Browsing by Author "Otsuka, Keijiro"

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Can Africa Replicate Asias Green Revolution in Rice?
(2010) Larson, Donald F.; Otsuka, Keijiro; Kajisa, Kei; Estudillo, Jonna; Diagne, Aliou
"Asia’s green revolution in rice was transformational and improved the lives of millions of poor households. Rice has become an increasingly important part of African diets and imports of rice have grown. Agronomists point out that large areas in Africa are well suited for rice and are encouraged by the field tests of new rice varieties. So is Africa poised for its own green revolution in rice? This study reviews the recent literature on rice technologies and their impact on productivity, incomes, and poverty, and compares current conditions in Africa with the conditions that prevailed in Asia as its rice revolution got under way. An important conclusion is that, to a degree, a rice revolution has already begun in Africa. Moreover, many of the same practices that have proved successful in Asia and in Africa can be applied where yields are currently low. At the same time, for many reasons, Africa’s rice revolution has been, and will continue to be, characterized by a mosaic of successes, situated where the conditions are right for new technologies to take hold. This can have profound effects in some places. But because diets, markets, and geography are heterogeneous in Africa, the successful transformation of the Africa’s rice sector must be matched by productivity gains in other crops to fully launch Africa’s Green Revolution."
The Changing Effects of Agro-Climate on Cereal Crop Yields during the Green Revolution in India, 1972 to 2002
(2013) Tsusaka, Takuji W.; Otsuka, Keijiro
"Conventionally, agricultural technologies associated with the Asian Green Revolution (GR) have been regarded as a resource-demanding type of technologies which achieve higher crop yields by intensive use of inputs including water, but are therefore sensitive to harsh agro-ecological conditions such as droughts. This study uniquely explores the changes over time in the impacts of climatic conditions and irrigation on cereal crop yields in India during the 31-year period from 1972 to 2002. A district-level panel data set is assembled from several sources, and the yield equations for five major crops (wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet) are estimated by combining two-way fixed effect and sample selection models. It is found that climate dependence of crop yields decreased over time, particularly at the later stage of the GR, indicating that GR technologies for these cereal crops have mitigated, rather than aggravated, the adverse effects of climatic conditions on crop yields. Moreover, it is also found that the adoption of irrigation leads not only to directly enhancing crop yields but also to alleviating the negative influences of temperature and rainfall. The results suggest that recent agricultural technologies developed in Asia can be conducive to overcoming harsh production environments in less-favored regions of the world, if proper institutions are in place."
Land Inheritance and Schooling in Matrilineal Societies: Evidence from Sumatra
(2001) Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Otsuka, Keijiro
"This paper explores statistically the implications of the shift from communal to individualized tenure on the distribution of land and schooling between sons and daughters in matrilineal societies, based on a Sumatra case study. The inheritance system is evolving from a strictly matrilineal system to a more egalitarian system in which sons and daughters inherit the type of land which is more intensive in their own work effort. While gender bias is either non-existent or small in land inheritance, daughters tend to be disadvantaged with respect to schooling. The gender gap in schooling, however, appears to be closing for the generation of younger children."
The Role of Tenure in the Management of Trees at the Community Level: Theoretical and Empirical Analyses from Uganda and Malawi
(2000) Place, Frank; Otsuka, Keijiro
"This paper examines the effects of tenure on tree management at a community level. First, several important conceptual issues arising from this particular meso-level focus are discussed. Second, a description of the key tenure and tree management issues in Uganda and Malawi is presented. In each case, data representing changes in land use and tree cover between the 1960?70s and 1990s are analyzed. In both countries, there has been significant conversion of land from woodlands to agriculture. Tree cover has been more or less maintained over time in Uganda but has decreased in Malawi. Lastly, the paper explores the relationships between tenure and tree management using econometric techniques. Tenure is found to be linked to land-use and tree-cover change in both countries, though it is not necessarily the most important factor (e.g., population pressure is the key driving force for land-use change). In Uganda, conversion of land was more rapid under the customary tenure system and tree cover on nonagricultural land better maintained under the mailo system. In Malawi there was more rapid land-use conversion and tree cover depletion where there were more changes to traditional tenure systems taking place."
The Role of Tenure in the Management of Trees at the Community Level: Theoretical and Empirical Analyses from Uganda and Malawi
(2002) Place, Frank; Otsuka, Keijiro
"This paper examines the effects of tenure on tree management at a community level. First, several important conceptual issues arising from this particular meso-level focus are discussed. Second, a description of the key tenure and tree management issues in Uganda and Malawi is presented. In each case, data representing changes in land use and tree cover between the 1960-70s and 1990s are analyzed. In both countries, there has been significant conversion of land from woodlands to agriculture. Tree cover has been more or less maintained over time in Uganda but has decreased in Malawi. Lastly, the paper explores the relationships between tenure and tree management using econometric techniques. Tenure is found to be linked to land-use and tree-cover change in both countries, though it is not necessarily the most important factor (e.g., population pressure is the key driving force for land-use change). In Uganda, conversion of land was more rapid under the customary tenure system and tree cover on nonagricultural land better maintained under the mailo system. In Malawi there was more rapid land-use conversion and tree cover depletion where there were more changes to traditional tenure systems taking place."