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Farm productivity and marketstructure : evidence from cotton reforms in Zambia

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Brambilla, Irene
Porto, Guido G.

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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. The authors'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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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 3904.

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Date of creation: 01 May 2006
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3904

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Keywords: Crops&Crop Management Systems; Economic Theory&Research; Livestock&Animal Husbandry; Rural Poverty Reduction; Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems;

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  6. Timothy Besley & Anne Case, 1994. "Diffusion as a Learning Process: Evidence from HYV Cotton," Working Papers 228, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies.. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-97, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. 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. [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. 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. [Downloadable!]
  2. KAMINSKI Jonathan & THOMAS Alban, 2009. "Commodity Reform and Extensive Production Growth: Evidence from Burkinabè cotton farmers," Working Papers 09.01.277, LERNA, University of Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
  3. 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. [Downloadable!]
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