Impacts of drought-tolerant maize varieties on productivity, risk, and resource use: Evidence from Uganda

Franklin Simtowe, Emily Amondo, Paswel Marenya, Dil Rahut, Kai Sonder and Olaf Erenstein

Land Use Policy, 2019, vol. 88, issue C

Abstract: Weather variability is an important source of production risk for rainfed agriculture in developing countries. This paper evaluates the impacts of the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties on average maize yield, yield stability, risk exposure and resource use in rainfed smallholder maize farming. The study uses cross-sectional farm household-level data, collected from a sample of 840 farm households in Uganda. The adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties increased yield by 15% and reduced the probability of crop failure by 30%. We further show that the adoption of these varieties increased investments in maize production at the extensive margin through maize area increase and to a more limited extent at the intensive margin through mechanization. The findings show promise for further uptake and scaling of drought-tolerant maize varieties for increased productivity, reduced risk, and the transformation of the maize sector.

Keywords: Adoption; Weather risk; Drought tolerance; Yield; Crowding-In (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0264837718314534

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104091

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