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Potential impacts of increasing average yields and reducing maize yield variability in Africa

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  • Kostandini, Genti
  • La Rovere, Roberto
  • Abdoulaye, Tahirou

Abstract

This study evaluates the potential impacts of investing in Drought Tolerant Maize (DTM) in 13 countries of East, South and West Africa. The analysis utilizes geo-referenced production data at the regional and household levels and employs a model that estimates both the conventional mean yield gains and the additional benefits from yield stability gains of DTM varieties as well as impacts on poverty. The results indicate that by 2016, adoption of DTM can generate between US$ 362million and US$ 590million in cumulative benefits to both producers and consumers. Yield variance reductions stand to generate considerable benefits, especially in high drought risk areas. These benefits translate into poverty reductions in the range of 0.01–4.29% by 2016. Significant benefits are also found among different types of households living in drought risk areas of Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

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  • Kostandini, Genti & La Rovere, Roberto & Abdoulaye, Tahirou, 2013. "Potential impacts of increasing average yields and reducing maize yield variability in Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 213-226.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:43:y:2013:i:c:p:213-226
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.09.007
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    1. Paul, Laura A., 2018. "The Downside of Good Rains: Drought Risk and WTP for Maize with Weather Contingent Advantages," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274471, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Larson,Donald F. & Muraoka,Rie & Otsuka,Keijiro, 2016. "On the central role of small farms in African rural development strategies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7710, The World Bank.
    3. Oyetunde-Usman, Zainab & Shee, Apurba & Abdoulaye, Tahirou, 2021. "Does Simultaneous Adoption of Drought Tolerant Maize Varieties and Organic Manure Impact Productivity and Welfare Outcomes of Farm-households in Nigeria?," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313954, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Hansen, James & Hellin, Jon & Rosenstock, Todd & Fisher, Eleanor & Cairns, Jill & Stirling, Clare & Lamanna, Christine & van Etten, Jacob & Rose, Alison & Campbell, Bruce, 2019. "Climate risk management and rural poverty reduction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 28-46.
    5. Holden , Stein & Fischer, Monica, 2015. "Can Adoption of Improved Maize Varieties Help Smallholder Farmers Adapt to Drought? Evidence from Malawi," CLTS Working Papers 1/15, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 11 Oct 2019.
    6. Malacarne, J.G. & Paul, L.A., 2022. "Do the benefits of improved management practices to nutritional outcomes “dry up” in the presence of drought? Evidence from East Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    7. Kostandini, Genti & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Erenstein, Olaf & Sonder, Kai & Gou, Zhe & Setimela, Peter & Menkir, Abebe, 2015. "Potential Impacts of Drought Tolerant Maize: New Evidence from Farm-trials in Eastern and Southern Africa," 89th Annual Conference, April 13-15, 2015, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 204219, Agricultural Economics Society.
    8. Stein Holden & Monica Fisher, 2015. "Subsidies promote use of drought tolerant maize varieties despite variable yield performance under smallholder environments in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1225-1238, December.
    9. Kazushi Takahashi & Rie Muraoka & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Technology adoption, impact, and extension in developing countries’ agriculture: A review of the recent literature," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 31-45, January.
    10. Tahirou Abdoulaye & Tesfamicheal Wossen & Bola Awotide, 2018. "Impacts of improved maize varieties in Nigeria: ex-post assessment of productivity and welfare outcomes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 369-379, April.
    11. Franklin Simtowe & Paswel Marenya & Emily Amondo & Mosisa Worku & Dil Bahadur Rahut & Olaf Erenstein, 2019. "Heterogeneous seed access and information exposure: implications for the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties in Uganda," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-23, December.

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