In most developing countries, historically, the main strategy for improving the food sector has focused on increasing farm-level production. But in recent years, with the emphasis on value chain analysis, there has been much more focus on subsector studies, demand-driven approaches, and...

Food legumes in Sub-Saharan Africa play a vital role by being a source of livelihood for millions of people; and offer tremendous potential to contribute to the alleviation of malnutrition among resource-poor farmers. They contribute to the sustainability of cropping systems and soil fertility....

A combination of higher oil production as well as higher oil prices is creating oil revenue windfalls for some Sub Saharan African countries. If well managed, these revenues have the potential to reduce poverty and bridge the development gap; if not they could lead to Dutch disease and an...

Agricultural market information such as commodity prices, trade volumes and weather conditions, plays an important facilitating role in improving the performance of markets. This research assesses the impact of the agricultural Market Information Service (MIS) on the performance of maize markets...

The collection, primary processing, and subsequent sale of shea-based products make an important contribution to rural women’s cash income in many of Mali’s shea producing areas. Internationally, shea has recently become popular in high-valued cosmetics thanks to its therapeutic...

The increase of the rate of growth in the underdeveloped areas of the world bears today outstanding interest for both developed and underdeveloped nations. For developed societies, if only for an interest in the maintenance abroad of a leadership position, there are the needs for protection of...

The main objective of this paper is to develop a general framework for rural development in which marketing will play a major role. This framework could make the "learning by doing" process more efficient and effective. Specific goals of this paper are to provide the reader with: (1) a better...

The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farming model made its first appearance in the US in the 1980s, arriving from Europe and with clear social, economic and environmental goals. From less than a dozen CSA farms in the early 1990s, the movement has now expanded to over 3,000 farms. The...

Brands have largely been absent for fresh produce products; however, apples are one notable exception whereby varieties partially take the place of brands. Studying the role of brands in this market is particularly interesting given the introduction of several patented or socalled managed apple...