For transition countries, the food industry sector is a key industry in terms of output andemployment shares. As a competitive sector that receives substantial foreign directinvestments (FDI), it plays an important role as an element in the process of integration in theEuropean and world market....

Quantification of welfare changes due to trade liberalisation play a crucial role for political decision making. However, meaningful comparisons of simulation results from different sources are difficult. Often significant differences in simulated gains from liberalisation do not serve to...

This article is based on a socio-economic impact study of the introduction and adoption of tissue-culture (tc) technology in banana production in Kenya. It attempts to demonstrate that a prudent introduction and promotion of a new biotechnological innovation in farming can make a positive...

To improve the welfare of the rural poor and keep them in the countryside, the government has been spending 40% of the value of agricultural GDP on agricultural support services. But can investment make smallholder agriculture prosperous in such adverse conditions? This paper derives an answer...

The measurement of the impact of technical change has received significant attention within the economics literature. One popular method of quantifying this impact of technical change is the use of growth accounting index numbers. However, in a recent article Nelson and Pack (1999) criticise the...

During the 2004 food crisis in Niger, the weakness of the main production system, millet, to produce enough food to sustain short term crises, has been revealed. Questions arise how the Nigerian smallholder systems can be assisted by research and development policies to intensify production and...

There has been considerable debate but little empirical analysis among academics, policy makers, and civil society about whether intellectual property rights would induce private research in developing countries. China passed its plant variety protection act (PVPA) in 1997 which allowed us to do...