Melinda Smale

GLANCE Genetic Resource Policies Promising Crop Biotechnologies for Smallholder Farmers in East Africa: Bananas and Maize PREDICTING FARMER DEMAND FOR TRANSGENIC COOKING BANANAS IN UGANDA (2009)

Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale

In contrast to cross-breeding, genetic transformation allows for enhancement of one trait in a variety while retaining other desirable traits or attributes. Host varieties can be hybrids bred by...

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CROP GENETIC IMPROVEMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: RESEARCH CONTEXT AND HIGHLIGHTS (2009)

Melinda Smale

Genetic improvement of planting material (in a broad sense) is an important component of agricultural growth for nations and regions in the process of economic development. Asia’s Green Revolutions...

Farmer Management of Production Risk on Degraded Lands: The Role of Wheat Genetic Diversity in Tigray Region, Ethiopia (2009)

Salvatore Di Falco, Jean-paul Chavas, Melinda Smale

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...

ACKNOWLEDGMENT (2009)

Guillaume Gruère, Ra Giuliani, Melinda Smale

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...

A TAXONOMY OF GENEBANK VALUE (2009)

Melinda Smale, Bonwoo Koo

“I am awed by how little economics can contribute at present to the valuation of genetic resources. A natural explanation is that since most of the genetic resources

PREDICTING FARMER DEMAND FOR Bt MAIZE (2009)

Melinda Smale, Hugo De Groote, George Owuor

Agriculture is the leading sector in Kenya’s economy, providing employment to more than two-thirds of the population. Maize continues to be the major food staple, and Kenyans have one of the...

GAUGING POTENTIAL BASED ON CURRENT (2009)

Jackson Nkuba, Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale

In the mid-1990s, new banana planting material was introduced into Tanzania in response to increased pest and disease pressures on banana production and the high levels of susceptibility of local...

Social Capital and Soil Fertility Management in the Banana Production Systems of Uganda (2009)

Enid Katungi, Melinda Smale, Charles Machethe, Wilberforce Kateera Tushemereirwe

The research in this chapter was motivated by the hypothesis that long-term improvement in banana production in Uganda will be achieved by simultaneously solving the problems of pests or diseases and...

CHAPTER 9 Use of Hybrid Cultivars in Kagera Region, Tanzania, and Their Impact (2009)

Svetlana Edmeades, Jackson M. Nkuba, Melinda Smale

As described in Chapter 5, the formal introduction of new banana cultivars to Kagera Region began in 1997 with KCDP. Preliminary studies by the project indicate rapid and extensive uptake of these...

Part III. Economic Assessment of Technology Adoption and Impact CHAPTER 6 A Trait-Based Model of the Potential Demand for Transgenic Banana Cultivars in Uganda (2009)

Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale

This chapter derives farmer demand for planting material from the demand for genetic traits and cultivar attributes in an agricultural household model with missing markets, building on the general...

SEEDS,MARKETS, AND INFORMATION (2009)

Melinda Smale, A King

IInstitutional analysis can be used to understand the value placed on crop diversity by farmers as a social process, and to uncover the market-related constraints and incentives that influence farmer...

APPENDIX D Details of Sample Survey Design (2009)

Melinda Smale, Pamela Nahamya Abodi, Ingrid Rhinehart, Charles A. Eledu, Kephas Nowakunda, Stanley Wood

farmers in selected banana-growing areas is one of the approaches among those currently recommended by national and international organizations and NGOs to counter banana pests, diseases, and...

BIODIVERSITY OF MAIZE ON FARMS IN KENYA (2009)

Wheat Improvement, Wheat Improvement, Melinda Smale, ...

(IFPRI) and was also a senior economist with the International Plant Genetic Resources

CHAPTER 5 Characteristics of Banana-Growing Households and Banana Cultivars (2009)

Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale, Enoch Mutebi Kikulwe, Jackson M. Nkuba, Mgenzi Said, Ramadhan Byabachwezi

first stage of data analysis confirmed few statistical differences between exposed and nonexposed areas in the underlying social and demographic characteristics of households and the physical...

