This paper examines the technical and institutional efficiency of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme implementation in Iganga district. The Cost Effective Analysis (CEA) and stochastic frontier analysis methods were used to examine technical efficiency while...

Crop production forecasts are widely recognized as an important input into food balance sheets and for anticipating production shortfalls. However, the role of accurate crop production forecasting systems in mitigating food price instability and transitory food insecurity is often...

Africa has inherited highly arbitrary political borders that vastly complicate current efforts to accelerate agricultural growth and reduce hunger. Because Africa’s inherited political borders arbitrarily partition agro-ecological zones and natural market sheds, current country borders serve...

Malawi continues to rely on maize for household food security. Policies to enhance food security continue to target maize production. Traditionally production and use of cassava was localized in lakeshore areas until the past two decades when maize production was increasingly affected by...

This study on the impact of import support on food security was conducted in eight developing countries -including Indonesia- that were facing food insecurity and were recipients of subsidized exports and food aid. In Indonesia, the analysis of import flows in comparison with overall production...

Key Points • Zambia’s maize crop grew by 48% between the 2009 and 2010 harvests, leading to the largest crop recorded in recent history. • Yield growth accounted for 59% of the maize production growth between 2009 and 2010. Expansion of area planted to maize explains an additional 23%,...

Agriculture’s impact on climate change is unambiguous although its role is multifaceted as it is a source of greenhouse gases but also a sink. It’s feasibility to mitigate climate change has raised interest, but thorough studies about the net benefits of the mitigation practices are needed....

Pig farming is one of the strongest polluters of water resources due to its intensive production techniques and slurry rejection. Several European countries have already introduced environmental regulations aiming at reducing the pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, but not...

Many developing countries are currently experiencing a rapid expansion of supermarkets. New supermarket procurement systems could have important implications for farming and wider rural development. While previous studies have analyzed farm profit and income effects, possible employment effects...

Presentation to USDA Economists Group, Washington, DC, 10 June 2008