This paper provides a critical review of the literature on non-market valuation methods to estimate the welfare impact of novel products; it is the first study to assess both observed data- and perception-based methods as non-market valuation methods. Observed databased methods include budgets,...

Site-specific application of manure has the potential to improve crop production and environmental quality. If manure is applied where it is needed, in the quantity required by the crop, over application, with attendant runoff and leaching problems can be reduced. To implement this approach...

Kosai, a deep-fat fried fritter made from cowpea, is an important product for economic development and poverty alleviation. Kosai is sold as street food almost exclusively by women entrepreneurs who use the money they earn from selling kosai on savings and daily expenditures for their family. In...

Precision agricultural technology promises to move crop production closer to a manufacturing paradigm, but analysis of yield monitor, sensor and other spatial data has proven difficult because correlation among neighboring observations often violates the assumptions of classical statistical...

Cowpea is the most important indigenous African grain legume for both home use and as a cash crop. Because of its tolerance to drought it is especially important for the Sahel. Genetic transformation of cowpea with Bachilius Thurengius (Bt) genes to control pod boring insects has many...

This study examined two questions related to the adoption of triple-bag storage technology for farmers storing cowpeas in West Africa. First the effect of an extension program, focused on village demonstrations, on adoption was considered. Second, the effect of radio messages to augment this...

The representative farm planning model that is used for the 2005 Purdue University Top Farmer Crop Workshop base case was extended to include managed drainage activities in order to evaluate the impact of drainage management time on farm operations. The analysis considered two alternative...

Member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are expected to form a West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) by 2004 whereby member countries would use a common currency in an attempt to promote regional integration. Evidence suggests that reduction in transaction cost as...

Adapting variable rate technology (VRT) to Argentine conditions requires methods that use inexpensive information and that focus on the inputs and variability common to Argentine maize and soybean growing areas. The goal of this study is to determine if spatial regression analysis of yield...