Sustainability, New Intensive Technologies, and Institutional Change

Abstract

"With continuing population pressures and a lack of profitability of intensive production practices, crop yields have been declining and the soil degradation process has been accelerating in much of the Sahel. With mathematical programming, the authors explore the conditions under which farmers would adopot more intensive agricultural practices. The shift from extensive to intensive production practices is associated with decreased availability of land and increased profitability of agriculture. Model predictions are compared with recent technological changes occurring in the region. Some constraints to the introduction of new technologies are identified and several policy measures to accelerate technology introduction are evaluated. Finally, some implications of different technologies and policy measures for communal land use and the evolution of landholding institutions are evaluated."