CHAPTER 2 Elements of the Conceptual Framework and Sample Survey Design (2009)

Melinda Smale, Svetlana Edmeades, Stanley Wood, Robert Kalyebara

This chapter presents specific questions posed in this research, elements of the conceptual framework, and a synopsis of the sample design. Two levels of observation and analysis are used. At the...

IN COLLABORATION WITH (2009)

Edited Melinda Smale, Wilberforce K. Tushemereirwe, Pamela Nahamya Abodi, Fredrick Bagamba, Mgenzi Said, Ramadhan Byabachwezi, ...

Sections of this material may be reproduced for personal and not-for-profit use without the express written permission of but with acknowledgment to IFPRI. To reproduce material contained herein for...

THE DEMAND FOR CROP GENETIC RESOURCES FROM INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS (2009)

Cary Fowler, Melinda Smale, Samy Gaiji

It is commonly known that most major agricultural crops were domesticated over a period of a thousand years in what are now termed “developing ” countries of the “South. ” Path-breaking...

CHAPTER 1 Assessing the Impact of Technical Innovations in African Agriculture (2009)

Melinda Smale

This chapter explains the motivation for the research reported in this monograph, placing it in the context of previous research about the impacts of technical innovations in African agriculture....

for Biosafety Systems (2009)

International Maize, Wheat Improvement, Melinda Smale, Hugo De Groote, José Falck-zepeda

(IFPRI) and was also a senior economist with the International Plant Genetic Resources

RESEARCH AT A GLANCE Biotechnology and Genetic Resource Policies What Is a Genebank Worth? Brief 9 THE MARGINAL VALUE OF AN ACCESSION (2009)

Armineh Zohrabian, Greg Traxler, Steve Caudill, Melinda Smale

Ascribing productivity gains to specific genes or accessions is difficult because of the nature of the research process in genetic enhancement, the relationship among genes within a genome, and the...

Acknowledgments (2009)

Melinda Smale, Patricia Zambrano, José Falck-zepeda, Guillaume Gruère, Svetlana Edmeades, Latha Nagarajan, ...

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...

COMBINING REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCE METHODS TO ASSESS THE PRIVATE VALUE OF AGROBIODIVERSITY IN HUNGARIAN HOME GARDENS (2009)

Ekin Birol, Andreas Kontoleon, Melinda Smale, Joffre Swait, Timothy Swanson, Eric Van Dusen

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...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (2008)

Latha Nagarajan, Melinda Smale, Paul Glewwe

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...

the University of Hohenheim and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation (GTZ/BEAF). The authors thank Bonwoo (2008)

J. Daniela Horna, Melinda Smale, Koo Sevetlana Edmeades

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...

The European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (2008)

Latha Nagarajan, Melinda Smale

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...

www.ifpri.org (2008)

Melinda Smale, Oxfam America

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...

TO REACH THE POOR – RESULTS FROM THE ISNAR-IFPRI NEXT HARVEST STUDY ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS, PUBLIC RESEARCH, AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS Authors in alphabetical order: (2007)

Atanas Atanassov, Ahmed Bahieldin, Johan Brink, Moises Burachik, Joel I. Cohen, Vibha Dhawan, ...

EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that...

EPTD Discussion Paper No. 117 AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES IN A TRANSITIONAL ECONOMY: THE VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY IN HUNGARIAN HOME GARDENS (2007)

Ekin Birol, Melinda Smale, Ágnes Gyovai

EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that...

The Economic Impact and the Distribution of Benefits and Risk from the Adoption of Insect Resistant (Bt) Cotton in West Africa (2007)

Jose Falck-zepeda, Daniela Horna, Melinda Smale, Jose Falck-zepeda, Daniela Horna, Melinda Smale

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...

Gender, Social Capital and Information Exchange in Rural Uganda (2006)

Katungi, Enid, Edmeades, Svetlana, Smale, Melinda

Changing agricultural research and extension systems mean that informal mechanisms of information diffusion are often the primary source of information about improved seed and practices for farmers...

Local Seed Systems for Millet Crops in Marginal Environments of India: Industry and Policy Perspectives, by Latha (2006)

Latha Nagarajan, Philip G. Pardey, Melinda Smale

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...

