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Abstract
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 life cycle. The abonera is not only more profitable than the
bush-fallow system but reduces the variability in economic returns, making second-season
maize a less risky production alternative. Although the labor requirement per unit of land is
smaller in the abonera system than that in the bush-fallow system, the larger area allocated to
maize implies a net increase in labor requirements at the farm level. At the regional level,
widespread adoption of the abonera system appears to have increased the importance of the
second season in total maize production. Although a causal link to adoption of the abonera
system cannot be established conclusively from the data, adoption of the system remains a
likely explanation for the changes observed in aggregate maize production in the Atlantic
Coast region. Land rental prices for sowing second-season maize also reflect the widespread
impact of the abonera system.