The Role of Fertilizer Subsidies in Agricultural Production PDF Download

Author: Muhammad Ghulam Quibria
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural productivity
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Author: Ephraim Chirwa
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199683522
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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This book takes forward our understanding of agricultural input subsidies in low income countries.

Author: Kurdi, Sikandra
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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As part of a national policy to ensure a certain level of food self-sufficiency in strategic crops, the government of Egypt subsidizes nitrogen fertilizer directly by distributing quotas of subsidized fertilizers to farmers and indirectly by subsidizing natural gas used by local fertilizer factories. The implication of this subsidy on farmers’ fertilizer demand and productivity remains unknown. Using a detailed agricultural survey collected from smallholder farmers in Upper Egypt, we show that nitrogen fertilizer application rates are substantially in excess of crop-specific agronomic recommendations. We exploit eligibility criteria and other sources of variation to show that farm plots with easier access to the subsidy tend to use more subsidized nitrogen fertilizer and less phosphate fertilizer. Easier access to the subsidy increases use of total nitrogen fertilizer per unit of land, mainly because of the increase in subsidized nitrogen fertilizer. In particular, the fertilizer subsidy program in Egypt is associated with significant overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer. Such overapplication of fertilizer is expected to adversely affect soil, water, and environmental health. Our findings have important policy implications for Egypt and other African countries known for input subsidy programs. As Egypt is currently moving on from the successful implementation of a comprehensive macroeconomic reform program towards sector-level reforms, our results suggest that eliminating fertilizer subsidies is a good place to start.

Author: Kyle, Jordan
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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This paper examines the fertilizer subsidy program in Nepal from two different angles, both important for policy makers in the country. First, it analyzes who is benefiting from the program, and second, it examines how farmers rank the importance of public spending on fertilizer subsidies compared with other potential public investments. Whereas the former question is important for judging whether the program is meeting its objectives, the latter is essential to understanding the scope for reform, in particular the extent to which we could expect citizens to resist reforms to the subsidy program. We draw on these analyses as well as on examples from other countries to make policy recommendations to improve program implementation.

Author: Dana G. Dalrymple
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural assistance, American
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821368818
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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The good practice guidelines - which form the basis of an interactive policymaker's tool kit included on a CD accompanying the book - relate not only to the more focused problem of encouraging increased fertilizer use by farmers, but also to the broader challenge of creating the type of enabling environment that is needed to support the emergence of efficient, dynamic and commercially viable fertilizer marketing systems."--Jacket.

Author: Spielman, David J.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Agricultural input subsidies are a prominent feature in the 2018-2024 Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA 4), which is designed and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). By reducing the cost of improved seed and inorganic fertilizers, subsidies are designed to accelerate the use of these productivity-enhancing inputs, thereby increasing agricultural yields and output, increasing rural incomes while reducing food prices, and improving food security in line with PSTA 4’s targets. However, questions arise about whether the current input subsidy rates and levels are sufficient to increase crop production and meet the PSTA 4 targets, and whether the subsidy system can be expanded in the current economic climate and fiscal situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and spike in global fertilizer prices. This paper examines the impact of an increase in the price of fertilizer in Rwanda using seasonal production data from National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in a microsimulation model aimed at three priority crops—maize, rice, and Irish potato—and the three main fertilizers in use—diammonium phosphate (DAP), urea, and NPK.

Author: Houssou, Nazaire
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Despite improvements to the implementation regime of Ghana’s fertilizer subsidy program, this paper shows that considerable challenges remain in ensuring that the subsidy is targeted to farmers who need fertilizer the most. Currently, larger-scale and wealthier farmers are the main beneficiaries of subsidized fertilizer even though the stated goal is to target smallholder farmers with fertilizer subsidies. The experience of other African countries suggests that the effectiveness of fertilizer subsidies can improve with effective targeting of resource-poor smallholders. However, targeting smallholder farmers entails significant transaction costs and may even be infeasible in some cases. Faced with such challenges, Ghanaian policy makers must ponder the question of how to improve the targeting of input subsidy programs in the country. Further research is needed to identify more cost-effective approaches for achieving the goal of targeting.

Author: Michael Johnson
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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This study examines the role of research in agricultural policy making in Malawi at a time when the Africa Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development have been seeking to promote greater evidenced-based decision making in agriculture. Drawing on both theory and actual past experiences documented in the literature, results are intended to improve our understanding of the extent to which research has played any role in influencing policy change in Malawi. This is done in the context of the evolution of the country’s fertilizer subsidy policies. Results point to some general lessons. First, strengthening the Ministry of Agriculture’s capacity for policy analysis and becoming more proactive in the policy process proved critical in the earlier years of Malawi’s long history of fertilizer subsidies. Second, the government’s experience of bargaining with donors may have actually strengthened its own ability to position and assert its legitimacy in shaping policies. Third, while research may have played a historically marginal role, researchers have been able to influence policy choices whenever a window of opportunity arose for technical input—such as at times of crisis. However, researchers would also benefit from engaging more with the policy debates and policymaking process. Finally, while the paper draws on existing theoretical frameworks to understand the role of research in the policy process more generally, a better framework still needs to be developed in describing the standard experiences and realities of the African agricultural policy landscape.

Author: Regina Birner
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896291723
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
Agricultural policy reform is one of the major challenges facing India today. Such reform is required to reduce poverty through faster agricultural growth and to promote more sustainable use of natural resources while ensuring food security. Subsidy policies that promote the use of fertilizer and of electricity for groundwater irrigation are in particular need of reform. While subsidies for these two inputs played a crucial role in achieving India's Green Revolution, they have been criticized during the past decade for benefitting large-scale farmers more than smallholders, placing a fiscal burden on the state, and having negative environmental effects. By analyzing the evolution of these input subsidy policies and examining the political processes involved in efforts to reform them, this study throws new light on the factors that have so far prevented a move toward more pro-poor and environmentally sustainable agricultural input policies in India. The authors show that electoral politics, institutional factors, and policy paradigms or belief systems all play an important role in blocking reform. They identify several policy reform options as well as political strategies that can overcome past obstacles to reform. Community-based policy solutions, new coalitions for policy reform, fresh approaches to the policy debate, innovative and consensus-oriented forms of deliberation, and effective use of research-based knowledge can all make positive contributions to Indian policy reform. The analyses and proposals presented in this study will be a valuable resource for policymakers and stakeholders concerned with the politics of agricultural development.