Genetic Resource Policies What is Diversity Worth to Farmers? (2005)

Melinda Smale, A King

IFPRI and IPGRI are international food and environmental research organizations principally funded by governments, private foundations, and regional and international organizations, most of which are...

Diagnostic research to enable adoption of transgenic crop varieties by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (2004)

Smale, Melinda; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC, USA. ; M.smale@cgiar.org

Diagnostic research is important in helping to create an enabling environment for promising biotechnology products in smallholder agriculture, before rather than after release. The biotechnology...

EPTD Discussion Paper No. 125 VARIETY DEMAND WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF AN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD MODEL WITH ATTRIBUTES: THE CASE OF BANANAS IN UGANDA (2004)

Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale, Mitch Renkow, Dan Phaneuf

EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that...

EPTD DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 119 INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES, THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR OWNERSHIP: (2004)

The Case, Of The, U. S. National, Plant Germplasm System, Kelly Day Rubenstein, Melinda Smale

EPTD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most...

Diagnostic research to enable adoption of transgenic crop varieties by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (2003)

Smale, Melinda, Groote, Hugo

Diagnostic research is important in helping to create an enabling environment for promising biotechnology products in smallholder agriculture, before rather than after release. The biotechnology...

crop varieties by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (2003)

Melinda Smale, Hugo De Groote

Diagnostic research is important in helping to create an enabling environment for promising biotechnology products in smallholder agriculture, before rather than after release. The biotechnology...

Eptd Discussion Paper No. 105 (2003)

Environment And Production, Samuel Benin, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Melinda Smale, John Pender, Simeon Ehui

On farm conservation of crop diversity poses obvious policy challenges in terms of the design of appropriate incentive mechanisms and possible trade-offs between conservation and productivity. This...

Eptd Discussion Paper No. 97 (2003)

Environment And Production, Melinda Smale, Thom Jayne

This synthesis revisits the maize success story in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing selectively from an extensive published literature about maize seed technical change and related policies. The review...

and International Network for Improvement of Banana and Plaintains (a program of (2003)

Charlotte Lusty, Melinda Smale, In Collaboration

This report documents the discussions and results of a research design workshop held at the Equatoria Hotel in Kampala, November 7-11, 2002. The meeting was the first formal gathering of the...

Local seed systems and village-level determinants of millet crop diversity in marginal environments of India:

Nagarajan, Latha, Smale, Melinda

"In the subsistence-oriented, semi-arid production systems of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, India, the environment is marginal for crop growth and often there is no substitute for millet crops....

Comparing farm and village-level determinants of millet diversity in marginal environments of India: the context of seed systems

Nagarajan, Latha, Smale, Melinda, Glewwe, Paul

"The purpose of the research paper is to characterize biological diversity related to millets in the semi-arid regions of India at various spatial scales of analysis (e.g., farm household versus...

Farmer willingness to pay for seed-related information: rice varieties in Nigeria and Benin

Horna, J. Daniela, Smale, Melinda, Von Oppen, Matthias

"A typical private good is defined by its excludability and rivalry characteristics. Information embodied in a technology might not generate rivalry among its users. By contrast, excludability is...

On farm conservation of rice biodiversity in Nepal: a simultaneous estimation approach

Gauchan, Devendra, Van Dusen, M. E., Smale, Melinda

"This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers,...

Maize breeding in East and Southern Africa, 1900–2000

Smale, Melinda, Jayne, T. S.

"During the first half of the 20th century, African farmers transformed maize from a minor imported foodcrop into the continent's principal staple food. In the second half of the century, newly...

Sustainable Use and Management of Crop Genetic Resources: Landraces on Hungarian Small Farms

Ekin Birol, Melinda Smale, Agnes Gyovai

Crop genetic resources are natural assets that are necessary for future crop improvement. In isolated, marginal production environments where markets function imperfectly, farm families depend on...

Local seed systems for millet crops in marginal environments of India: industry and policy perspectives

Nagarajan, Latha, Pardey, Philip G., Smale, Melinda

"Changes in India's seed regulations during the 1990s favored the growth of privately- as compared to publicly-funded sectors. Most advances have been made in the major millet crops, sorghum and...

