ABSTRACT
One of the objectives of agricultural policy in Madagascar is to increase income and food security of rural households by increasing agricultural production and marketed surplus (Ministère de l’ Agriculture, 1997). However, Malagasy policy makers are often at a loss in determining the means through which this can be achieved, as determinants of marketed surplus are not well understood. A recent study concluded that no obvious determinants exist for the commercial surplus and that farmers with important commercial surpluses were distributed spatially ‘at random’ (SARSA, 1996). On the other hand, Robilliard (1998) found high price elasticities, deducted as residuals from demand and supply elasticities, while Barrett (1996a) found significant price, income, and risk effects in commercial surplus decisions.
