Seed Provision and Agricultural Development: The Institutions of Rural Change

Abstract

Robert Tripp. Seed Provision and Agricultural Development: The Institutions of Rural Change. London: Overseas Development Institute/Oxford: James Currey/Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 2001. viii + 174 pp. Tables. Notes. References. Index. $64.00. Cloth. The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of nature of provision, a topic author, Robert Tripp, situates at forefront of contemporary debates on rural in global south. Tripp astutely links this topic to larger theoretical discussions by using seed provision as a lens through which to examine broader subject of agricultural development (2). More specifically, the book examines how institutions of provision developed in industrial economies and assesses performance of contemporary institutions in South (10). A major thesis of volume is that efficient information exchange is required for of sector and that institutions (rules and organizations) are important for facilitating such exchange. While author frequently uses examples from African continent (particularly Anglophone Africa), he explores provision and agricultural in a variety of contexts (Africa, Latin America, Asia). Although study engages theory, it is written in straightforward prose, employing academic jargon only where it is helpful and when it has been explained. The book is organized into eight chapters. The first offers an introduction and a discussion of agricultural development. In second chapter, author argues for a focus on institutions and incentives as a way to approach study of agricultural development. Tripp suggests a pragmatic combination of new institutional economics and new economic sociology in order to do this. In chapter 3 he reviews factors that motivate a farmer's selection of seeds and crop varieties, and biological aspects of plant breeding and production. Chapter 4 describes organization of farm-level provision, including farmers' management and selection of crop varieties, flows among farmers, and problem of imperfect information. The evolution of commercial sector is described in chapter 5. As farm level and commercial systems expand, government often becomes involved in tasks that are difficult to organize independently. This public-sector involvement in systems is assessed in chapter 6. Donor and government interventions, particularly projects, are discussed in chapter 7. Finally, chapter 8 summarizes book's findings and makes suggestions for system development. …