Methods for Diagnosing Agricultural Research Constraints in Sub-Saharan Africa

Agricultural research has had limited impact in sub-Saharan Africa. Attempts to transfer modern biological and mechanical technologies have been unsuccessful. This paper argues that scientists' failure to conceptualize the mixed cropping systems of low-resource African agriculture in a manner that treats conser­vation of resources as an output similar to annual crop output has impeded research progress. Insights permitting such a refor­mulation of the classical production function have been recorded over the years by many perceptive field observers, but these have not been systematized so as to inform the research effort on the physical science side. This paper contributes some methodologi­cal proposals

Land Tenure and Agricultural Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Market-Oriented Approach to Analyzing Their Interactions

Empirical attempts to measure the influence of land tenure in sub-Saharan Africa have up to now focused on attempts to correlate land tenure with productivity. Results from empirical work indicate that no one system of land tenure is best. For this study, three criteria, chosen on the basis of theoretical reasoning, are identified as being critical to any land tenure system if it is to exert a positive impact on agricultural productivity and sustainability. The three criteria are: transparency of property rights, process for internalization of costs and benefits, and functioning/nondistorting markets for inputs, including land

Conflict In Laos the Politics of Neutralization

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Constraints Facing African Countries to Provide Needed Food

An analysis of the staple grain economies of ten African countries shows that declining per capita food production has not been offset by mcreased imports. The impact ofweathervanation, pa1ticularly drought, has been severe, reducing annual product10n by as much as 50 percent at times. Pohcies affectmg food availabihty have undergone changes as governments seek to stimulate production. Increased producer pnces, urged by donor countnes, have ehcited a positive response. The magmtude of pnce response vanes among countnes but 1n general provides support for those who argue that raising prices ts an incentive to producers. Lagging domestic production has increased food import dependency. At the same time, deterioration of the domestic economies, combined with global factors, has led to financial crises. As food production has fallen, a part of the dwmdhng supply of hard currency has been spent on the purchase of food. Governments increased imports m response to production shortfalls. Increased foreign exchange earnings also led to greater imports. Food aid did not s1gmf1cantly reduce commercial imports. Adjustment by means of food imports will be slow m countries with historically low volume of imports. Price pohcy reforms and mcreased export earnings will lead to greater improvements m food consumption m those countries with better production performance