New markets and technological change for the traditional cereals in semi-arid Sub-Saharan Africa: The Malian case

Abstract

This paper addresses the need for development and research to be invested in semiarid regions of sub-Saharan Africa - not just in the high rainfall and irrigated regions, which have been the focus of efforts in the last three decades. The authors also describe the negative impact of the lack of policy regarding profitability of food crops. Good weather causes price collapse and bad weather creates crises that require food aid or subsidized food imports. The authors suggest the need for demand-side dissemination of improved technologies. To evaluate the effect of technological change and demand shifts for sorghum, the authors apply a sector model. The model simulates the impacts of policy combinations that cause farmers to receive higher prices after adopting higher-input technologies. The model also compares a policy focused on increasing yield and demand for sorghum in the semiarid region to policy strategies for high-rainfall zones.