Farmer management of production risk on degraded lands: the role of wheat genetic diversity in Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Di Falco, Salvatore, Chavas, Jean-Paul, Smale, Melinda

"This paper investigates the effects of wheat genetic diversity and land degradation on risk and agricultural productivity in less favored production environments of a developing agricultural...

Marketing underutilized plant species for the benefit of the poor: a conceptual framework

Gruère, Guillaume, Giuliani, Alessandra, Smale, Melinda

"Modern crop production is based on only a few plant species. Particularly in marginal environments of developing agricultural economies, many less well-known agricultural or non-timber forest...

The economic impact and the distribution of benefits and risk from the adoption of insect resistant (Bt) cotton in West Africa:

Falck-Zepeda, Jose, Horna, Daniela, Smale, Melinda

"Cotton is the largest source of export receipts of several West African countries. Statistics however show a decreasing tendency in cotton yields and an increasing tendency in pesticide use. Under...

Farmer preferences for Milpa diversity and genetically modified maize in Mexico: A latent class approach

Birol, Ekin, Villalba, Eric Rayn, Smale, Melinda

"Maize, the second most globally important staple crop after wheat, originated in Mexico, where it is typically grown as part of a set of associated crops and practices called the milpa system. This...

Seed provision and dryland crops in the semiarid regions of Eastern Kenya:

Nagarajan, Latha, Audi, Patrick, Jones, Richard, Smale, Melinda

"Over the last two decades, several seed-related programs have been initiated in eastern Kenya to improve farmers' access to quality seeds of dryland cereals and legumes. They are provided during two...

Trading millet and sorghum genetic resources women vendors in the village fairs of San and Souentza, Mali:

Smale, Melinda, Diakité, Lamissa, Dembélé, Brahima, Traoré, Issa Seni, Guindo, Oumar, Konta, Bouréma

"In Mali, liberalization of seed markets for sorghum and millet, the staple food crops, has not advanced at the same rate or with the same measurable success as liberalization of grain markets. Most...

Seed value chains for Sorghum and Millet in Mali: A state-based system in transition

Diakité, Lamissa, Sidibé, Amadou, Smale, Melinda, Grum, Mikkel

"This paper reviews the structure and performance of the sorghum and millet seed sector in Mali. The Sahel is the origin of pearl millet and sorghum, seed selection and management of these crops is...

Determinants of Cereal Diversity in Communities and on Household Farms of the Northern Ethiopian Highlands

Samuel Benin, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Melinda Smale, John Pender, Simeon Ehui

On farm conservation of crop diversity poses obvious policy challenges in terms of the design of appropriate incentive mechanisms and possible trade-offs between conservation and productivity. This...

Rights and Access to Plant Genetic Resources under India's New Law

Anitha Ramanna, Melinda Smale

Recognition of 'Farmer's Rights' is an attempt by developing countries to evolve a counterclaim to breeders' Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) promoted under the TRIPs Agreement of the WTO. India...

A trait-based model of the potential demand for a genetically engineered food crop in a developing economy

Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale

We predict the potential demand of smallholder farmers for genetically transformed varieties of a food crop, the cooking banana of the East African highlands. Farmer demand for planting material is...

Farmer management of production risk on degraded lands: the role of wheat variety diversity in the Tigray region, Ethiopia

Salvatore Di Falco, Jean-Paul Chavas, Melinda Smale

This article investigates the effects of wheat genetic diversity and land degradation on risk and agricultural productivity in less favored production environments of a developing agricultural...

Determinants of millet diversity at the household-farm and village-community levels in the drylands of India: the role of local seed systems

Latha Nagarajan, Melinda Smale, Paul Glewwe

This research characterizes the biological diversity of millet crops in the semiarid regions of India at the household and village-community ( "panchayat") scales of analysis, placing that evidence...

Valuing Pre-Commercial Genetic Resources: A Maximum Entropy Approach

Armineh Zohrabian, Greg Traxler, Steven Caudill, Melinda Smale

Genetic improvement has been a major contributor to agricultural productivity in the United States, but many questions about the economics of crop breeding, such as the value of pre-commercial...

