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Farm Productivity and Market Structure. Evidence From Cotton Reforms in Zambia

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Author Info

  • Irene Brambilla

    () (Economic Growth Center, Yale University)

  • Guido G. Porto

    () (The World Bank)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impacts of cotton marketing reforms on farm productivity, a key element for poverty alleviation, in rural Zambia. The reforms comprised the elimination of the Zambian cotton marketing board that was in place since 1977. Following liberalization, the sector adopted an outgrower scheme, whereby firms provided extension services to farmers and sold inputs on loans that were repaid at the time of harvest. There are two distinctive phases of the reforms: a failure of the outgrower scheme, and a subsequent period of success of the scheme. Our findings indicate that the reforms led to interesting dynamics in cotton farming. During the phase of failure, farmers were pushed back into subsistence and productivity in cotton declined. With the improvement of the outgrower scheme of later years, farmers devoted larger shares of land to cash crops, and farm productivity significantly increased.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Economic Growth Center, Yale University in its series Working Papers with number 919.

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Length: 41 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:919

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Keywords: cotton marketing reforms; farm productivity;

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References

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Christian K.M. Kingombe, 2012. "The Linkage between Outcome Differences in Cotton Production and Rural Roads Improvements - A Matching Approach," IHEID Working Papers 12-2012, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
  2. Swinnen, Jo & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2009. "Rich consumers and poor producers: quality and rent distribution in global value chains," Open Access publications from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven urn:hdl:123456789/255644, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
  3. Jonathan Kaminski & Alban Thomas, 2011. "Land Use, Production Growth, and the Institutional Environment of Smallholders: Evidence from Burkinabè Cotton Farmers," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(1), pages 160-182.
  4. Kaminski, Jonathan & Thomas, Alban, 2009. "Commodity Reform and Extensive Production Growth: Evidence from Burkinabè Cotton Farmers," TSE Working Papers 09-008, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
  5. Cadot, Olivier & Dutoit, Laure & Olarreaga, Marcelo, 2005. "How Costly is it for Poor Farmers to Lift Themselves out of Subsistence?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5392, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  6. Christian K.M. Kingombe and Salvatore di Falco, 2012. "The Impact of a Feeder Road Project on Cash Crop Production in Zambia’s Eastern Province between 1997 and 2002," IHEID Working Papers 04-2012, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, revised 28 Feb 2012.
  7. Jorge F. Balat & Guido Porto, 2005. "Globalization and Complementary Policies: Poverty Impacts in Rural Zambia," NBER Working Papers 11175, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  8. Cadot, Olivier & Dutoit, Laure & Olarreaga, Marcelo, 2006. "How costly is it for poor farmers to lift themselves out of poverty?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3881, The World Bank.
  9. Kaminski, Jonathan & Headey, Derek & Bernard, Tanguy, 2011. "The Burkinabè Cotton Story 1992-2007: Sustainable Success or Sub-Saharan Mirage?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1460-1475, August.
  10. Balat, Jorge F. & Porto, Guido G., 2005. "The WTO Doha Round, cotton sector dynamics, and poverty trends in Zambia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3697, The World Bank.
  11. KAMINSKI Jonathan & THOMAS Alban, 2009. "Commodity Reform and Extensive Production Growth: Evidence from Burkinabè cotton farmers," LERNA Working Papers 09.01.277, LERNA, University of Toulouse.
  12. Kaminski, Jonathan, 2008. "Changing Incentives to Sow Cotton for African Farmers: Evidence from the Burkina Faso Reform," Discussion Papers 45779, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management.
  13. Aksoy, M. Ataman & Isik-Dikmelik, Aylin, 2007. "The role of services in rural income : the case of Vietnam," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4180, The World Bank.
  14. Cadot, Olivier & Dutoit, Laure & Olarreaga, Marcelo, 2010. "Barriers to Exit from Subsistence Agriculture," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1014, CEPREMAP.

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