Why maize is different from other crops; Investment in maize breeding research; Products of maize breeding research; Adoption of modern varieties (MVs); Economic benefits associated with MV adoption.

Those who study global poverty and ways to reduce it face a perennial set of questions: Do advances in knowledge, research, and technology make a real difference in the lives of poor people? What effect does research have on the poor? Who benefits? The contributors to Agricultural Research, Livelihoods, and Poverty shed light on these questions through a collection of case studies that explore the types of impact that agricultural research has had on livelihoods and poverty in low-income countries.

This book integrates many fields to help students understand the complexity of the basic science that underlies crop and food production.

This book examines the challenges faced by farmers trying to maintain crop biodiversity in developing and transitional economies. Using a collection of empirical case studies of farmers and crop scientists across a range of agricultural economies and income levels, it presents economic tools and methods for valuing and managing crop biodiversity. It discusses the economic benefits of crop biodiversity for farmers and suggests ways in which crop biodiversity can be supported by national policies. The book provides an indispensable 'tool kit' for all those concerned with the development of strategies to facilitate sustainable management and conservation of crop genetic diversity for future generations.

Plant Breeding Reviews, Volume 24, Part 2 presents state-of-the-art reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. The emphasis of the series is on methodology, a practical understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops.