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Mineral Fertilizer Quality: Implications for Markets and Small Farmers in Tanzania

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  • Fairbairn, Anna
  • Michelson, Hope
  • Ellison, Brenna
  • Manyong, Victor

Abstract

Small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa exhibit low adoption rates for mineral fertilizers. A promising hypothesis explaining these puzzlingly low rates remains untested: a perception among farmers that fertilizer in the market has been compromised in ways that raise concerns about its effectiveness. Information about fertilizer quality problems is anecdotal rather than backed by reliable evidence. A challenge: little research to date has focused on understanding the relationships between input supply chains and product quality. To achieve a clearer understanding of this problem, this research links results from tests of the quality of 661 samples of fertilizers for sale in the markets of the Morogoro Region of Tanzania with data from a survey of the region’s 225 input dealers. Fertilizer nutrient and moisture content tests are performed on the same samples in multiple laboratories located in East Africa and in the United States. Results from our research provide the first assessments of market-available fertilizer quality in the region, as well as the first analysis of relationships between fertilizer quality and mineral fertilizer supplier characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Fairbairn, Anna & Michelson, Hope & Ellison, Brenna & Manyong, Victor, 2016. "Mineral Fertilizer Quality: Implications for Markets and Small Farmers in Tanzania," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236818, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea16:236818
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.236818
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Esther Duflo & Michael Kremer & Jonathan Robinson, 2011. "Nudging Farmers to Use Fertilizer: Theory and Experimental Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2350-2390, October.
    2. Svensson, Jakob & Yanagizawa-Drott, David & Bold, Tessa & Kaizzi, Kayuki, 2015. "Low Quality, Low Returns, Low Adoption: Evidence from the Market for Fertilizer and Hybrid Seed in Uganda," CEPR Discussion Papers 10743, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Andre Croppenstedt & Mulat Demeke & Meloria M. Meschi, 2003. "Technology Adoption in the Presence of Constraints: the Case of Fertilizer Demand in Ethiopia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 58-70, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Todd Benson & Tewodaj Mogues, 2018. "Constraints in the fertilizer supply chain: evidence for fertilizer policy development from three African countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1479-1500, December.
    2. Michelson, Hope & Fairbairn, Anna & Ellison, Brenna & Maertens, Annemie & Manyong, Victor, 2021. "Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    3. De Brauw, Alan D. & Kramer, Berber, 2018. "Improving farmer trust and seller reciprocity in agricultural input markets: A lab-in-the-field experiment in Bangladesh," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274139, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Kapoor, Sanjeev & Kumar, Niraj, 2021. "Reducing the buyer–seller information asymmetry in agricultural inputs markets in India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 34(1), June.

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    Keywords

    Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty; International Development;
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