Developing Cereal-Based Demand for Fertilizer among Smallholders in Southern Africa: Lessons Learned and Implications for Other African Regions

Crop Production/Industries, Downloads July 2008 - July 2009: 11,

Fertilizer Consumption Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa

Crop Production/Industries, Downloads December 2008 - July 2009: 12,

Alternative Approaches for Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa, with Emphasis on the Role of Subsidies

Crop Production/Industries, Downloads December 2008 - June 2009: 5,

Incentives for Fertilizer Use in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Empirical Evidence on Fertilizer Response and Profitability

This research addresses two questions: Why is fertilizer not yet fulfilling its potential as a major stimulus to agricultural productivity in SSA? What can be done to improve the situation? Our answers are based on an extensive review of fertilizer response, profitability, and policy literature as well as some analysis of crop budgets and aggregate national statistics on fertilizer consumption. Much of the debate about fertilizer use in SSA focuses on two issues: whether the profit incentive is adequate and, if so, whether farmers have the capacity to access and use it.food security, food policy, fertilizer use, sub-Saharan Africa, Crop Production/Industries, Downloads May 2008-July 2009: 153, Q18,

DETERMINANTS OF FERTILIZER ADOPTION BY AFRICAN FARMERS: POLICY ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK, ILLUSTRATIVE EVIDENCE, AND IMPLICATIONS

Crop Production/Industries,

Improving the Measurement and Analysis of African Agricultural Productivity: Promoting Complementarities between Micro and Macro Data

Productivity Analysis,

Promoting Farm Investment for Sustainable Intensification of African Agriculture

Farm Management, Downloads July 2008-July 2009: 9,

Potential utility of renal functional reserve testing in clinical nephrology

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this review is to discuss the concept of renal functional reserve (RFR) and its potential relevance in clinical practice. RECENT FINDINGS: The RFR is a measure of the change in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from baseline to a peak value when the kidney is stimulated to increase its function. This concept has a strong physiologic basis in nephrology and the presence, magnitude or absence of RFR capacity may have prognostic significance in many clinical scenarios where individuals are at risk of hyperfiltration or kidney dysfunction. Unlike in other medical specialties, where organ reserve function is reliably measurable and used routinely, measurement of RFR in nephrology has not been integrated into clinical care. Methodologic challenges including standardization of methods to stimulate GFR and the ability of measures of GFR to discriminate acute dynamic changes in GFR upon kidney stimulation have hampered the robustness and use of RFR measurements in research and clinical care. SUMMARY: Given the emergence of many new disease-modifying therapies in nephrology, it is imperative that we move forward and develop more robust tools to further our understanding of kidney physiology and pathophysiology, such as the RFR, which should be integrated into research and clinical care to support optimal personalization of therapeutic kidney care strategies

Determinants of Farm Productivity in Africa: A Synthesis of Four Case Studies

Productivity Analysis, Downloads July 2008 - July 2009: 20,