Returns to fertiliser use: Does it pay enough? Some new evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The low level of modern inputs adoption by African farmers is considered to be a major impediment to food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. The government of Burkina Faso, following the example of a number of other countries in the region, launched a subsidy program in 2008 to encourage farmers' uptake of chemical fertilizers and foster cereal production. This article explores the importance of fertilizer profitability in explaining the relative, apparent low use of chemical fertilizers by farmers in Burkina Faso. Using largescale plot data, we estimate maize yield response to nitrogen to be 19 kg/ha on average and to vary with soil characteristics. Profitability, which we measure through the calculation of a marginal value cost ratio, is estimated at 1.4 on those plots which received fertilizers, with significant variations across regions. For those plots on which fertilizers were not applied, we predict that fertilizers should have been profitable in most cases under the current level of subsidized fertilizer prices. These findings suggest that the low uptake of chemical fertilizers might have been driven by factors other than profitability, including insufficient supply of subsidized fertilizers to farmers in need. Our results also call for increasing the availability of credit to farmers in order to encourage adoption of chemical fertilizers. Finally, our results also show that not taking into account the endogeneity of nitrogen use in the yield equation may produce biased estimates of the maize yield response to nitrogen.

Intensification and intrahousehold decisions: Fertilizer adoption in Burkina Faso

“…Larger plots have higher likelihoods of fertilizer use, regardless of plot management type. The density of agro-dealers in the area is positively and significantly related to the likelihood of fertilizer use on collective fields managed by the head—suggesting that fertilizer availability is indeed a constraint to adoption ( Koussoubé & Nauges, 2016 ).…”

“…The supply of fertilizer to households is constrained in Burkina Faso ( Koussoubé & Nauges, 2016 ). On one hand, findings suggest that an increase will “trickle down” to individuals within the households, and may explain why so many agricultural development programs and policies target household heads.…”

Maize (Zea mays L.) Response to Secondary and Micronutrients for Profitable N, P and K Fertilizer Use in Poorly Responsive Soils

“…Investing on any of the NPK amendments at an average $0.5 extra above the $1.6 ( Table 3) already used to purchase the standard N. P and K fertilizer results in 3 times net profits. Such profits would be satisfactory incentives for investing in fertilizer use in SSA [68,69]. Moreover, it is important to identify the most profitable and suitable fertilizer intervention that fits a local context.…”

Challenges and opportunities for improving N use efficiency for rice production in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Subsidy programs that are geared toward lowering the net cost of fertilizers are one effective means of increasing the VCR for local farmers. Koussoubé and Nauges (2017) argued that subsidy programs can lower a framer's stake in mineral fertilizer, particularly for farmers who are averse to risk and who are uncertain about the best use of fertilizer. For instance, the Farm Input Subsidy Program of Malawi (FISP) has often been cited as a successful case (e.g., Sanzhez, 2015).…”