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Is Older Better? Maize Hybrid Change on Household Farms in Kenya

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  • Smale, Melinda
  • Olwande, John

Abstract

A globally-recognized maize “success story” since the 1970s, Kenya’s first maize hybrid diffused faster than did hybrids in the U.S Corn Belt during the 1930s-1940s. Today, a hybrid released in 1986 still dominates on farms in Kenya, despite the dramatic increase in the number of hybrids, breadth of seed suppliers, and range of hybrids sold as seed markets liberalize. Claims of stagnating yields and stagnating adoption are offset here, at least in part, by longitudinal survey data showing rising yields and adoption rates on farms. However, as the overall percent of maize farmers growing hybrids tops 80 percent and the seed industry matures, the slow pace of hybrid replacement may still be cause for concern. This paper begins an exploration of factors affecting the age of hybrids on farms in Kenya. We find a strong farmer response to the seed-to-grain price ratio—evidence of a commercial orientation even on household farms, and also of the need to “get (seed) prices right” in the industry.
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  • Smale, Melinda & Olwande, John, 2011. "Is Older Better? Maize Hybrid Change on Household Farms in Kenya," Working Papers 202594, Egerton University, Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:egtewp:202594
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.202594
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    2. Tripp, Robert & Mensah-Bonsu, Akwesi, 2013. "Ghana's commercial seed sector: New incentives or continued complacency?:," GSSP working papers 32, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Jones, Ashley D. & Dalton, Timothy J. & Smale, Melinda, 2012. "A Stochastic Production Function Analysis of Maize Hybrids and Yield Variability in Drought-Prone Areas of Kenya," Working Papers 202593, Egerton University, Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development.
    4. Olwande, John & Smale, Melinda & Mathenge, Mary K. & Place, Frank & Mithöfer, Dagmar, 2015. "Agricultural marketing by smallholders in Kenya: A comparison of maize, kale and dairy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 22-32.
    5. Gitonga, Zachary M. & De Groote, Hugo, 2016. "Role of hybrid maize adoption on food security in Kenya: an application of two-step generalized method of moments (gmm2s)," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246315, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    6. Frank Davenport & Chris Funk & Gideon Galu, 2018. "How will East African maize yields respond to climate change and can agricultural development mitigate this response?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 491-506, April.
    7. Mutoko, Morgan C. & Hein, Lars & Bartholomeus, Harm, 2014. "Integrated analysis of land use changes and their impacts on agrarian livelihoods in the western highlands of Kenya," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 1-12.

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