Description

Introduction: The driver of agricultural development is the Introduction of new technology. Sensitive sorghums have long been a critical component of hillside Central American agriculture providing a reserve or insurance policy when the principal staple of maize falters. The insensitive sorghums have been more recently introduced since the ’70s for planting in the valleys in the second season. In the last thirty years the Introduction of new insensitive cultivars has accelerated initially for poultry and in the previous two decades for dairy production. This growth has been facilitated by strategic investments in research by CENTA and the Ministry of Agriculture. As incomes grow the demand for high quality foods, meat, milk, cheese, fruits and vegetables, accelerates. Milk and products from milk are principal beneficiaries of these demand shifts. To facilitate these consumption shifts agricultural research led by Rene Clara of CENTA focused on the development of a series of new cultivars. Since agricultural research and extension is expensive, we ask the returns on these public investments and who were the beneficiaries. Responding to these two questions is the objectives of this paper. We will also make some recommendations for future research and policy.