Across the developing world, public goods exert significant impacts on the local rural economy in general and agricultural productivity and welfare outcomes in particular. Economic and social-cultural heterogeneity have, however, long been documented as detrimental to collective capacity to...

The collection, primary processing, and subsequent sale of shea-based products make an important contribution to rural women’s cash income in many of Mali’s shea producing areas. Internationally, shea has recently become popular in high-valued cosmetics thanks to its therapeutic...

The Michigan State University (MSU) Dairy Team conducted an industry survey with the objectives of identifying and rating industry priorities. After holding discussion groups across the state, two questionnaires were developed and sent to 2,237 dairy farm owners and operators and 480 allied...

Corn, soybean and wheat producers are facing serious financial challenges. And it is even worse for livestock producers, most of who are also crop producers and are therefore eligible for ACRE. Crops are behind in maturity, some areas of the state need rain, product prices have fallen...

This paper outlines proposed research, using concepts of New Institutional Economics, to identify the factors constraining the emergence of a market for domestically produced improved seed potatoes in Mali. It uses the Principal –Agent model to outline how to investigate the feasibility of...

Published in BioResources, Volume 4, Number 3, 2009, Pages 1070-1087.

As far as farming strategy is concerned, two alternatives are possible, either: a) improve and increase the means of production aiming for a larger size of production without expanding land, or b) expand production by acquisition of new land. The option for either of the two alternatives depends...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the profitability of the main food crops in the context of the current government policy of promoting the use by farmers of improved inputs. This study tried to estimate the magnitudes of costs associated with the use of chemical fertilizer on climbing...

A primary objective of the Agricultural Credit Scheme of 1967 was to accelerate the pace of economic development. Economic development was to be promoted by the credit scheme's expected contribution towards increasing agricultural output and incomes. Agriculture occupies a dominant position in...

Lesotho is largely agrarian. More than 90 percent of the Basotho population lives in rural areas. Agriculture provides an important source of income for over 50 percent of the rural population and is the largest contributor to GDP. Apart from migrant labour in the Republic of South Africa (RSA)...