Searching an Ex Situ Collection of Wheat Genetic Resources.

Gollin, Douglas, Smale, Melinda, Skovmand, Bent

A theoretical model is developed and applied to the search for disease and pest resistance in ex situ collections of wheat genetic resources, employing actual data on frequency distributions, disease...

Gender, social capital and information exchange in rural Uganda:

Katungi, Enid, Edmeades, Svetlana, Smale, Melinda

"Changing agricultural research and extension systems mean that informal mechanisms of information diffusion are often the primary source of information about improved seed and practices for farmers...

Using a Choice Experiment to Estimate Farmers’ Valuation of Agrobiodiversity on Hungarian Small Farms

Ekin Birol, Melinda Smale, Ágnes Gyovai

agrobiodiversity, choice experiment, conservation, home gardens, Hungary, agrobiodiversity, choice experiment, conservation, home gardens, Hungary,

The demand for crop genetic resources: international use of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System

Smale, Melinda, Hodgkin, T., Zohrabian, Armineh, Day-Rubenstein, K.

In contrast to a perception that ex situ collections of germplasm are rarely used, this empirical case study reveals large quantities of germplasm samples distributed by the U.S. National Germplasm...

Maize in Eastern and Southern Africa: 'seeds' of success in retrospect

Smale, Melinda, Jayne, T.S.

This synthesis revisits the “maize success story” in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing selectively from an extensive published literature about maize seed technical change and related policies. The...

Determinants of cereal diversity in communities and on household farms of the Northern Ethiopian Highlands:

Benin, Samuel, Gebremedhin, Berhanu, Smale, Melinda, Pender, John L., Ehui, Simeon

"On farm conservation of crop diversity poses obvious policy challenges in terms of the design of appropriate incentive mechanisms and possible trade-offs between conservation and productivity. This...

To reach the poor: results from the ISNAR-IFPRI Next Harvest study on genetically modified crops, public research, and policy implications

Atanassov, Atanas, Bahieldin, Ahmed, Brink, Johan, Burachik, Moises, Cohen, Joel I., Dhawan, Vibha, ...

"Local farming communities throughout the world face productivity constraints, environmental concerns, and diverse nutritional needs. Developing countries address these challenges in a number of...

Agri-environmental policies in a transitional economy: the value of agricultural biodiversity in Hungarian home gardens

Birol, Ekin, Smale, Melinda, Gyovai, Ágnes

"Agricultural biodiversity is an environmental resource. Much of the agricultural biodiversity remaining in situ today is found on the semi-subsistence farms of poorer countries and the small-scale...

International exchange of genetic resources, the role of information and implications for ownership: the case of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System

Rubenstein, Kelly Day, Smale, Melinda

"Changing perceptions of resource ownership have altered international exchange of genetic resources. After summarizing the role of genebanks and issues related to property regimes, this paper...

Variety demand within the framework of an agricultural household model with attributes: the case of bananas in Uganda

Edmeades, Svetlana, Smale, Melinda, Renkow, Mitch, Phaneuf, Dan

Ugandan smallholder farmers produce the nation's major food crop using numerous banana varieties with distinctive attributes, while coping with important biotic constraints and imperfect markets....

Combining revealed and stated preference methods to assess the private value of agrobiodiversity in Hungarian home gardens:

Birol, Ekin, Kontoleon, Andreas, Smale, Melinda

" Hungarian home gardens are small-scale farms managed by farm households using traditional management practices and family labor. They generate private benefits for farmers by enhancing diet quality...

Parables: applied economics literature about the impact of genetically engineered crop varieties in developing economies

Smale, Melinda, Zambrano, Patricia, Falck-Zepeda, José, Gruère, Guillaume

"A vast literature has accumulated since crop varieties with transgenic resistance to insects and herbicide tolerance were released to farmers in 1996 and 1997. A comparatively minor segment of this...

The economic impact and the distribution of benefits and risk from the adoption of insect resistant (Bt) cotton in West Africa:

Falck-Zepeda, Jose, Horna, Daniela, Smale, Melinda

"Cotton is the largest source of export receipts of several West African countries. Statistics however show a decreasing tendency in cotton yields and an increasing tendency in pesticide use. Under...

