Productivity gains from rice genetic enhancements in West Africa: Countries and ecologies

Many critics claim that public research in West Africa has failed to develop technological innovations to improve productivity and stimulate economic development in the agricultural sector. Using Griliches' method of estimating the impact of a research induced supply shift, this study finds that rice varietal improvement generated a producer surplus gain of approximately US$360 million in 1998 in the seven most important rice-producing countries of West Africa. Eighty-one percent of this gain has occurred in the irrigated and rainfed lowland ecologies which occupy just 12% and 35% of total regional rice area respectively. By contrast, approximately US$5.6 million is invested annually in regional varietal improvement research. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.