Maize revolutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smale, Melinda ; Byerlee, Derek ; Jayne, Thom

关键词: ACCESS TO CREDIT;    AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT;    AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS;    AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY;    AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5659
RP-ID  :  WPS5659

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

There have been numerous episodes ofwidespread adoption of improved seed and long-termachievements in the development of the maize seed industryin Sub-Saharan Africa. This summary takes a circumspect viewof technical change in maize production. Adoption ofimproved seed has continued to rise gradually, nowrepresenting an estimated 44 percent of maize area inEastern and Southern Africa (outside South Africa), and 60percent of maize area in West and Central Africa. Use offertilizer and restorative crop management practices remainsrelatively low and inefficient. An array of extension modelshas been tested and a combination of approaches will beneeded to reach maize producers in heterogeneousagricultural environments. Yield growth overall has been 1percent over the past half-century, although this figuremasks the high variability in maize yields, as well asimprovements in resistance to disease and abiotic pressuresthat would have caused yield decline in the absence of maizebreeding progress. The authors argue that conducive policiesare equally, if not more, important for maize productivityin the region than the development of new technology andtechniques. Currently popular, voucher-based subsidies can"crowd out" the private sector and could befiscally unsustainable.