| | This article sets out to survey the extent to which new agricultural technologies associated with 'Green Revolution' (the introduction of HYV (high yielding varieties) of foodgrains and/or their associated bio-chemical and mechanical technologies) have been introduced in Africa and attempts a preliminary assessment of their economic and social effects. Lawrence links similiar patterns in Sudan, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Ethiopia and Ghana. There is now significant evidence of the introduction and adoption of HYVs of maize, wheat and rice in Africa as well as the adoption of other technological innovations in irrigation and mechanisation, albeit with widely varying degrees of success and with many instances of failure. There are many standard technical explanations associated with the adoption of new technologies in agriculture: low levels of credit, poor supply of inputs, inadequate, faulty or no irrigation, poor extension advice, and low producer prices, as well as the poor state of the relationship between agronomic research and farm level innovation. Also discusses the role of the UNRISD (UN Research Institute for Social Development) in their Global-2 Programme. |
