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Heterogeneous and conditional returns from DT maize for farmers in Southern Africa
[Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition]

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  • Laura A Paul

Abstract

This paper assesses the relative advantage of drought-tolerant (DT) maize, conditional on drought severity, using an unbalanced panel of 4 years of on-farm yield trials and high-resolution precipitation data (10-day measurements at a 0.05° resolution) in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Under rain-fed conditions, DT maize yield exceeds that of other varieties: 7 per cent higher yields on average and 15 per cent higher yields under moderate drought stress. While this contrasts with higher estimates measured in controlled trials, it nonetheless represents an economically significant advantage. This study further measures heterogeneity in the relative advantage conditional using conditional quantile analysis.

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  • Laura A Paul, 2021. "Heterogeneous and conditional returns from DT maize for farmers in Southern Africa [Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(5), pages 1224-1248.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:erevae:v:48:y:2021:i:5:p:1224-1248.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bloem, Jeffrey R. & Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda & Adjognon, Serge G. & Dillon, Andrew, 2022. "Private Sector Promotion of Climate-Smart Technologies: Experimental Evidence from Nigeria," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322152, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Clifton Makate & Marshall Makate, 2022. "Do Rainfall Shocks Prompt Commercial Input Purchases Amongst Smallholder Farmers in Diverse Regions and Environments in Malawi?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-31, November.
    4. Ospina, Ana M. & Malacarne, J.G. & Boucher, Stephen R. & Manuel, Lourenco & Popat, Meizal & Jones, Rachel, 2025. "Nudges in a simulated environment and their effects on the use of resilience-enhancing technologies," 2025 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2025, Denver, CO 360991, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Grewer, Uwe & Kim, Dong-Hyuk & Waha, Katharina, 2024. "Too much, too soon? Early-maturing maize varieties as drought escape strategy in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

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