Factors explaining the diffusion of hybrid maize in Latin America and the Caribbean region

If future demand for maize in Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) is to be met from local sources, domestic production must continue to incre ase. Because further expansion in the area planted to maize is precluded by the limited availability of arable land, future increases in production wi ll have to rely heavily on the spread of productivity-enhancing hybrid tech nology. Until now, the diffusion of hybrid maize in LAC has been quite vari able. Using data from 18 countries, we investigate factors affecting the hy brid maize diffusion rate. Our findings validate conventional profitability -based explanations of producer adoption behavior, but they also confirm th e importance of supply-side factors, thereby providing empirical support fo r the life cycle theory of seed industry development. We conclude that if p olicy makers in LAC are to accelerate the diffusion of hybrid maize, they w ill have to ensure an environment in which it is not only profitable for pr oducers to adopt improved germplasm, but also profitable for the seed indus try to produce and sell high-quality seed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.