The heat is on: Implications of extreme temperatures on productive and defensive inputs in West Africa

We examine the impact of extreme heat on the use of productive and defensive inputs in agriculture. We combine earth observation data on extreme temperature with rich panel data from West Africa. We find that in response to extreme temperatures, farmers reduce the use of productive inputs such as fertilizers at both extensive and intensive margins. This holds for both inorganic and organic fertilizers. As farmers reduce the use of these productive inputs, they shift to the use of defensive inputs such as pesticides, including fungicides and herbicides. These findings can be explained by the high incidence of pests, weeds, and diseases under extreme temperatures which could push farmers away from productive to defensive inputs with adverse implications on land productivity. Recognizing the critical influence of resources and assets on farmers’ input decisions during shocks, we conducted further analysis using some resource and asset indicators. Our findings reveal that, while access to credit, participation in markets, and higher income do not prevent reductions in fertilizer use under heat stress, livestock ownership does provide a mitigating effect. Across all groups, pesticide adoption is maintained or increased under heat stress. These results reinforce a clear conclusion: farmers respond rationally to extreme temperatures by reallocating from productive to defensive inputs, but the extent to which they can sustain this reallocation depends on the particular assets and resources they possess.