Many of the ‘new’ agricultural input subsidy programs (ISPs) in sub-Saharan Africa list raising farm incomes and reducing rural poverty among their objectives, but are ISPs achieving these objectives? We use data from two nationally-representative surveys of smallholder farm households in...

We test the hypotheses that subsidies on hybrid seed change maize production, total household income, the severity of poverty, and relative deprivation among smallholder maize growers in Zambia. The analysis contributes to the literature by measuring the quantitative effects of seed (as compared...

This paper provides a systematic definition of food security, focusing on its different dimensions; examines the nature and magnitude of the different dimensions of food insecurity in developing countries; discusses the difficult tradeoffs that policy makers face in trying to address food...

In 2011, Zambia recorded its second consecutive record-breaking maize harvest, and aggregate maize production levels in 2011 were more than double the average level from 2006 to 2008. The expansion in maize production over the period corresponds with the scaling up of the Government of the...

The past two years are a tribute to Zambian farmers; they have responded admirably to government efforts to promote maize production. But ironically, rural poverty remains stubbornly high despite the fact that the government has spent over 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product in...

This report is a brief survey of WTO agreements and their implications for the West African economies (including Chad). The study reviews the positions of West African countries on various WTO issues and compares these positions with positions expressed by major trade partners, particularly the...

Ce rapport est une vue d’ensemble sommaire des accords commerciaux de l’ OMC et de leurs implications pour les pays de l’ Afrique de l’ Ouest (ainsi que le Tchad). L’étude décrit les positions adoptées par les pays de l’ Afrique de l’ Ouest sur divers enjeux des négociations...