Empirical studies have shown that while global per capita freshwater availability is declining, competition among production sectors for the withdrawal of this resource is rapidly increasing. This situation is exacerbated by the rapid population growth especially in developing countries,...

The primary marketing of South African mohair has been the topic of much discussion and it has become a contentious issue since producer prices became unusually unstable, producer returns increasingly uncertain, and production consequently began declining. This dissertation has aimed to...

South African agriculture experienced rapid deregulation during the 1990s as the one channel marketing boards were dismantled. For the grains industry this meant the rapid development of a derivatives market (SAFEX). Derivative markets are surely the most intriguing and complex financial markets...

Access to adequate and nutritionally balanced food to achieve a productive and healthy life for all individuals, on a daily basis, has been an elusive challenge in several parts of the world. In many developing countries such as Botswana, increasing per capita food consumption has been hampered...

Prior to 1997, South Africas maize marketing was organised as a single-channel fixed price system that gave privileged rights of entry to buyers and hindered the development of a more decentralized and lower-cost system. This system encouraged concentration in maize milling and gave sheltered...

The objective of this study is to identify the transaction costs factors and household characteristics that influence the farmers choice of cattle marketing channels in Mahalapye district, Botswana. The marketing channels are, typically, the Botswana Meat Commission and the local butchers. The...

A few vertically integrated retail chains increasingly dominate South Africas agro-food supply chain. M+M Planet Retail (2004) placed the market concentration among retailers to be as high as 96% for the top four chains leaving only 4% to the small competitors. The onset of this trend has led to...

This dissertation evaluates the impact of quality certification on the demand for locally-produced infant foods. To avoid stunting or wasting, most children aged 6-24 months need to complement breastmilk with processed foods having higher energy density than adult foods. Donors have subsidized...

Innovations in cassava production are critical for food security and poverty alleviation among many of the most vulnerable populations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the West African context, new varieties have been developed by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (HTA)...

Poverty is higher among farmers with low market participation and low productivity. Governments and international organizations often target either one or the other to improve farmer's income. But the way in which market participation and agricultural productivity affect each other remains...