Chapter 1 General introduction 1 Chapter 2 Planting the crops 19 Chapter 3 Irrigating the crops 45 Chapter 4 Harvesting the crops 71 Chapter 5 Selling the produce 93 Chapter 6 General discussion References Summary Curriculum Vitae This work would not have been possible without the support of numerous people that have given me much inspiration, shared joy and strength in difficult times. First and foremost, I am grateful for the help of my loving family and friends who always stand steadily by my side and are a never-ending source of trust, ideas, and confidence. You are dearly appreciated -I am who I am because of you. I am especially thankful to Zixi Li for her support in editing and proofreading, countless feedback and always keeping me on track. Second, I would like to thank my supervisors, co-authors, colleagues, and fellow researchers, many of whom became dear friends throughout the journey of writing this thesis. You let me learn and grow substantially as a researcher and as a person. I am especially grateful for Andrew McDonald's leadership, vision, and the freedom he entrusted and empowered me with to follow and direct intuition and inspiration into fruitful research. Likewise, Timothy Krupnik's novel ideas, Gerardo van Halsema's critical and strategic thinking, and Paul Struik's wonderfully precise and always timely guidance have been indispensable in producing this thesis. I am also thankful for the wonderful discussions, support, friendship, patience, and guidance from my other colleagues and mentors at CIMMYT, the CGIAR, Wageningen UR,