Are Kenyan farmers under-utilizing fertilizer? Implications for input intensification strategies and research

Sheahan, M. and Black, R. and Jayne, T.S. (2013) Are Kenyan farmers under-utilizing fertilizer? Implications for input intensification strategies and research. Food Policy, 41. pp. 39-52.

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Abstract

It is widely perceived that African farmers are under-utilizing inorganic fertilizer. However, very little long-term evidence from farmers’ fields, accounting for variations in agro-ecological conditions, has been assembled to back this claim or determine the conditions under which it is true. Using five waves of nationwide household survey data from Kenya covering 13 years, we estimate the relative and absolute profitability of nitrogen application rates on maize fields and compare these profitability conditions to observed nitrogen use patterns over time. In general, we find that farmers are consistently and steadily increasing towards risk-adjusted economically optimal rates of fertilizer application over time and that, in the most agriculturally productive areas, farmers’ application rates on maize sometimes exceed rates that maximize profitability. Fertilizer use rates may nevertheless be profitably raised in these areas, but doing so will require the adoption of complementary inputs and management practices that raise maize response rates to fertilizer application. This motivates a more holistic approach to input intensification strategies in the region.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Input intensification; Fertilizer; Maize; Food security; Kenya; Africa
Author Affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, 207 Agriculture Hall, East Lansing, MI, United States
Subjects: Plant Protection
Social Sciences > Agricultural Economics
Divisions: General
Depositing User: Mr Siva Shankar
Date Deposited: 10 May 2013 07:39
Last Modified: 10 May 2013 07:39
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.04.008
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/10522

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