Farmer preferences for Milpa diversity and genetically modified maize in Mexico: a latent class approach

Birol, Ekin, Villalba, Eric Rayn, Smale, Melinda

"Maize, the second most globally important staple crop after wheat, originated in Mexico, where it is typically grown as part of a set of associated crops and practices called the milpa system. This...

Agri-Environmental Policies in a Transition Economy: Using a Choice Experiment to Value Agricultural Biodiversity on Hungarian Small Farms

Ekin Birol, Ágnes Gyovai, Melinda Smale

Agricultural biodiversity is a crucial environmental resource. Much of the agricultural biodiversity remaining today is found on the semi-subsistence farms of poorer countries and on the small-scale...

Conserving Crop Genetic Resources on Smallholder Farms in Hungary: Institutional Analysis

Györgyi Bela, György Pataki, Melinda Smale, Mariann Hajdú

Hungary is home to a great diversity of plant and animal species, whose preservation is of global value. This paper focuses on the institutional aspects of the research project on on-farm...

Using a Choice Experiment to Estimate the Demand of Hungarian Farmers for Food Security and Agrobiodiversity During Economic Transition

Ekin Birol, Andreas Kontoleon, Melinda Smale

Hungarian home gardens are small farms that are repositories of agrobiodiversity and provide food security during economic transition. We use a choice experiment to test the hypothesis that farmer...

An economic assessment of banana genetic improvement and innovation in the Lake Victoria Region of Uganda and Tanzania:

Smale, Melinda, Tushemereirwe, Wilbeforce K.

"This research report highlights findings from a set of studies undertaken by applied economists on the impact of improved banana cultivars and recommended management practices in the East African...

Insecticide use on vegetables in Ghana: Would GM seed benefit farmers?

Horna, Daniela, Smale, Melinda, Al-Hassan, Ramatu, Falck-Zepeda, José, Timpo, Samuel E.

"Tomato, cabbage, and garden egg (African eggplant, or Solanum aethiopicum) are important crops for small-scale farmers and migrants in the rural and peri-urban areas of Ghana. Genetic modification...

Modelling the Crop Variety Demand of Semi-Subsistence Households: Bananas in Uganda

Svetlana Edmeades, Daniel J. Phaneuf, Melinda Smale, Mitch Renkow

We propose an approach to model the derived demand for crop varieties among semi-subsistence farmers in a developing economy, and apply it to smallholder banana producers in Uganda. We model variety...

Local Seed Markets and the Determinants of Crop Variety Diversity in Marginal Environments: The Case of Millet in Semi-Arid India

Nagarajan, Latha, Smale, Melinda, Glewwe, Paul

The purpose of the research paper is to characterize biological diversity related to millets in the semi-arid regions of India at various spatial scales of analysis (e.g., farm household versus...

PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION IN NIGERIA AND BENIN: DETERMINING THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR INFORMATION

Horna, J. Daniela, Smale, Melinda, Von Oppen, Matthias

A typical private good is defined by its excludability and rivalry characteristics. Information might not generate rivalry among its users. By contrast, excludability is certainly a characteristic of...

On farm conservation of rice biodiversity in Nepal

Van Dusen, Eric, Gauchan, Devendra, Smale, Melinda

This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers,...

Insecticide Use on Vegetables in Ghana: Would GM Seed Benefit Farmers?

Horna, Daniela, Smale, Melinda, Al-Hassan, Ramatu, Falck-Zepeda, Jose, Timpo, Samuel E.

Tomato, cabbage and garden egg (African eggplant, or Solanum Aethiopicum) are important crops for small-scale farmers and migrants in the rural and peri-urban areas of Ghana. Genetic modification...

THE COST OF WHEAT DIVERSITY IN CHINA

Meng, Erika C.H., Smale, Melinda, Rozelle, Scott, Ruifa, HU, Huang, Jikun

Initial efforts to estimate the effects on productivity of diversity among modern varieties in a production function framework have been unsatisfactory in at least two respects. First, the...

CROP BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR AFRICA: WHO WILL GAIN FROM BT MAIZE IN KENYA?

