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Public and private investment in Research and Development are an important source of economic growth. This article documents the high rate of return to society from investment in agricultural research. The analysis took the form of estimating the gains in producer and consumer surplus from research that improved rapeseed yield in western Canada and related these gains to research expenditures by calculating an internal rate of return. The distribution of the return between consumers and producers were estimated. The internal rate of return was found to be 101 percent and indicates an underinvestment in this type of research. Of the total net benefits, consumers captured 53 percent and producers 47 percent.L'argent public et prive investi dans la recherche et le diveloppement est une source importante de croissance iconomique. Le prhent article fournit une documentation sur le taux CIevC des profits que rapportent 2 la sociCt6 les investissements dans la recherche en agriculture. Notre analyse a pris la forme d'une estimation des gains en surplus rtalises par le producteur et Ie consommateur, 2 la suite de recherches amkliorant le rendement de la semence du colza dans l'ouest canadien, puis nous avons Ctabli un rapport entre ces gains et les dipenses pour la recherche en calculant un taux de profits internes. Nous avons Cvalut la rCpartition des profits entre consommateurs et producteurs. Le taux des profits internes s'est avCr6 &re de 101 pour cent, et cela signifie un sous-investissement dans ce type de recherche. Les consommateurs ont rtalis6 53 pour cent du total des Mn6ficies nets, alors que les producteurs en ont ricupiri 47 pour cent. 1928 ems

No abstract

Nagy, J.G., Sanders, J.H. and Ohm, H.W., 1988. Cereal technology interventions for the West African semi-arid tropics. Agric. Econ., One of the regions of most concern in Sub-Saharan Africa is the geographical area of the West African semi-arid tropics (WASAT) where there has been little impact from the green revolution and most of the region suffers from inadequate and irregular rainfall and low fertility soils. Decreasing per-capita food production trends and 2-3% per-year population growth trends have convinced some to adopt a Malthusian perspective about the future of the WASAT. This paper evaluates the prospects of agricultural technologies and farm management practices that are currently proposed for the WASAT cereal farming system. The technologies are assessed with respect to their agronomic and economic feasibility, risk and their fit within the farming systems. They are ranked as to their feasibility of adoption by farmers in the short, intermediate and long run. The findings suggest that several agricultural technologies are feasible for use in the short run provided that they are used as a package. The complexity and initial high financial and human capital requirements, however, often prohibit farmers from adopting the total package simultaneously. A stepwise approach to adoption is difficult since separate adoption results in lower profitability and higher risk levels. Government policy intervention may be necessary to enable farmers to adopt single technologies en route to total package adoption.

One of the regions of most concern in Sub‐Saharan Africa is the geographical area of the West African semi‐arid tropics (WASAT) where there has been little impact from the green revolution and most of the region suffers from inadequate and irregular rainfall and low fertility soils. Decreasing per‐capita food production trends and 2‐3% per‐year population growth trends have convinced some to adopt a Malthusian perspective about the future of the WASAT. This paper evaluates the prospects of agricultural technologies and farm management practices that are currently proposed for the WASAT cereal farming system. The technologies are assessed with respect to their agronomic and economic feasibility, risk and their fit within the farming systems. They are ranked as to their feasibility of adoption by farmers in the short, intermediate and long run. The findings suggest that several agricultural technologies are feasible for use in the short run provided that they are used as a package. The complexity and initial high financial and human capital requirements, however, often prohibit farmers from adopting the total package simultaneously. A stepwise approach to adoption is difficult since separate adoption results in lower profitability and higher risk levels. Government policy intervention may be necessary to enable farmers to adopt single technologies en route to total package adoption.