For several reasons, fertilizer subsidies are again popular policy tools. First, there is broad agreement that fertilizer is a critical yet still-underused input for improving productivity and food security in Africa. Second, politicians have felt greater urgency to increase domestic food...

It is generally agreed that increasing agricultural productivity is critical to stimulating the rate of economic growth in Africa. There are many important and often complementary determinants of agricultural productivity. In this brief and the full paper it draws from, the focus is on...

This study was funded jointly by the Regional Strategic Agricultural Knowledge Support System (Re-SAKSS) for Southern Africa, based at International Water Management Institute, Pretoria, South Africa, and by the United States Agency for International Development's Africa Bureau. Much of the data...

Because gender roles and relations are dynamic, programs built on a solid up-to-date understanding of how men and women share labor responsibilities and the proceeds from their agricultural activities have the potential to bring forth positive outcomes. Better information on gender-based...

All governments require accurate information on how the economy functions in order to formulate and implement sound agricultural policies. Policies to ensure food security are no different. Efforts to keep food prices at tolerable levels require information about the competitiveness of the...

In 2011, Zambia recorded its second consecutive record-breaking maize harvest, and aggregate maize production levels in 2011 were more than double the average level from 2006 to 2008. The expansion in maize production over the period corresponds with the scaling up of the Government of the...

The past two years are a tribute to Zambian farmers; they have responded admirably to government efforts to promote maize production. But ironically, rural poverty remains stubbornly high despite the fact that the government has spent over 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product in...

Campaigns to prevent the spread of HIV require accurate knowledge of the characteristics of those most likely to contract the disease. Studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa during the 1980s generally found a positive correlation between socioeconomic characteristics such as education, income,...

Concern about humanitarian crises in southern Africa, especially in light of the surge in world food prices since 2007, has been accompanied by calls for direct government action in food markets. This paper reviews how Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique handled private food markets during the food...

This study estimates the impacts of prime-age (PA) adult morbidity and mortality on crop production and cropping patterns, household size, livestock and non-farm income in Zambia using nationally representative rural farm household longitudinal survey data. The findings provide important...