A theoretical framework governing technical adoption at the
farm level is developed and the effects of factor-saving
options are compared to traditional alternatives. A model of
the decision behavior of farm households with respect to
innovation adoption is developed, but this model did not
consider possible gender effects. The impacts of selected
household factors (labor capacity, education, age of
household head) and characteristics of input supply and
distribution systems (frequency of extension contact, storage
capacity, distance to supply centers and local sales points,
access to credit) are empirically examined for their impact
on technological adoption. Both household and extension
variables are statistically significant in the adoption of
agricultural technology. This study concludes that
availability of inputs at the local level is a significant
determinant of adoption.
Hansen, A. 1994. The illusion of local sustainability and
self-sufficiency: Famine in a border area of Northwestern
Zambia. Human Organization 53(1): 11-20.
Self-sufficiency, often conceptualized as adequate staple food
production for village consumption, may not be an
appropriate goal. This case study from Zambia’s North-
Western Province underscores the complexity and fragility
of sustainability. For many years, the farming systems of
cassava production evolved to meet the growing needs of a
rapidly expanding population of immigrants and refugees.
But during 1985-1989, a mealybug invasion destroyed
most of the staple crop and instigated a famine. The famine
was caused by the interaction of ecological, political, and
economic factors. Many farmers responded by switching to
the production and consumption of local and imported
varieties of maize. Political and economic factors limited the
availability of inputs, such as fertilizer, especially in border
areas. This paper underscores the incorporation of villagers
within a larger ecological, political, and economic
framework and stresses that their resourcefulness is essential
to the evolution of food production systems and coping
with famine. Although gender is not mentioned, this paper
provides a useful discussion of how maize became an
important staple crop in Zambia as a result of the
resourcefulness of villagers under ecological, political, and
economic distress.
Heisey, P.W., and M. Smale. 1995. Maize Technology in
Malawi: A Green Revolution in the Making? CIMMYT
Research Report No. 4. Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT
This research report examines whether the diffusion of
improved germplasm and fertilizer in Malawi will create the
aggregate yield gains associated with green revolutions. Any
significant increases in maize production in Malawi must
come from increased yields rather than the expansion of
cultivated area. The new technologies are particularly
attractive to smallholders, which suggests that increased
yields will have positive benefits on income distribution.
Farmers are widely adopting seed/fertilizer technologies.
The hybrids in Malawi yield better than the local varieties,
even with low inputs. The newest semi-flint hybrids are
demonstrating that it is not necessary to sacrifice yield to
obtain the grain texture characteristics preferred by
smallholders. The authors recommend public/private
collaboration in research as necessary for continued success.
Gender is not a focus of this paper, but the authors
specifically address smallholder farmers, many of whom are
women.
Heisey, P.W., and W. Mwangi. 1996. Fertilizer Use and
Maize Production in Sub-Saharan Africa. CIMMYT
Economics Working Paper 96-01. Mexico, D.F.:
CIMMYT.
To increase food production in Africa, soil fertility must be
managed more efficiently. This paper examines the role of
fertilizer use in maize production in Africa and develops
recommendations for fertilizer policy. There is a strong link
between fertilizer use and maize production. The adoption
of fertilizer depends on the price, the risk aversion of the
farmers, and credit and cash constraints. In addition, there
are constraints to increased supply, including high purchase
and distribution costs. Two recommendations follow from
the analysis. First, governments should concentrate on
providing information, enhancing legal institutions, and
improving infrastructure. Over time, governments should
become less directly involved in procuring and subsidizing
fertilizer. In addition, future studies must pay attention to
the institutional details of policy making. Because policy is
often made in a second-best environment, it is critical to
understand institutional considerations.
Hill, P. 1975. The West African farming household. In J.
Goody (ed.), Changing Social Structure in Ghana.
London: International African Institute. Pp. 119-36.
This paper details the early anthropological studies of the
gender division of labor in West Africa. It provides a useful
framework from which to examine the changes that have
occurred in the recent decades.
Hill, P. 1978. Food-farming and migration from Fante
villages. Africa 48(3): 223-30.
Among the Fante villages of southern Ghana, men and
women traditionally married and formed a symbiotic
farming unit. The production of the staple crops, maize and
cassava, relied upon a division of labor within the household
as hired labor was, and is, widely unavailable. Despite this,
the institution of marriage has declined; half of the men and
women interviewed who were once married are no longer
married and are disadvantaged as cultivators by their
inability to secure labor. This article examines the
sociological sources for the high rate of food farmers
without spouses and contends that it leads to extreme
inefficiency of farming in the region. High rates of outward
migration seem related to decreased incentives to farm and
the lack of lucrative nonagricultural employment for men
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