摘要
•Productivity gains in Sub-Saharan Africa have been slow and local in comparison to Asia's transformational Green Revolution.•However, alternatives based on larger farms and non-agricultural sectors will not materially address rural poverty or growing food needs for this generation of poor.•Heterogeneous agroclimatic and market conditions explain why Africa's path has differed from Asia's.•While policies must work with land and labor resources already in place on small farms, a larger set of technologies is needed for system-wide change.•Examples show how indigenous and alternative technologies based on improved agronomic practices can be effective where fertilizer-intensive technologies are not.