Following a review of the sample design for the 1997/98 Zambia Post-Harvest Survey (PHS), described in the survey reports, summary results were tabulated from the survey data to examine the distribution of the households for the different domains of analysis such as farm size groups. Summary...

BENCOS is a Lotus 1-2-3 template designed for benefit-cost analysis. This document describes the structure and capabilities of BENCOS, followed by instructions on how to use the template, and comments on possible modifications of the template.

Though Zambia has considerable agricultural potential, the sector’s contribution to growth and poverty reduction has been limited. The sector remains one of the most important employers of labour and remains the main source of livelihood for most rural households in Zambia. Thus key...

The objective of this research was to provide USAID with a diagnostic-prescriptive assessment of the mango commodity system that would be useful in the design and management of USAID’s project portfolio. A secondary objective was to demonstrate how a market-guided food systems approach could...

Michigan State University (MSU) is currently assessing the impact of agricultural research on various commodities in seven African countries: Cameroon (maize, cowpea, sorghum), Kenya (maize, wheat), Malawi (maize), Mali (maize), Niger (sorghum, cowpea, millet), Uganda (oilseeds), and Zambia...

This research addresses two questions: Why is fertilizer not yet fulfilling its potential as a major stimulus to agricultural productivity in SSA? What can be done to improve the situation? Our answers are based on an extensive review of fertilizer response, profitability, and policy literature...

To reverse the declining trends in soil fertility levels in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the use of fertilizers and other land augmenting technologies needs to increase. While overall fertilizer consumption in SSA has increased by as much as 200% from 1970 levels, the growth has been highly...

The objective of this report is to analyze the effects of smallholder commercialization on food crop input use and productivity in rural Kenya. The main research issues were: (1) To examine the determinants of smallholder fertilizer use on food crops, with a focus on the effects of household and...

In 1993, the Sasakawa/Global 2000 Program (SG) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) began a joint program to demonstrate that substantial productivity increases could be achieved when farmers were given appropriate extension messages and agricultural inputs were delivered on time at reasonable...