The major challenge is to find soil fertility maintenance techniques under the new cropping system. A key aspect of the research will be a reconceptualization of gender and household organization. While much recent work has retreated from the assumption of the unitary model of a household to an assumption of household production efficiency, evidence from other studies in West Africa indicates that even the latter assumption may be erroneous. This indicates that the incentives for agricultural innovation and the ability to maintain soil fertility may be very different for men and women. Within each component attention will be paid to the gender differentials that exist in resource access, rights and responsibilities.
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