Vegetable plays important roles in the socio-economic development in West Africa. It contributes to insuring food security, provides raw materials for local industries, generates foreign exchange and provides employment and incomes for most of the population. However some health hazards are...

Cassava is a major staple that supplies more than 50% of daily energy to more than 200 million persons in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Cassava roots are known to be low in micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc. Micronutrient deficiencies threaten the lives of millions of poor households...

Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is the major food and cash crop. Vulnerability analysis was conducted on a sample of 802 households in eight districts of Nyanza and Western provinces. Farmers perceived Striga as the major cause of...

To improve the livelihood of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) much attention has been paid to the development of new agricultural technologies. We hypothesize that farmers can also improve their livelihood through cooperation. Partial cooperation, in which knowledge is shared or bargaining...

This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets,...

Globalization and competitiveness of agricultural commodities could have significant potential benefits for food security and poverty reduction in West Africa. Participation in global trade and economy is potentially important but not enough to ensure benefits at all levels of the chains and...

Une enquête diagnostique a été conduite en zones agro-écologiques côtière et guinéenne du Bénin pour évaluer le niveau d’exposition à l’aflatoxine d’origine alimentaire et l’état nutritionnel et de santé des enfants de moins de 5 ans. La régression multiple et une analyse...

This paper determines the degree or extent of farmer’s risk aversion that affects sustainable maize production in Northern Nigeria. Using a ridge regression analysis, a measure of risk aversion was derived for each individual farmer in a model of safety-first behaviour from a cross-sectional...

The study assesses farmers’ perceptions and willingness to pay for a biopesticide developed from Metarhizium anisopliae a fungi. A sample of 400 conventional and organic cotton producers was randomly selected in cotton producing zones in Benin and interviewed for their perceptions on the...

Pests and diseases caused by bacteria, nematodes, fungi and viruses cause significant losses to tomato in West Africa. This study, carried-out within the framework of the IPM-CRSP implemented jointly by IITA, IER and Virginia Tech. and State University, assesses farmers’ perceptions on tomato...