Contract farming is a pervasive institutional arrangement in cash cropping economies in Mozambique. Empirical evidence on its nature and, especially, the extent to which policies can generate broad based income growth and poverty reduction is lacking. This study investigates the rationale for persistence, the determinants of farmer participation and performance in cotton and tobacco schemes (Essay One), and the economy-wide effects of expansion and shocks in cotton and tobacco sectors on poverty reduction in concession areas of the Zambezi valley of Mozambique (Essay Two). In the first essay, we find that in both sectors contract farming is an institutional response to widespread failure in input, credit and output markets and the absence of a functional public and market based service provision network. Two stage econometric procedures (testing for the existence of threshold effects in land holdings and educational attainment) indicate that in both areas participation in the schemes is driven by factor endowments, asset ownership and alternative income opportunities, and very little by demographic factors. Also, there are no returns to education in either sector; this result is consistent with previous research in Mozambique but surprising in an agronomically

this paper is to motivate the interest in postharvest research and to provide an assessment of the impact of this research in terms of income growth, poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable agriculture in developing countries. While there is a large body of literature on the impact of production research , the studies on the impact of post-production research are still few and lacking a unifying method. The impact literature presented in this paper is certainly incomplete and constitutes only a first attempt to organize the material available to the authors at this stage. The expected contribution of the paper is to provide information relevant to the following two questions: 1) What is the impact of postharvest research on the goals of growth, poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable use of natural resources? 2) Does postharvest research share the characteristics of an international public good and does it justify a larger investment in this type of research by the international agricultural research system and the donor community? The two questions are conceptually distinct. Postharvest research might well have an impact comparable or even superior to that of production research, yet it might well be lacking the nature of international public good. In such a case, the current low investment by the international agricultural research system, and the CGIAR in particular, is understandable. On the other hand, if postharvest research in developing countries has important public good characteristics that make it unprofitable to private sector investment in those countries, then there is a stronger case for expanding international support to this type of research. Before trying to provide some elements of an answer to these complex questions, we provi...

have contributed to this work, especially Benjamine Hanyani-Mlambo, Wilbald Maro,

Using primary data from a survey of expert opinion, this paper identifies key successes emerging in African agriculture. Among these, major commodity-specific successes identified include breakthroughs in maize breeding across Africa, sustained gains in cassava breeding and successful combat of its disease and pests, control of the rinderpest livestock disease, booming horticultural and flower exports in East and Southern Africa and increased cotton production and exports in West Africa. Using a dynamic analytical framework, the paper attempts to identify key ingredients that appear necessary for building on these individual cases and expanding them into broad-based agricultural growth. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. IMPERATIVES AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................... 1 2. THE DATA...................................................................................................................5 3. CRITERIA FOR DEFINING SUCCESS ..................................................................... 7 Three Dimensions of Successful Outcomes ................................................................ 9 4. SUCCESSES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE ......................................................... 12 An Overview of Success Nominations ...................................................................... 12 Commodity-Driven Successes................................................................................... 14 Maize Breeding ..................................................................................................... 14 Combating mosaic virus and pests in cassava ...................................................... 15 Expansion of horticultural and flower exports................................

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www.ifpri.org IFPRI Division Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results. They have not been subject to formal external reviews managed by IFPRI’s Publications Review Committee, but have been reviewed by at least one internal or external researcher. They are circulated in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment.

study was not possible without extraordinary support extended by Mr. A.K. Srivastava, Mr. Om Vir Singh, Mr. K.S. Dhaliwal, Mr. A. Kumar and Mr. P. Parthasarthy Rao. The authors appreciate the efforts made by the survey teams for collecting comprehensive and complex data from the sample households. Special thanks are due to Dr. Nick Minot for making valuable comments on an earlier draft of this study. Finally, the authors wish to thank Dr. B. S. Agarwal, who edited this draft and made numerous suggestions. i Rising per capita income, urbanization and globalization are changing the consumption basket in the developing countries towards high-value commodities (like fruits & vegetables, milk, meat, poultry, fish, etc.). This paper explores how smallholders can benefit from the emerging opportunities from a silent demand-driven changes in high-value agriculture in India. The study examines the institutional mechanisms adopted by different firms to integrate small producers of milk, broilers and vegetables in supply chain and their effects on producers ’ transaction costs and farm profitability. The

agricultural research centers that receive principal funding from governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations, most of which are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTORS AND PARTNERS IFPRI’s research, capacity strengthening, and communications work is made possible by its financial contributors and partners. IFPRI gratefully acknowledges generous unrestricted funding from Australia,

maintains two publication series for research on food security issues. Publications under the Flash series are short (3-4 pages), carefully focused reports designated to provide timely research results on issues of great interest. Publications under the Research Paper series are designed to provide longer, more in-depth treatment of food security issues. The preparation of Flash reports and Research Reports, and their discussion with those who design and influence programs and policies in Mozambique, is an important step in the Directorate’s overall analyses and planning mission. Comments and suggestion from interested users on reports under each of these series help identify additional questions for consideration in later data analyses and report writing, and in the design of further research activities. Users of these reports are encouraged to submit comments and inform us of ongoing information and analysis needs.

INTRODUCTION: Agro-industry- adding value to agricultural commodities through processing before they reach consumers- can play a key role in agricultural development, especially if it is located in rural areas. In developing countries, agroindustrialization