Persistent food shortage and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are major development issues. New Rice for Africa (NERICA) was developed to boost crop yield and income of rural households in SSA. Although its high-yielding traits have become fairly well known, there is no empirical analysis of its impact on income and poverty. By taking the case of Uganda where a NERICA promoting program was initiated as one of the major poverty eradication measures, this study attempts to compare actual income with the hypothetical income without NERICA. We found that introduction of NERICA decreases poverty to a significant extent without deteriorating income distribution. Copyright (c)2008 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
By using cross-sectional data from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, this article estimates the determinants of the participation in local nonfarm activities and migration at the individual level and then estimates the determinants of farm and nonfarm income. The results indicate that schooling and local language ability increase participation in local nonfarm activities and migration. Schooling also is found to increase nonfarm income at the household level but not farm income. We also find that farm household members from low-potential agricultural areas are more likely to participate in local nonfarm activities and migration than those from high-potential agricultural areas. Thus, the results suggest that local nonfarm activities and migration offer employment opportunities for workers from low-potential agricultural areas. Indeed, the nonfarm activities and migration is likely to provide an important pathway to reduce poverty in low-potential agricultural areas in East Africa. Copyright 2006 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
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