Coarse grain production and transactions in Mali : farm household strategies and government policy

Primary data, collected in a series of region-wide surveys of 189 farmers from September 1985 to October 1986, were used in the analysis which included descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and tests of statistical inference. The results point to the importance of domestic grain production in household level food security, but also of the role of the institutional environment, on-farm and off-farm diversification, the timing of cash obligations and market proximity. (Author abstract)