A key role for USAID and its partners is to identify how their resources can best contribute to increasing the capacity of the private and public sectors in Mali to scale up their investments, and increase the impact of those investments, in relation to the food security dimensions of...

This report evaluates the 2006/7 Malawi Government Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme (AISP). The main objective of the evaluation is to assess the impact and implementation of the AISP in order to provide lessons for future interventions in growth and social protection. The evaluation...

This selective brief on Mali’s agricultural sector trends and performance focuses on cereal, livestock and fisheries production. We also review recent developments in the fertilizer sector given the importance of sustainable intensification to reduce pressure on natural resources. We begin...

In 2009, the World Bank published a comparative study of cotton sector reforms, based on detailed case studies carried out during 2007/08 in nine of Africa’s main cotton producing countries. The purpose of the study was to draw practical insights from the diversity of experiences in...

For several reasons, fertilizer subsidies are again popular policy tools. First, there is broad agreement that fertilizer is a critical yet still-underused input for improving productivity and food security in Africa. Second, politicians have felt greater urgency to increase domestic food...

Recognizing that science and technology research (S&T) is one of many inputs into the broader development process, USAID/Mali, via its Initiative to End Hunger in Africa, requested an assessment of the current S&T situation in Mali. USAID asked the assessment team to produce a comprehensive...

One of the Government of Rwanda’s key post-war policy objectives has been to increase agricultural productivity and ensure food security by promoting a transition from semi-subsistence production and marketing practices to intensive production and highly commercialized agricultural markets....

This working paper synthesizes the theoretical and empirical literature on the use of cash transfers in response to food crisis situations, with particular attention to their use in situations that are exacerbated by volatile, often inflationary, commodity prices. The paper is designed for...

Background paper for the Geneva Trade and Development Forum Crans-Montana, Switzerland September 17-20, 2008