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Dissertations, Theses and Plan B Papers -- Abstract

Karanja, Daniel David. The Rate of Return to Maize Research in Kenya, 1955-1988. Master's Thesis, 1990. Major Professor: Eicher. 

Kenya's agricultural sector is facing several contemporary challenges including the need to feed a rapidly growing population. Maize is the staple food for over ninety percent of the population. In 1955, the Kenyan government initiated a hybrid maize research program which resulted in the release of high-yielding maize varieties. The hybrids contributed to a doubling of the national maize yield, near tripling of the area under maize and a fivefold increase in national maize output over the 1955-88 period.

Today, there is a growing interest in the assessment of productivity of agricultural research and development of guidelines on how much national governments and donors should invest in research in Africa. This study pioneers the evaluation of returns to agricultural research in Kenya and uses a production function approach to evaluate the rate of return to investments in maize research from 1955 to 1988. The results indicate that past maize research, extension and seed development programs contributed to increased maize production. The average rate of return to investments in maize research over the 1955-88 period was found to be sixty-eight percent.