With the EU sugar reforms, the overall economic weight of the sugar sector has fallen. The sugar sector's contribution to GDP is now comparatively small, around 1.9% of GDP in 2008. In this context, the Mauritian government and the private sector defined the Multi-Annual Adaptation Strategy (MAAS) to restructure and establish a more…"

About 70-75 percent of Botswana beef exports are consumed in the European Union (EU) beef market. In 1997, the EU introduced a directive which made it mandatory for beef exported to the EU to be identifiable and traceable from farm to fork through a computerized system. Botswana then introduced the livestock identification and…"

This paper will review the attempts at fostering resource poor small-scale agricultural development in South Africa from 1994 to the present. Based on the lack of a concerted policy for support and development of this group of farmers and given the incomplete datasets about this group a number an attempt will be made…"

Presently, deep-sea vessels fishing Hake under-catch their annual allocation by nearly 10,000 tons and it is claimed that this is because there is no basis on which to target by-catch once the allowable Hake quota has been caught. The following policy and regulatory issues would permit Horse Mackerel, which is a form of…"

In the 1980s, aquaculture, or fish farming, was in its infancy, globally. Today, it accounts for close to 50 million tons annually, making up nearly half of all fish products consumed. Of this, Africa has a 1% market share and South Africa accounts for about 1% of the African slice. China and Chile…"

The food processing sector is widely regarded as having the potential to generate economic growth, entrepreneurial opportunities and employment (FAO, 1997; CIAT, 2002; Lambert, 2001; McCormick and Atieno, 2002). In developing countries the interest in agro-processing is associated with its potential for generating demand amongst smallholder farmers, upgrading primary production through small scale…"

Agricultural research and development (R&D) is critical to the improvement of incomes and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, several studies on agricultural R&D suggest that many countries in the region are unable to bring public and private sector assets and resources together as a means of advancing agricultural R&D. This is true not…"

There is a general consensus that bad economic policies, among other factors, are to blame for the poor performance of economies in sub Saharan African (SSA). However, there is no similar consensus on the effect of economic reforms on poverty alleviation, a primary goal of any economy in the region. This paper looked…"

The aim of this paper is to better understand farmers' perception of the relevance of different development intervention programs. Farmers' subjective ranking of agricultural problems and their preference for development intervention are elicited using a stated preference method. The factors influencing these preferences are determined using a random utility model. The study is…"

This paper deals with the importance of agricultural policy and technology for farmers' food security and market integration. We draw on data recently collected in interviews with over 3000 farmers in eight sub-Saharan African countries.2 The results indicate that the food production among African smallholders is highly responsive to increased use of industrial…"

The first generation of genetically modified (GM) crop varieties sought to increase farmer profitability through cost reductions or higher yields. The next generation of GM food research is focusing also on breeding for attributes of interest to consumers, beginning with 'golden rice', which has been genetically engineered to contain a higher level of…"

The international commodity market is increasingly characterized by a fall in the relative value of products mainly due to increased competition. Because of the competitive pressures in the global market place, it is not surprising that exporters from economies that rely relatively more for their well being on the export of commodities such…"

The purpose in this paper is to provide a framework for the analysis of the relationship between different macroeconomic, sector and commodity policies and the multiplier effects of agriculture. To this end, the paper starts with a listing of the macroeconomic, sector and commodity policies that have been included in the analysis. This…"

High and growing rates of unemployment have been a source of great frustration to policy-makers. Although exports have been buoyant and the 1990s has been the first decade of sustained growth, unemployment has been rising by 2 percentage points each year. If the expanded definition is used, the rate of unemployment reached 41.8%…"

In 1996 the maize market was liberalised and the maize marketing board was abolished. This has meant that prices and production decisions now respond to market forces. At the same time there has been a restructuring of agents at different levels of the maize supply chain and there are relatively high levels of…"

The study provides a general overview of current issues in the South African Distribution Sector. It is restricted to focussing on three industries namely, pharmaceutical distribution, distribution in the food industry and distribution in the automotive industry. In examining the behaviour of SA retail pharmacies it becomes apparent that retailers have attempted to…"

This paper is about changes in the regulation of citrus exports from South Africa. It traces the changes from state regulation of the citrus chain to very recent forms of private regulation in the context of highly competitive global markets. The paper argues that while these forms of private regulation are positive in…"

Over the past two decades, South Africa's agricultural sector has been extensively liberalised. As a result, a closer examination of the data shows some interesting trends in international trade in food and beverage products. First, exports of processed foods and beverages have shown strong growth. Despite the large increase in exports to South…"

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the agricultural sector and identify the major factors impacting it's performance. This paper contains a situational analysis of the agricultural sector, a review of factors that contribute to the growth of the agricultural sector and the relative significance of factors impacting on output, employment,…"

Agricultural employment in South Africa's commercial farming sector is declining at an alarming rate. During the 11 year period from 1988 to 1998, for example, the commercial farm sector shed a staggering 140 000 regular jobs, a decline of roughly 20%. Moreover, there is a trend away from employment of regular, permanent workers,…"