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Addressing the 'Wicked Problem' of Input Subsidy Programs in Africa

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  • Jacob Ricker-Gilbert
  • Thomas Jayne
  • Gerald Shively

Abstract

This article reviews and critically assesses evidence on input subsidy programs implemented in selected countries over the past decade in Africa. We believe that input subsidies should be considered wicked problems because of the indeterminacy and difficulty surrounding how they are evaluated. Main findings from the current body of literature are that input subsidies provide some measurable but relatively small positive benefit to recipient households' well-being. In addition, most studies find that subsidized inputs crowd out commercial input purchases, mitigating the extent to which subsidy programs contribute to total fertilizer use and crop production. African governments may wish to carefully consider the benefits and distributional effects of input subsidy programs relative to other uses of scarce public resources. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob Ricker-Gilbert & Thomas Jayne & Gerald Shively, 2013. "Addressing the 'Wicked Problem' of Input Subsidy Programs in Africa," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 35(2), pages 322-340.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:35:y:2013:i:2:p:322-340
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/ppt001
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    Cited by:

    1. Estelle Koussoubé & Céline Nauges, 2017. "Returns to fertiliser use: Does it pay enough? Some new evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(2), pages 183-210.
    2. Resnick, Danielle & Babu, Suresh & Haggblade, Steven & Hendriks, Sheryl L. & Mather, David, 2015. "Conceptualizing Drivers Of Policy Change In Agriculture, Nutrition, And Food Security: The Kaleidoscope Model," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 258732, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    3. Saenz, Mariana & Thompson, Eric, 2017. "Gender and Policy Roles in Farm Household Diversification in Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 152-169.
    4. David J. Hemming & Ephraim W. Chirwa & Andrew Dorward & Holly J. Ruffhead & Rachel Hill & Janice Osborn & Laurenz Langer & Luke Harman & Hiro Asaoka & Chris Coffey & Daniel Phillips, 2018. "Agricultural input subsidies for improving productivity, farm income, consumer welfare and wider growth in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries: a systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 1-153.
    5. Wanjala, Bernadette, 2016. "Can the big push approach end rural poverty in Africa? : Insights from Sauri millennium village in Kenya," Other publications TiSEM 5a686b22-6749-4e9e-8bf4-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Magdalena PROCZEK & Marta GARBARCZYK, 2023. "Wicked Problems And The Design Thinking Method As A Tool To Solve These Problems. The Case Alien Project," Eastern European Journal for Regional Studies (EEJRS), Center for Studies in European Integration (CSEI), Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (ASEM), vol. 9(1), pages 21-31, June.
    7. Emmanuel Tumusiime & B. Wade Brorsen & Jeffrey D. Vitale, 2014. "Vertical integration in West Africa's cotton industry: are parastatals a second best solution?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 129-143, November.
    8. Sheahan, Megan & Barrett, Christopher B., 2017. "Ten striking facts about agricultural input use in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 12-25.
    9. Adam M. Komarek & Siwa Msangi, 2019. "Effect of changes in population density and crop productivity on farm households in Malawi," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(5), pages 615-628, September.
    10. Megan Sheahan & Joshua Ariga & T. S. Jayne, 2016. "Modeling the Effects of Input Market Reforms on Fertiliser Demand and Maize Production: A Case Study from Kenya," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 420-447, June.
    11. Chibwana, Christopher & Shively, Gerald & Fisher, Monica & Jumbe, Charles & Masters, William A., 2014. "Measuring the impacts of Malawi’s farm input subsidy programme," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(2), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Alene, Arega & Feleke, Shiferaw & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob & Manyong, Victor & Awotide, Bola Amoke, 2017. "Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 251-265.
    13. Hyonyong Kang & Dong Hee Suh, 2023. "Exploring the Dynamic Effects of Agricultural Subsidies on Food Loss: Implications for Sustainable Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-11, February.
    14. Larson, Donald F. & Gurara, Daniel Zerfu, 2013. "A conceptual model of incomplete markets and the consequences for technology adoption policies in Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6681, The World Bank.
    15. Sylvester Amoako Agyemang & Tomáš Ratinger & Miroslava Bavorová, 2022. "The Impact of Agricultural Input Subsidy on Productivity: The Case of Ghana," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1460-1485, June.
    16. Tschirley, David L. & Theriault, Veronique, 2013. "On the Institutional Details that Mediate the Impact of Cash Crops on Food Crop Intensification: The Case of Cotton," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 151263, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Asfaw, Solomon & Carraro, Alessandro, 2016. "Welfare Effect of Farm Input Subsidy Program in the Context of Climate Change: Evidence from Malawi," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246281, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    18. Machina, Henry & Ngoma, Hambulo & Kuteya, Aukland, 2017. "Gendered impacts of agricultural subsidies in Zambia," MPRA Paper 87099, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Mason, Nicole M. & Jayne, Thomas S. & Walle, Nicolas van de, 2013. "Fertilizer Subsidies and Voting Patterns: Political Economy Dimensions of Input Subsidy Programs," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149580, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Steele, Amanda J. Harker & Bergstrom, John C., 2018. "Tackling Wicked Problems in Applied Economics: An Application to the Bears Ears National Monument," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274843, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Ton, Giel & Klerkx, Laurens & de Grip, Karin & Rau, Marie-Luise, 2015. "Innovation grants to smallholder farmers: Revisiting the key assumptions in the impact pathways," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 9-23.

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