Prices Paid to Cotton Farmers: How Does Zambia Compare to its African Neighbors?

1. Zambia has paid among the best nominal seed cotton prices to farmers in SSA since 1995. 2. By a more refined measure (share of FOT), during 1995-1999, Zambia paid prices comparable to those in Tanzania (a very competitive sector), and substantially higher than in Mozambique and WCA. However, from 2000-2005, Zambia's pricing performance fell, and exceeded only Zimbabwe and Mozambique in our sample 3. The recently announced reference price for 2008 of ZKW 1,200/kg of seed cotton was negotiated and jointly announced by ginners and farmers. It amounts to about 53% of FOT at current exchange rates and Index A prices; about equal to recent shares received by farmers in Zambia, but well below levels in WCA and Tanzania. 4. What “rules of the game” are needed for farmers and ginners to continue working together so that the costs and benefits in Zambia’s cotton sector are shared equitably?food security, food policy, Zambia, cotton, Crop Production/Industries, Q20,

Urgent Need for Effective Public-Private Coordination in Zambia’s Cotton Sector. Deliberations on the Cotton Act.

Cotton is an unquestioned success of Zambia’s turn towards a market economy. Yet the entry over the past two years of new players has put the sector under great stress and may have pushed it to a turning point. Now more than ever, effective “rules of the game” are urgently needed to protect Zambia’s remarkable cotton success story. Other countries in southern and eastern Africa have seen dramatic declines in input credit and extension to farmers, and in cotton quality, when competition among ginning firms intensified in the absence of suitable rules of the game. The focus in Zambia must be on establishing broadly accepted rules of the game that ensure honest competition that does not undermine input credit, extension, and cotton quality.food security, food policy, Zambia, cotton, production, marketing, Crop Production/Industries, Q20,

Farm Yields and Returns to Farmers From Seed Cotton: Does Zambia Measure Up?

1. Farm yields are one key indicator of the productivity of a cotton sector, and an important determinant of returns to farmers (and thus of cotton’s ability to reduce poverty) 2. Zambia’s relatively good performance on input credit provision means that it has been able to raise yields since reforms in 1994; yet the rate of increase has been slow, and yields remain well below those found in countries of West and Central Africa. 3. Average returns to farmers do not appear to be any higher in Zambia, with good performance on input credit provision, than in Tanzania, where input use and yields are low. 4. Zambia’s concentrated structure gives it the potential to substantially increase farm productivity, and for cotton to make but relatively little of this potential has yet been realized. The key challenge for sector stakeholders, once the Cotton Act is passed, is to agree on a coordinated approach to address this problemfood security, food policy, Zambia, cotton, Crop Production/Industries, Q20,

An Economic Analysis of Precision Application of Lime at Reduced Rates

Acidity is a growing concern for crop production in Zambia, affecting more than 300,000 smallholder farmers in all agro-ecological regions of the country. Unfortunately, evidence shows that lime applied at traditionally recommended rates of more than two metric tons per hectare are not only unattainable but also unprofitable in smallholder systems. This study uses data from on-station trials and demonstration plots to determine yield and financial gains from precisely applied lime at reduced rates. The results from marginal analysis show that lime applied at such reduced rates can be profitable in maize, soybean and groundnut production. When combined with compost, marginal returns can be as high as 150 percent. Keywords: Lime, reduced rate, marginal returns, Zambi

Association of Genetic Variants With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Among Individuals With African Ancestry.

Importance:Primary open-angle glaucoma presents with increased prevalence and a higher degree of clinical severity in populations of African ancestry compared with European or Asian ancestry. Despite this, individuals of African ancestry remain understudied in genomic research for blinding disorders. Objectives:To perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of African ancestry populations and evaluate potential mechanisms of pathogenesis for loci associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. Design, Settings, and Participants:A 2-stage GWAS with a discovery data set of 2320 individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma and 2121 control individuals without primary open-angle glaucoma. The validation stage included an additional 6937 affected individuals and 14 917 unaffected individuals using multicenter clinic- and population-based participant recruitment approaches. Study participants were recruited from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, Tanzania, Britain, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Peru, and Mali from 2003 to 2018. Individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma had open iridocorneal angles and displayed glaucomatous optic neuropathy with visual field defects. Elevated intraocular pressure was not included in the case definition. Control individuals had no elevated intraocular pressure and no signs of glaucoma. Exposures:Genetic variants associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. Main Outcomes and Measures:Presence of primary open-angle glaucoma. Genome-wide significance was defined as P < 5 × 10-8 in the discovery stage and in the meta-analysis of combined discovery and validation data. Results:A total of 2320 individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma (mean [interquartile range] age, 64.6 [56-74] years; 1055 [45.5%] women) and 2121 individuals without primary open-angle glaucoma (mean [interquartile range] age, 63.4 [55-71] years; 1025 [48.3%] women) were included in the discovery GWAS. The GWAS discovery meta-analysis demonstrated association of variants at amyloid-β A4 precursor protein-binding family B member 2 (APBB2; chromosome 4, rs59892895T>C) with primary open-angle glaucoma (odds ratio [OR], 1.32 [95% CI, 1.20-1.46]; P = 2 × 10-8). The association was validated in an analysis of an additional 6937 affected individuals and 14 917 unaffected individuals (OR, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.09-1.21]; P < .001). Each copy of the rs59892895*C risk allele was associated with increased risk of primary open-angle glaucoma when all data were included in a meta-analysis (OR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.14-1.25]; P = 4 × 10-13). The rs59892895*C risk allele was present at appreciable frequency only in African ancestry populations. In contrast, the rs59892895*C risk allele had a frequency of less than 0.1% in individuals of European or Asian ancestry. Conclusions and Relevance:In this genome-wide association study, variants at the APBB2 locus demonstrated differential association with primary open-angle glaucoma by ancestry. If validated in additional populations this finding may have implications for risk assessment and therapeutic strategies