Type
Date
Corporate author
Editor
Illustrator
Producer
Photographer
Contributor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Access Rights
Share
Abstract

This case study of technical change in maize production in Malawi seeks to answer the question of whether the diffusion of improved maize seed and fertilizer among Malawian smallholder farmers will create the sharp yield gains commonly associated with "green revolutions." An assessment of Malawi's reliance on maize as a staple food and of the resource base for maize production is followed by a discussion of how demand for maize research has been shaped by the structure of Malawi's agricultural economy a nd by the cultural significance of traditional flint maize varieties. The authors describe maize production technologies currently available to farmers and explore the implications of recent changes in smallholders production practices and the potential yield gains to be achieved from changes in technology. Although recent diffusion of seed-fertilizer technology has been encouraging, aggregate level yield increases are not yet observable. The report concludes by discussing future directions for maize research and the impact that such research might realistically be expected to have on Malawian agriculture. Continuity in funding and staffing is essential to further research progress, and institutional and policy support are necessary for transferring research gains to farmers' fields.

Description
Keywords
Citation
APA citation
ISO citation
Copyright
CIMMYT manages Intellectual Assets as International Public Goods. The user is free to download, print, store and share this work. In case you want to translate or create any other derivative work and share or distribute such translation/derivative work, please contact CIMMYT-Knowledge-Center@cgiar.org indicating the work you want to use and the kind of use you intend; CIMMYT will contact you with the suitable license for that purpose.
Journal
Journal volume
Journal issue
Article number
Place of Publication
Mexico
Publisher
CIMMYT
DOI
Related Datasets
Collections