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Economic incentives to use fertilizer on maize under differing agro-ecological conditions in Burkina Faso

Author

Listed:
  • Veronique Theriault

    (Michigan State University)

  • Melinda Smale

    (Michigan State University)

  • Hamza Haider

    (Michigan State University)

Abstract

Increasing agricultural productivity while protecting natural resources depends on proper understanding of farmers’ incentives to use intensification strategies, including fertilizer. Using a large-scale household dataset collected in rural Burkina Faso, we examined how the response of maize yield to fertilizer, and thus the economic incentives for its use, varied according to agro-ecological conditions. We employed a Control Function Approach with Correlated Random Effects in order to test and control for endogeneity of fertilizer use, measuring agro-ecological conditions at several scales. We investigated the profitability of fertilizer use with value-cost ratios. We found that productivity and marginal effects of fertilizer differ significantly according to agro-ecological conditions. Micro-variation appeared to be more critical than the definition of agro-ecological zone. Burkinabe soils are severely degraded and would benefit from greater application of fertilizer. However, at full market prices, fertilizer use was unprofitable. Though it was profitable with subsidized prices, transaction costs diminish the benefits of the subsidy. Profitability of fertilizer use with maize varied across agro-ecological conditions, even for field plots located in the same agro-ecological zone. Our results confirm that policy makers need to be cautious when generalizing across regions or drawing policy recommendations from a single agro-ecological zone because crop responses and economic incentives vary widely.

Suggested Citation

  • Veronique Theriault & Melinda Smale & Hamza Haider, 2018. "Economic incentives to use fertilizer on maize under differing agro-ecological conditions in Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1263-1277, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:10:y:2018:i:5:d:10.1007_s12571-018-0842-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-018-0842-z
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    Cited by:

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    3. Jindo, Keiji & Schut, Antonius G.T. & Langeveld, Johannes W.A., 2020. "Sustainable intensification in Western Kenya: Who will benefit?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    4. Agada, Blessing, 2018. "Changing the fertilizer conversation in Nigeria: The Need for Site Specific Soil-Crop Fertilizer Use," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Briefs 279873, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    5. Stasiv, Oleh & Kachmar, Oksana & Vavrynovych, Oksana & Arabska, Ekaterina, 2021. "Ecological and economic efficiency of growing maize for grain in short-rotation cultivation of the Western region," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 7(2), June.
    6. Jagustović, Renata & Papachristos, George & Zougmoré, Robert B. & Kotir, Julius H. & Kessler, Aad & Ouédraogo, Mathieu & Ritsema, Coen J. & Dittmer, Kyle M., 2021. "Better before worse trajectories in food systems? An investigation of synergies and trade-offs through climate-smart agriculture and system dynamics," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    7. Théodore Nikiema & Eugène C. Ezin & Sylvain Kpenavoun Chogou, 2023. "Bibliometric Analysis of the State of Research on Agroecology Adoption and Methods Used for Its Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, November.
    8. William J. Burke & Sieglinde S. Snapp & Thom S. Jayne, 2020. "An in‐depth examination of maize yield response to fertilizer in Central Malawi reveals low profits and too many weeds," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 923-940, November.
    9. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda, 2021. "The unintended consequences of the fertilizer subsidy program on crop species diversity in Mali," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    10. Ayala Wineman & C. Leigh Anderson & Travis W. Reynolds & Pierre Biscaye, 2019. "Methods of crop yield measurement on multi-cropped plots: Examples from Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1257-1273, December.
    11. Oyakhilomen Oyinbo & Jordan Chamberlin & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Miet Maertens, 2022. "Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 831-852, March.
    12. Jafar Nabati & Ahmad Nezami & Ehsan Neamatollahi & Morteza Akbari, 2023. "An integrated approach land suitability for agroecological zoning based on fuzzy inference system and GIS," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 2316-2338, March.
    13. Kenneth W. Sibiko & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Weather index insurance, agricultural input use, and crop productivity in Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 151-167, February.
    14. Jha, P.K. & Araya, A. & Stewart, Z.P. & Faye, A. & Traore, H. & Middendorf, B.J. & Prasad, P.V.V., 2021. "Projecting potential impact of COVID-19 on major cereal crops in Senegal and Burkina Faso using crop simulation models," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    15. Kwon, Daye & Myers, Robert J. & Mason, Nicole M., 2022. "How do input subsidy programs affect smallholder households’ dietary diversity? Evidence from Zambia," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322493, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Yield response to nitrogen; Value-cost ratios; Subsidy; Agro-ecologies; West Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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