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The Rapid Expansion of Herbicide Use in Smallholder Agriculture in Ethiopia: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Seneshaw Tamru

    (LICOS-KU Leuven)

  • Bart Minten

    (International Food Policy Research Institute)

  • Dawit Alemu

    (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research)

  • Fantu Bachewe

    (International Food Policy Research Institute)

Abstract

Adoption of herbicides by Ethiopian smallholders has grown rapidly, with application on cereals doubling to more than a quarter of the area under cereals between 2004 and 2014. Relying on unique data from a large-scale survey of producers of teff, the most widely grown cereal in Ethiopia, we find considerable positive labor productivity effects of herbicide use of between 9 and 18 per cent. We show that the adoption of herbicides is strongly related to proximity to urban centers, access to all-weather roads, and levels of local rural wages. All these factors have changed substantially over the last decade in Ethiopia, explaining the rapid take-off in herbicide adoption. The sizable increase in herbicide use in Ethiopia has important implications for rural labor markets, potential environmental and health considerations, and capacity development for the design and effective implementation of regulatory policies on herbicides.

Suggested Citation

  • Seneshaw Tamru & Bart Minten & Dawit Alemu & Fantu Bachewe, 2017. "The Rapid Expansion of Herbicide Use in Smallholder Agriculture in Ethiopia: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 628-647, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:29:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1057_s41287-017-0076-5
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-017-0076-5
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    5. Steven Haggblade & Amadou Diarra & Abdramane Traoré, 2022. "Regulating agricultural intensification: Lessons from West Africa’s rapidly growing pesticide markets," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(1), January.
    6. Zewdie Habte Shikur, 2023. "Competitive agricultural input markets in Ethiopia: Theoretical promises versus reality," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 1276-1298, August.
    7. Bachewe, Fantu N. & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu S., 2018. "Agricultural Transformation in Africa? Assessing the Evidence in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 286-298.
    8. Steven Haggblade & Bart Minten & Carl Pray & Thomas Reardon & David Zilberman, 2017. "The Herbicide Revolution in Developing Countries: Patterns, Causes, and Implications," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 533-559, July.
    9. Alessandro Bonanno & Valentina C. Materia & Thomas Venus & Justus Wesseler, 2017. "The Plant Protection Products (PPP) Sector in the European Union: A Special View on Herbicides," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 575-595, July.
    10. Berhan M. Teklu & Amare Haileslassie & Wolde Mekuria, 2022. "Pesticides as water pollutants and level of risks to environment and people: an example from Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5275-5294, April.
    11. Banchayehu Tessema Assefa & Jordan Chamberlin & Martin K. van Ittersum & Pytrik Reidsma, 2021. "Usage and Impacts of Technologies and Management Practices in Ethiopian Smallholder Maize Production," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, September.
    12. Michelson,Hope Carolyn & Gourlay,Sydney & Wollburg,Philip Randolph, 2022. "Non-Labor Input Quality and Small Farms in Sub-Saharan Africa : A Review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10092, The World Bank.
    13. Berhane, Guush & Abate, Gashaw T. & Wolle, Abdulazize, 2021. "Agricultural Intensification in Ethiopia: Trends and Welfare Impacts," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315313, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Sunipa Gupta & Bart Minten & N. Chandrasekhara Rao & Thomas Reardon, 2017. "The Rapid Diffusion of Herbicides in Farming in India: Patterns, Determinants, and Effects on Labor Productivity," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 596-613, July.
    15. Lefore, N. & Giordano, Meredith & Ringler, C. & Barron, J., "undated". "Sustainable and equitable growth in farmer-led irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: what will it take?," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H049101, International Water Management Institute.
    16. Emelie Rohne Till, 2021. "A green revolution in sub‐Saharan Africa? The transformation of Ethiopia's agricultural sector," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 277-315, March.
    17. Pieter Rutsaert & Jordan Chamberlin & Kevin Ong’are Oluoch & Victor Ochieng Kitoto & Jason Donovan, 2021. "The geography of agricultural input markets in rural Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1379-1391, December.

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