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Maize in Eastern and Southern Africa: 'seeds' of success in retrospect

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Smale, Melinda
Jayne, T.S.

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Abstract

This synthesis revisits the “maize success story” in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing selectively from an extensive published literature about maize seed technical change and related policies. The review focuses on the countries of Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, where maize is most important in the food economy, and refers to the period when maize became a dominant food crop through the 1990s. The term “success” is equivocal in this case, both because of the difficult of establishing the appropriate counterfactual and because some of the policies that contributed to success in one period later led to decline. While the “seeds” themselves were the result of innovative, successful maize breeding, boom periods in maize production were episodic and the public investments in the controlled markets that bolstered them were not fiscally sustainable. Since maize will remain a crucial part of the food security equation even while the agricultural economies of the region diversify, continued investments in both maize research and market institutions, some of which must be public, are essential. The most vital question, however, is where the domestic political pressure to support these investments will originate an issue related to governance.

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Paper provided by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in its series EPTD discussion papers with number 97.

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Date of creation: 2003
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Handle: RePEc:fpr:eptddp:97

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Keywords: Maize Africa Southern. Seeds Technological innovations Africa. Food crops Africa Eastern Marketing. Markets Prices. Food security Africa. Plant breeding Research. Investment of public funds.

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  1. Kherallah, Mylène & Delgado, Christopher L. & Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Z. & Minot, Nicholas & Johnson, Michael, 2002. "Reforming agricultural markets in Africa," Food policy statements 38, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  2. Jayne, T. S. & Argwings-Kodhek, Gem, 1997. "Consumer response to maize market liberalization in urban Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 447-458, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Eicher, Carl K., 1995. "Zimbabwe's maize-based Green Revolution: Preconditions for replication," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 805-818, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Kydd, Jonathan & Christiansen, Robert, 1982. "Structural change in Malawi since independence: Consequences of a development strategy based on large-scale agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 355-375, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. T. S. Jayne & L. Rubey & D. Tschirley & M. Mukumbu & M. Chisvo & A. Santos & M. Weber & P. Diskin, 1995. "Effects of Market Reform on Access to Food by Low-Income Households: Evidence from Four Countries in Eastern and Southern Africa," International Development Papers 19, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Daniel David Karanja, 1996. "An Economic and Institutional Analysis of Maize Research in Kenya," International Development Working Papers 57, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
  7. Smale, Melinda, 1995. ""Maize is life": Malawi's delayed Green Revolution," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 819-831, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Julie A. Howard & Catherine Mungoma, 1996. "Zambia's Stop-And-Go Revolution: The Impact of Policies and Organizations on the Development and Spread of Maize Technology," International Development Working Papers 61, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
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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. Thurlow, James & Wobst, Peter, 2005. "The Road to Pro-Poor Growth in Zambia: Past Lessons and Future Challenges," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Kiel 2005 37, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. T.S. Jayne, 2000. "Improving Smallholder and Agri-business Opportunities in Zambia's Cotton Sector: Key Challenges and Options," International Development Collaborative Working Papers ZM-FSRP-WP-01, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Yang, Dean & Gine, Xavier, 2007. "Insurance, credit, and technology adoption : field experimental evidence from Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4425, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jaffe, Gregory, 2006. "Comparative analysis of the national biosafety regulatory systems in East Africa:," EPTD discussion papers 146, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  5. Gauchan, Devendra & Van Dusen, M. E. & Smale, Melinda, 2005. "On farm conservation of rice biodiversity in Nepal: a simultaneous estimation approach," EPTD discussion papers 144, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. You, Liangzhi & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Fang, Cheng & Wood, Stanley, 2005. "Impact of global warming on Chinese wheat productivity:," EPTD discussion papers 143, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  7. T. S. Jayne & Mulinge Mukumbu & John Duncan & John Staatz & Julie Howard & Mattias Lundberg & Kim Aldridge & Bethel Nakaponda & Jake Ferris & Francis Keita & Abdel Kader Sanankoua, 1996. "Trends in Real Food Prices in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries," International Development Working Papers 55, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Linacre, Nicholas A. & Whiting, Steven N. & Angle, J. Scott, 2005. "Incorporating project uncertainty in novel environmental biotechnologies: illustrated using phytoremediation," EPTD discussion papers 132, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  9. Nagarajan, Latha & Smale, Melinda, 2005. "Local seed systems and village-level determinants of millet crop diversity in marginal environments of India:," EPTD discussion papers 135, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  10. Rodgers, Charles & Hellegers, Petra J.G.J., 2005. "Water pricing and valuation in Indonesia: case study of the Brantas River Basin," EPTD discussion papers 141, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  11. Smale, Melinda & Zambrano, Patricia & Falck-Zepeda, José & Gruère, Guillaume, 2006. "Parables: applied economics literature about the impact of genetically engineered crop varieties in developing economies," EPTD discussion papers 158, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  12. Linacre, Nicholas A. & Koo, Bonwoo & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Msangi, Siwa & Falck-Zepeda, José & Gaskell, Joanne & Komen, John & Cohen, Marc J. & Birner, Regina, 2005. "Security analysis for agroterrorism: applying the threat, vulnerability, consequence framework to developing countries," EPTD discussion papers 138, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  13. Tavneet Suri, 2006. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Working Papers 944, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
  14. Engel, Stefanie & Iskandarani, Maria & Useche, Maria del Pilar, 2005. "Improved water supply in the Ghanaian Volta Basin: who uses it and who participates in community decision-making?," EPTD discussion papers 129, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  15. Linacre, Nicholas & Falck-Zepeda, José & Komen, John & MacLaren, Donald, 2006. "Risk assessment and management of genetically modified organisms under Australia's Gene Technology Act:," EPTD discussion papers 157, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  16. Lulama Ndibongo Traub & T.S. Jayne, 2006. "Opportunities to Improve Household Food Security Through Promoting Informal Maize Marketing Channels: Experience from Eastern Cape Province, South Africa," International Development Working Papers 85, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
  17. Lulama Ndibongo Traub & Thomas S. Jayne, 2004. "The Effects of Market Reform on Maize Marketing Margins in South Africa," International Development Working Papers 83, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
  18. Horna, J. Daniela & Smale, Melinda & von Oppen, Matthias, 2005. "Farmer willingness to pay for seed-related information: rice varieties in Nigeria and Benin," EPTD discussion papers 142, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Nagarajan, Latha & Smale, Melinda & Glewwe, Paul, 2005. "Comparing farm and village-level determinants of millet diversity in marginal environments of India: the context of seed systems," EPTD discussion papers 139, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  20. Linacre, Nicholas A. & Thompson, Colin J., 2005. "The emergence of insect resistance in Bt-corn: implication of resistance management information under uncertainty," EPTD discussion papers 136, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  21. Linacre, Nicholas A. & Gaskell, Joanne & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Falck-Zepeda, José & Quemada, Hector & Halsey, Mark & Birner, Regina, 2005. "Analysis for biotechnology innovations using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA):," EPTD discussion papers 140, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  22. J.K. Nyoro & M.W. Kiiru & T.S. Jayne, 1999. "Evolution of Kenya's Maize Marketing Systems in the Post-liberalization Era," International Development Collaborative Working Papers KE-TEGEMEO-WP-2a, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. [Downloadable!]
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