The economics of agricultural technology in semiarid sub-Saharan Africa

This work identifies factors responsible for the stagnation in food output per capita over the last 20 years. A strategy for increasing the effectiveness of future technological research and development is evaluated, using field studies and modelling from the major agroecological zones of crop production. The higher-input, yield-increasing strategy is examined from the perspective of risk, sustainability, and the impact on women. Alternative approaches to increasing output are also considered, such as through area expansion and livestock-crop integrated systems.