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Estimating returns to soil conservation adoption in the northern Ethiopian highlands

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Author Info

  • Menale Kassie
  • John Pender
  • Mahmud Yesuf
  • Gunnar Kohlin
  • Randy Bluffstone
  • Elias Mulugeta

Abstract

Land degradation in the form of soil erosion and nutrient depletion presents a threat to food security and sustainability of agricultural production in many developing countries. Governments and development agencies have invested substantial resources to promote soil conservation practices as part of an effort to improve environmental conditions and reduce poverty. However, limited rigorous empirical work has been done on the economics of soil conservation technology adoption. This article investigates the impact of stone bunds on value of crop production per hectare in low and high rainfall areas of the Ethiopian highlands using cross-sectional data from more than 900 households, with multiple plots per household. We have used modified random effects models, stochastic dominance analysis (SDA), and matching methods to ensure robustness. The parametric regression and SDA estimates are based on matched observations obtained from the nearest neighbor matching using propensity score estimates. This is important, because conventional regression and SDA estimates are obtained without ensuring that there actually exist comparable conserved and nonconserved plots on the distribution of covariates. We use matching methods, random effects, and Mundlak's approach to control selection and endogeneity bias that may arise due to correlation of unobserved heterogeneity and observed explanatory variables. Copyright 2008 International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by International Association of Agricultural Economists in its journal Agricultural Economics.

Volume (Year): 38 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 (03)
Pages: 213-232

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Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:38:y:2008:i:2:p:213-232

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Cited by:
  1. Kassie, Menale & Zikhali, Precious & Pender, John & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2009. "Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?," Working Papers in Economics 406, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
  2. Kato, Edward & Ringler, Claudia & Yesuf, Mahmud & Bryan, Elizabeth, 2009. "Soil and water conservation technologies: A buffer against production risk in the face of climate change?: Insights from the Nile Basin in Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 871, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  3. Pender, John L. & Nkonya, Ephraim M. & Kato, Edward & Kaizzi, Crammer & Ssali, Henry, 2009. "Impacts of Cash Crop Production on Land Management and Land Degradation: The Case of Coffee and Cotton in Uganda," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 50760, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
  4. Kassie, Menale & Zikhali, Precious & Manjur, Kebede & Edwards, Sue, 2009. "Adoption of Organic Farming Techniques: Evidence from a Semi-Arid Region of Ethiopia," Discussion Papers dp-09-01-efd, Resources For the Future.
  5. Cunguara, Benedito & Darnhofer, Ika, 2011. "Assessing the impact of improved agricultural technologies on household income in rural Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 378-390, June.
  6. Kato, Edward & Nkonya, Ephraim & Place, Frank M., 2011. "Heterogeneous treatment effects of integrated soil fertility management on crop productivity: Evidence from Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 1089, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  7. Bryan, Elizabeth & Ringler, Claudia & Okoba, Barrack & Koo, Jawoo & Herrero, Mario & Silvestri, Silvia, 2011. "Agricultural management for climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas mitigation, and agricultural productivity: Insights from Kenya," IFPRI discussion papers 1098, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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