| This paper compares the economics of the abonera maize production system, in which maize is grown in rotation with a green manure crop (velvetbean, Mucuna deeringiana), with traditional bush-fallow cultivation of maize in the Atlantic Coast area of Honduras. A probabilistic cost-benefit analysis of introducing velvetbean into the existing maize cropping pattern is carried out for the field, farm, and regional level. The probabilistic approach allows for a more comprehensive assessment of economic profitability, one which recognizes that farmers are interested in reducing production risk as well as obtaining increases in average net benefits. The analysis reveals that the abonera system provides significant returns to land and family labor over the six-year... |
