Book Chapter

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    Harvesting Prosperity: Technology and Productivity Growth in Agriculture; Investing in Innovation
    (2020)
    Agriculture's sustainability and productivity depend heavily on research and development (R&D) efforts to overcome resource limitations and adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paper examines the role of innovation policies in shaping agricultural R&D investments and their impact on productivity growth, especially in the context of evolving global markets and technological advancements. Key factors influencing agricultural innovation include the need for local adaptation, challenges in technology dissemination, and addressing market failures. The paper emphasizes the importance of public investment in R&D, private sector engagement, and international collaborations to enhance agricultural productivity. It also highlights the significance of creating an enabling environment and building human capital to support innovation in agriculture.
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    Feeding Africa’s soils: Fertilizer policy
    (2019) Joseph Rusike; Oumou Camara
    Fertilizer production and utilization in Africa are profoundly influenced by governmental policies at both national and regional levels. These policies have extensive ramifications across the fertilizer value chain, including finance availability, pricing, institutional arrangements, infrastructure development, and market dynamics. Despite substantial investments and policy efforts, Africa still faces challenges in achieving agricultural transformation through improved fertilizer use. This chapter explores the significance of policy and regulatory frameworks in shaping fertilizer industries, detailing policy formulation processes and implementation experiences across selected countries in Africa. It highlights the prevalence of subsidies as a key policy tool but also delves into the myriad challenges, including bureaucratic hurdles, financial constraints, market inefficiencies, and regulatory shortcomings. The chapter emphasizes the need for private sector involvement, market competitiveness, and policy reform to address these obstacles and enhance fertilizer accessibility, quality, and affordability for smallholder farmers. Furthermore, it examines the complexities of policy development and implementation, emphasizing the technical and political dimensions involved. The chapter concludes with insights into specific country experiences, offering a comprehensive overview of fertilizer policy landscapes, regulatory mechanisms, and ongoing challenges in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi.
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    Feeding Africa’s soils: Fertilizer subsidies
    (2019) Mahamadou Nassirou Ba; Marie Claire Kalihangabo; Joseph Rusike; Oumou Camara
    Fertilizer promotion programs in Africa have undergone significant evolution since their inception in the 1970s. Initially characterized by direct government expenditures and interventions to stimulate fertilizer demand and usage, these programs faced challenges of sustainability and effectiveness. Structural adjustment programs in the 1990s led to the discontinuation of many of these programs, only to witness a resurgence following the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers. This resurgence saw the implementation of targeted subsidy programs across several African countries, aimed at increasing agricultural productivity. The phases of evolution encompassed top-down government management, liberalization, private sector expansion, and recent shifts towards market-based systems. Today, most sub-Saharan African countries have some form of subsidy program in place, albeit with varying degrees of government involvement and private sector participation. As governments transition towards regulatory roles, the focus is on improving subsidy program design, implementation, and performance. Smart subsidy programs, private sector involvement, investment in supporting infrastructure, and complementary measures are highlighted as key strategies for enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of fertilizer subsidy programs in Africa.
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    Socio-Economic Considerations in Biotechnology Regulation: Producer Choice
    (2014) Ari Novy; Latha Nagarajan
    SECs relevant to producer choice include freedom of choice, income security, control over production, contamination of organic agriculture, and farmers’ rights to save seeds; however, producer concerns are heterogeneous in time and space.
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    Water Productivity and Potato Cultivation
    (2003) Walter Truman Bowen
    This chapter provides a review of work done at the International Potato Center (CIP) on improving water productivity in potato. Generally, potato is shallow-rooted and sensitive to even mild water deficits. Most of CIP’s work related to water productivity was done in the 1980s as part of a research programme to develop improved germplasm and agronomic practices for potato production in warm tropical environments. Heat-tolerant as well as drought-tolerant materials were selected and tested under a range of warm climates, with studies conducted to quantify evapotranspiration, stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, soil water dynamics and root growth. These same parameters were also determined in agronomic field experiments designed to quantify the effects of mulching, intercropping and close plant spacing on yield and water-use efficiency. Although needed, similar detailed studies on water-productivity components have yet to be done for potato grown more commonly in cooler environments at high altitudes in the tropics.