Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10743
Authors: Tessa Bold; Kayuki Kaizzi; Jakob Svensson; David Yanagizawa-Drott
Abstract: To reduce poverty and food insecurity in Africa requires raising productivity in agriculture. Systematic use of fertilizer and hybrid seed is a pathway to increased productivity, but adoption of these technologies remains low. We investigate whether the quality of agricultural inputs can help explain low take-up. Testing modern products purchased in local markets, we find that 30% of nutrient is missing in fertilizer, and hybrid maize seed contains less than 50% authentic seeds. We document that such low quality results in negative average returns. If authentic technologies replaced these low-quality products, average returns for smallholder farmers would be over 50%.
Keywords: Agriculture; Substandard Inputs; Technology Adoption
JEL Codes: O13; O33; Q16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Quality of agricultural inputs (Q16) | Economic returns for smallholder farmers (Q12) |
| Low-quality inputs (L15) | Negative average returns for farmers (Q12) |
| Authentic technologies (O30) | Higher returns for smallholder farmers (Q12) |
| Lower nitrogen content in fertilizers (Q19) | Reduced yields (Q15) |
| Low-quality inputs (L15) | Low adoption rates of modern technologies among farmers (Q16) |
| Heterogeneity in returns (D29) | Discouragement of widespread adoption (D39) |