallholder crop marketing behavior and urban...

This paper summarizes empirical results from a synthesis of a set of country studies undertaken by Michigan State University and partner institutions in five African countries, each of which is based upon large-scale rural household surveys. The results demonstrate that the post-death land/labor...

This paper summarizes and synthesizes across the results of a set of country studies on the effects of prime-age adult mortality on rural households in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Zambia. Each study is based on large representative rural household surveys. These findings have...

Document préparé pour l’atelier sur l’utilisation et la commercialisation des engrais, organisé par le MINAGRI et l’USAID, Rwanda du 22 au 23 Février 2001

Paper prepared for the Policy Workshop on Fertilizer Use and Marketing, organized by MINAGRI and USAID, Rwanda, 22-23 February 20001.

This paper examines how the fertilizer sector in general, and farmers’ demand for fertilizer in particular, has evolved since the introduction of fertilizer sector reforms in Ethiopia. There is much debate in the agricultural development literature about whether fertilizer use in Africa is...