Owuor, George, Smale, Melinda, De Groote, Hugo

Bt maize in Kenya is promising biotechnology innovation for poor households. Econometric prediction from a trait-based model of variety adoption indicates that the choice of host variety has equity...

VARIETY DEMAND IN AN INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD MODEL WITH ATTRIBUTES: IMPLICATIONS FOR EMERGING CROP BIOTECHNOLOGIES

Edmeades, Svetlana, Phaneuf, Daniel, Smale, Melinda, Renkow, Mitch

In this paper we consider the role of variety attributes in an agricultural household model of variety planting decisions. In an application to banana production in Uganda we derive a system of...

SEARCHING A GENE BANK: THE CASE OF WHEAT

Gollin, Douglas, Smale, Melinda, Skovmand, Bent

Using data on the distributions of disease and pest resistance among wheat varieties, this paper reports theoretical and empirical findings concerning the efficient management of a gene bank and the...

VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS AND THE LAND ALLOCATION DECISIONS OF FARMERS IN A CENTER OF MAIZE DIVERSITY

Smale, Melinda, Bellon, Mauricio, Aguirre, Alfonso

There is emerging interest in the prospects for enhancing farmers' management of genetic resources as a complementary strategy to ex situ conservation. Using a framework that combines a...

Wheat breeding, productivity and slow variety change: evidence from the Punjab of India after the Green Revolution *

Melinda Smale, Joginder Singh, Salvatore Di Falco, Patricia Zambrano

Variety change and genetic diversity are important means of combating crop losses from pests and diseases in modern agricultural systems. Since the Green Revolution, genetic diversity among wheat...

USING A CHOICE EXPERIMENT TO ESTIMATE THE DEMAND OF HUNGARIAN FARMERS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND AGROBIODIVERSITY DURING ECONOMIC TRANSITION

Birol, Ekin, Kontoleon, Andreas, Smale, Melinda

Hungarian home gardens are small farms that are repositories of agrobiodiversity and provide food security during economic transition. We use a choice experiment to test the hypothesis that farmer...

Wheat Diversity and Productivity in Indian Punjab After the Green Revolution

Smale, Melinda, Singh, Joginder, Di Falco, Salvatore, Zambrano, Patricia

The Punjab of India is an historical source of key wheat genetic resources in national and global plant breeding, and a focus of concerns about the abandonment of local varieties during the Green...

Marketing Underutilized Plant Species for the Poor

Gruere, Guillaume, Smale, Melinda, Giuliani, Alessandra

Underutilized plant species are defined as agricultural or non-timber forest species that are locally abundant in developing countries but globally rare. Scientific information about them is scant...

Gender, social capital and information exchange in rural Uganda

Enid Katungi, Svetlana Edmeades, Melinda Smale

Changing agricultural research and extension systems mean that informal mechanisms of information diffusion are often the primary source of information about improved seed and practices for farmers...

Local markets, local varieties: Rising food prices and small farmers' access to seed

Smale, Melinda, Cohen, Marc J., Nagarajan, Latha

"There are no easy solutions to the ongoing food price crisis. Maize and wheat prices doubled between 2003 and 2008, and the price of rice doubled in the first four months of 2008, rising 33 percent...

Measuring the economic impacts of transgenic crops in developing agriculture during the first decade: Approaches, findings, and future directions

Smale, Melinda, Zambrano, Patricia, Gruère, Guillaume, Falck-Zepeda, José, Matuschke, Ira, Horna, Daniela, ...

"As progressively more farmers in developing countries begin using biotech crops, careful evaluation of such crops' benefits becomes ever more important. This food policy review examines the applied...

Organization and Performance of National Maize Seed Industries: A New Institutionalist Perspective

Morris, Michael L., Smale, Melinda

Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Sources of Productivity Growth in Wheat: A Review of Recent Performance and Medium- to Long-Term Prospects

Rejesus, Roderick M., Heisey, Paul W., Smale, Melinda

Sources of yield growth in wheat are investigated based on a stylized framework of technical change. Evidence suggests that the relative contribution of input intensification to yield growth has...

