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The African green revolution as a pro-poor policy instrument

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Paul Mosley (University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK)
Abstract

In opposition to a number of the presentations at the Conference, we argue that the development of foodcrop agriculture needs to be considered as a pivotal poverty reduction strategy in Africa-in spite of the sector's erratic performance which has seen a number of 'mini-green revolutions' take off, falter and crash back to earth. We insist that for at least five reasons-the scale-neutrality of hybrid seed technology, its labour-intensity, its tendency to reduce risks, its ability to reduce the prices of poor people's basic foods and its ability to stimulate off-farm linkages-the hybrid seed revolution, partial though it has been, needs to be supported and sustained, and not dismissed as fated to fail in African conditions. We support this conclusion by two estimates of poverty impact of these 'new' technologies-a quick and dirty estimate based on four channels of impact only (income of adopter households, labour market, consumer prices and off-farm linkages) and an estimate derived from a multi-market model of Uganda, in which about one-tenth of the poverty reduction achieved in Uganda since 1992 is ascribed to productivity change in maize and cassava. We note that a number of domestic and aid policy factors-from weak rural infrastructure and financial systems to food aid-have tended to reduce either the incentive to introduce new technologies, and|or the poverty-elasticity of their introduction. To reduce many of the different poverties from which Africa suffers, we argue, the policies responsible for the underdevelopment of its cereal crops need coordinated reform across many countries; in preparing such reform, inspiration can be taken from the policies which preceded the surge in agricultural productivity in India, Indonesia and China 30 years ago. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Article provided by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. in its journal Journal of International Development.

Volume (Year): 14 (2002)
Issue (Month): 6 ()
Pages: 695-724
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Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:14:y:2002:i:6:p:695-724

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. David D. Rohrbach, 1989. "The Economics of Smallholder Maize Production in Zimbabwe: Implications for Food Security," International Development Papers 11, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
  2. Kerr, John M. & Kolavalli, Shashi, 1999. "Impact of agricultural research on poverty alleviation: conceptual framework with illustrations from the literature," EPTD discussion papers 56, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  3. Simon Dixon & Scott McDonald & Jennifer Roberts, 2001. "AIDS and economic growth in Africa: a panel data analysis," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(4), pages 411-426. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jonathan Morduch, 1999. "The Microfinance Promise," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1569-1614, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Desai, Bhupat M. & Mellor, John W., 1993. "Institutional finance for agricultural development," Food policy reviews 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  6. van Zyl, Johan & Binswanger, Hans & Thirtle, Colin, 1995. "The relationship between farm size and efficiency in South African agriculture," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1548, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  7. Paul Mosley & John Hudson & Arjan Verschoor, 2004. "Aid, Poverty Reduction and the 'New Conditionality'," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(496), pages F217-F243, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Paul Mosley & June Rock, 2004. "Microfinance, labour markets and poverty in Africa: a study of six institutions," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 467-500. [Downloadable!]
  2. Dorosh, Paul & El-Said, Moataz & Lofgren, Hans, 2003. "Technical Change, Market Incentives And Rural Incomes: A Cge Analysis Of Uganda'S Agriculture," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25846, International Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
  3. Kane, Sam & Eicher, Carl K., 2004. "Foreign Aid And The African Farmer," Staff Papers 11602, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Paul Mosley & Abrar Suleiman, 2005. "Aid, agriculture and poverty in developing countries," Working Papers 2005010, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2005. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Bezemer, Dirk & Headey, Derek, 2007. "Agriculture, Development and Urban Bias," MPRA Paper 7026, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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