IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cid/wpfacu/37a.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

African Land Ecology: Opportunities and Constraints for Agricultural Development

Author

Listed:
  • R.I. Voortman
  • B G I S Sonneveld
  • M A Keyzer

Abstract

Current agriculture in Sub-Sahara Africa is undeveloped and the Green Revolution has left the continent largely untouched. Poor performance is often related to a number of socio-economic factors. In this paper we argue that there are also some specifities of natural resources, namely local homogeneity and spatial diversity of the pre-dominant Basement Complex soils, that imply that simple fertilizer strategies may not produce the yield increases obtained elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • R.I. Voortman & B G I S Sonneveld & M A Keyzer, 2000. "African Land Ecology: Opportunities and Constraints for Agricultural Development," CID Working Papers 37A, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cid:wpfacu:37a
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/cid/files/publications/faculty-working-papers/037.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bumb, Balu L. & Baanante, Carlos A., 1996. "Policies to promote environmentally sustainable fertilizer use and supply to 2020," 2020 vision briefs 40, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Heisey, Paul W. & Mwangi, Wilfred, 1996. "Fertilizer Use and Maize Production in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economics Working Papers 7688, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    3. Barghouti,S. & Le Moigne, G., 1990. "Irrigation In Sub-Saharan Africa; The Development Of Public And Private Systems," Papers 123, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rainer Thiele, 2003. "Price Incentives, Non‐price Factors and Agricultural Production in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Cointegration Analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 15(2‐3), pages 425-438.
    2. Nin-Pratt, Alejandro & Johnson, Michael & Magalhaes, Eduardo & You, Liangzhi & Diao, Xinshen & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2011. "Yield gaps and potential agricultural growth in West and Central Africa," Research reports alejandronin-pratt, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Nkonya, Ephraim & Gicheru, Patrick & Woelcke, Johannes & Okoba, Barrack & Kilambya, Daniel & Gachimbi, Louis N., 2008. "On-site and off-Site long-term economic impacts of soil fertility management practices: The case of maize-based cropping systems in Kenya," IFPRI discussion papers 778, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Headey, Derek D. & Jayne, T.S., 2014. "Adaptation to land constraints: Is Africa different?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 18-33.
    5. Nkonya, Ephraim & von Braun, Joachim & Mirzabaev, Alisher & Le, Quang Bao & Kwon, Ho Young & Kirui, Oliver K., 2013. "Economics of Land Degradation Initiative: Methods and Approach for Global and National Assessments," Discussion Papers 158663, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    6. Masters, William A & McMillan, Margaret S, 2001. "Climate and Scale in Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 167-186, September.
    7. Nkonya, Ephraim M. & Gicheru, Patrick & Woelcke, Johannes & Okoba, Barrack & Kilambya, Daniel & Gachimbi, Louis, 2006. "Out of Site out of Mind: Quantifying the Long-term Off-site economic Impacts of Land Degradation in Kenya," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21344, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    8. Simeon Ehui & John Pender, 2005. "Resource degradation, low agricultural productivity, and poverty in sub‐Saharan Africa: pathways out of the spiral," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 32(s1), pages 225-242, January.
    9. Francisco Ayala-carcedo & Manuel González-Barros, 2005. "Economic Underdevelopment And Sustainable Development In The World:Conditioning Factors, Problems And Opportunities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 95-115, January.
    10. Nkonya, Ephraim & Pender, John & Kaizzi, Kayuki C. & Kato, Edward & Mugarura, Samuel & Ssali, Henry & Muwonge, James, 2008. "Linkages between land management, land degradation, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Uganda," Research reports 159, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Conceição, Pedro & Levine, Sebastian & Lipton, Michael & Warren-Rodríguez, Alex, 2016. "Toward a food secure future: Ensuring food security for sustainable human development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-9.
    12. Nkonya, Ephraim & Kaizzi, Crammer & Pender, John, 2005. "Determinants of nutrient balances in a maize farming system in eastern Uganda," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 155-182, August.
    13. World Bank, 2008. "Uganda Sustainable Land Management : Public Expenditure Review," World Bank Publications - Reports 16807, The World Bank Group.
    14. Masters, William A & McMillan, Margaret S, 2001. "Climate and Scale in Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 167-86, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kikuchi, Masao & Mano, Yukichi & 真野, 裕吉 & Njagi, Tim & Merrey, Douglas & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2019. "Economic Viability of Large-scale Irrigation Construction in 21st Century sub-Saharan Africa: Centering around the Estimation of Construction Costs of Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kenya," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-87, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    2. Chapoto, Antony & Ragasa, Catherine, 2013. "Moving in the right direction? Maize productivity and fertilizer use and use intensity in Ghana:," IFPRI discussion papers 1314, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Kwabena Asiama & Rohan Bennett & Jaap Zevenbergen, 2019. "Towards Responsible Consolidation of Customary Lands: A Research Synthesis," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Anderson, J. R., 1996. "On Getting Agricultural Growth In Sub-Saharan And South Africa," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 35(4), December.
    5. Omamo, S. W. & Williams, J. C. & Obare, G. A. & Ndiwa, N. N., 2002. "Soil fertility management on small farms in Africa: evidence from Nakuru District, Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 159-170, April.
    6. Juliet Angom & P. K. Viswanathan, 2023. "Irrigation Technology Interventions as Potential Options to Improve Water Security in India and Africa: A Comparative Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-17, November.
    7. Chancellor, F., 2002. "Women irrigators and operation and maintenance of small-scale smallholder schemes in Africa," IWMI Books, Reports H030872, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Estelle Koussoubé & Céline Nauges, 2017. "Returns to fertiliser use: Does it pay enough? Some new evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(2), pages 183-210.
    9. Catherine Ragasa & Antony Chapoto, 2017. "Moving in the right direction? The role of price subsidies in fertilizer use and maize productivity in Ghana," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(2), pages 329-353, April.
    10. Esilaba, A.O. & Byalebeka, J.B. & Delve, R.J. & Okalebo, J.R. & Ssenyange, D. & Mbalule, M. & Ssali, H., 2005. "On farm testing of integrated nutrient management strategies in eastern Uganda," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 144-165, November.
    11. Smale, Melinda & Jayne, T.S., 2003. "Maize in Eastern and Southern Africa: 'seeds' of success in retrospect," EPTD discussion papers 97, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Rosegrant, Mark W. & Perez, Nicostrato D., 1997. "Water resources development in Africa: a review and synthesis of issues, potentials, and strategies for the future," EPTD discussion papers 28, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Geert Diemer & Linden Vincent, 1992. "Irrigation in Africa: The Failure of Collective Memory and Collective Understanding," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 10(2), pages 131-154, June.
    14. Genti Kostandini & Roberto La Rovere & Zhe Guo, 2016. "Ex Ante Welfare Analysis of Technological Change: The Case of Nitrogen Efficient Maize for African Soils," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 64(1), pages 147-168, March.
    15. Nkonya, Ephraim & Kaizzi, Crammer & Pender, John, 2005. "Determinants of nutrient balances in a maize farming system in eastern Uganda," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 155-182, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sub-Sahara Africa; agro-ecology; land use; land resources; Basement Complex; green revolution; micronutrients; fertilizer policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N57 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cid:wpfacu:37a. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chuck McKenney (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ciharus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.