Browsing by Author "Tschirhart, Kevin"

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Can information improve investment? effects of site-specific soil recommendations on fertilizer demand
(Sokoine University of Agriculture., 2018-07) Harou, Aurélie P.; Madajewicz, Malgosia; Magomba, Chris; Michelson, Hope; Tschirhart, Kevin; Amuri, Nyambi; Palm, Cheryl
This paper studies the effects of providing smallholder farmers with plot-specific soil quality information and fertilizer recommendations on investment and technology adoption. Low use of mineral fertilizers by farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa contributes to low crop yields, high rates of food insecurity, and persistent poverty. A possible explanation as yet unexplored in the literature for persistently low adoption rates: the presence of hyper-local variation in soil quality means that blanket fertilizer recommendations set by governments may be unsuitable for many farmers. We use a randomized control trial to test the effects of plot-specific recommendations with and without a concomitant easing of farmer liquidity constraints. We find evidence of agronomically important within-village variation in soil nutrient deficiencies and we find that government recommendations are not relevant for the majority of farmers in our sample. Results demonstrate that the combination of liquidity and information is key to resolving plot-specific soil nutrient limitations; information alone does not change investment and provision of vouchers without information leads farmers to purchase the most common fertilizer in the market. Results from a production function analysis show that application of mineral fertilizer to address plot-specific nutrient limitations leads to large maize yield increases. Our research suggests that substantive crop yield increases in the region will require a targeted approach that addresses sub-regional soil constraints to crop production and makes efficient use of environmental and economic resources
Increasing maize yields with soil testing and subsides in Tanzania
(FEED THE FUTURE, 2020-09) Harou, Aurélie P; Madajewicz, Malgosia; Michelson, Hope; Palm, Cheryl A; Amuri, Nyambilila A; Magomba, Christopher; Semoka, Johnson M; Tschirhart, Kevin; Weil, Ray
Though the use of fertilizers can enhance productivity and increase profits for small-scale farming families, two barriers to their adoption have proved critical. First, many farmers often cannot afford to buy fertilizers; second, use recommendations from government sources may not be appropriate for specific farms. In Tanzania, 1 our multi-disciplinary team used low-cost soil testing to pair field-specific recommendations with subsidy vouchers to help cover the cost of fertilizer purchase. Our results show that farmers benefitted significantly in both yields and profits when (1) fertilizer recommendations were calibrated to the needs of individual farms and (2) a subsidy made the recommended fertilizers affordable.