The Contribution of Genetic Resources and Diversity to Wheat Productivity: A Case from the Punjab of Pakistan

Hartell, Jason, Smale, Melinda, Heisey, Paul W., Senauer, Ben

This study makes use of data on wheat production in the Punjab of Pakistan from 1979 to 1985 to 1) examine patterns of varietal diversity in farmers' fields both at the regional and district levels...

IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE GERMPLASM FOR PARTICIPATORY BREEDING: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE CENTRAL VALLEYS OF OAXACA, MEXICO

Bellon, Mauricio R., Smale, Melinda, Aguirre, Alfonso, Taba, Suketoshi, Aragon, Flavio, Diaz, Jaime, ...

Identifying the appropriate germplasm to be improved is a key component of any participatory breeding effort because of its implications for impacts on social welfare and genetic diversity. This...

Farmers' Seed Selection Practices and Maize Variety Characteristics in a Traditionally-Based Mexican Community

Louette, Dominique, Smale, Melinda

Experimental results and farmer surveys in a Mexican community indicate that farmers’ seed selection practices protect the phenological integrity of their maize varieties as they define...

Understanding Global Trends in the Use of Wheat Diversity and International Flows of Wheat Genetic Resources

Smale, Melinda

This paper discusses the centers of origin and diversity for bread wheat; sketches historical patterns in the sources and use of wheat genetic resources in modern plant breeding; identifies and...

Optimal Search in Ex situ Collections of Wheat Genetic Resources

Gollin, Douglas, Smale, Melinda, Skovmand, Bent

This paper develops a theoretical model for analyzing gene bank management decisions regarding the search for traits of economic value in ex situ collections of wheat. The model is applied to data on...

The Private and Public Characteristics of Maize Land Races and the Area Allocation Decisions of Farmers in a Center of Crop Diversity

Smale, Melinda, Bellon, Mauricio R., Gomez, Jose Alfonso Aguirre

This study uses an approach derived from models of the private and public characteristics of goods to illustrate (1) the overriding importance of variety attributes in farmers' decisions to allocate...

Institutional Change and Discontinuities in Farmers' Use of Hybrid Maize Seed and Fertilizer in Malawi: Findings from the 1996-97 CIMMYT/ MoALD Survey

Smale, Melinda, Phiri, Alexander

This study records the use of hybrid maize seed and fertilizer by small-scale farmers in Malawi, as well as their opinions about these inputs, from 1989-90 through 1996-97. Its main purpose is to...

Using Economics to Explain Spatial Diversity in a Wheat Crop: Examples from Australia and China

Smale, Melinda, Meng, Erika, Brennan, John P., Hu, Ruifa

Spatial diversity indicators may serve an important function for policymakers as they seek to manage crop genetic diversity and potential externalities associated with diffusion of some types of...

Farmers' Use of Improved Seed Selection Practices in Mexican Maize: Evidence and Issues from the Sierra de Santa Marta

Rice, Elizabeth, Smale, Melinda, Blanco, Jose-Luis

The principal advantage of in situ conservation is that it allows adaptive evolutionary processes to continue in the species that are being conserved. For a cultivated crop species, in situ...

A Regional Analysis of Maize Biological Diversity in Southeastern Guanajuato, Mexico

Gomez, Jose Alfonso Aguirre, Bellon, Mauricio R., Smale, Melinda

Four environments with contrasting potential for agricultural productivity and infrastructure development were identified in Guanajuato State, Mexico, to test hypotheses about the relationship of...

Farmer preferences for milpa diversity and genetically modified maize in Mexico: a latent class approach

BIROL, EKIN, VILLALBA, ERIC RAYN, SMALE, MELINDA

Maize originated in Mexico, where it is typically grown in association with other crops in the milpa system. This ancient mode of production is practiced today in ways that vary by cultural context...

Vegetable Production and Pesticide Use in Ghana: Would GM Varieties Have an Impact at the Farm Level

Horna, Daniela, Timpo, Samuel, Al-Hassan, Ramatu M., Smale, Melinda, Falck-Zepeda, José

The objective of this study is to evaluate pesticide use as an important factor affecting potential adoption and farm level impact of genetically modified (GM) vegetable varieties in Ghana. Tomato is...