BY MICHAEL CARTER, MARY MATHENGE, SAMUEL BIRD, TRAVIS LYBBERT, TIMOTHY NJAGI AND EMILIA TJERNSTRÖM
“Kenya’s Western Seed Company (WSC) built its business on maize varieties selected to perform well in mid-altitude regions. This model of developing seed fine-tuned to niche agro-ecological environments may help to increase smallholder agricultural productivity. In a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the impacts of WSC’s commercial expansion in both mid- and higher-altitude regions of Kenya. We find that in mid-altitude regions, the option to purchase WSC maize seed unambiguously increased productivity, but most significantly among better-resourced farmers who had historically used hybrid seed. This suggests that financial constraints limit the impacts of even an appropriate seed technology in a poor population.”