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Maize yield response, nitrogen use efficiency and financial returns to fertilizer on smallholder farms in southern Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Bashir Jama

    (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
    Islamic Development Bank)

  • David Kimani

    (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA))

  • Rebbie Harawa

    (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA))

  • Abednego Kiwia Mavuthu

    (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA))

  • Gudeta W. Sileshi

Abstract

Maize is considered as “life” in southern Africa because it is the staple food crop and the main component of food aid interventions. However, its productivity is very low, partly because of the limited use of external inputs. Although maize response to fertilizer has been the focus for many years of studies on research stations, information is scanty on the level of crop response and profitability on smallholder farms in most parts of southern Africa. Therefore, the objective of the present analysis was to determine yield responses, nitrogen use efficiency and returns to investment in fertilizer in the unimodal rainfall region of southern Africa. This analysis compared yield responses to various rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizer with maize grown without external inputs (absolute control) on a total of 940 demonstration sites in 47 districts across Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and the southern highlands of Tanzania. Across the sites, average yields were 1.6 t ha−1 in the control, 2.8 t ha−1 with ≤50% of the recommended N rate and 4 t ha−1 where 100% or more of the recommended N rate was applied. Except in Zambia, agronomic efficiency and partial factor productivity of N were higher with 50% of the recommended N rate compared to 100% of the recommended N rate. Net present values (NPV) were also positive in over 50% of the cases, indicating that investments in N fertilizer will generate profits over time. In contrast, for maize grown without N fertilizer, NPVs were negative in over 68% of the cases across the four countries. The value-cost ratio was >2 with the various N rates at the aggregate level, but it was

Suggested Citation

  • Bashir Jama & David Kimani & Rebbie Harawa & Abednego Kiwia Mavuthu & Gudeta W. Sileshi, 2017. "Maize yield response, nitrogen use efficiency and financial returns to fertilizer on smallholder farms in southern Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 577-593, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:9:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s12571-017-0674-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-017-0674-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Veronique Theriault & Melinda Smale & Hamza Haider, 2018. "Economic incentives to use fertilizer on maize under differing agro-ecological conditions in Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1263-1277, October.
    4. Michelson, Hope & Gourlay, Sydney & Lybbert, Travis & Wollburg, Philip, 2023. "Review: Purchased agricultural input quality and small farms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Todd Benson & Tewodaj Mogues, 2018. "Constraints in the fertilizer supply chain: evidence for fertilizer policy development from three African countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1479-1500, December.
    6. Clifton Makate & Marshall Makate, 2022. "Do Rainfall Shocks Prompt Commercial Input Purchases Amongst Smallholder Farmers in Diverse Regions and Environments in Malawi?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-31, November.
    7. Tamim, Abdulrazzak & Harou, Aurelie P. & Magombab, Christopher & Michelson, Hope & Palm, Cheryl, 2020. "The Long-Term Effects of Relaxing Information and Credit Constraints on Adoption, Retention, and Soil Perceptions: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Tanzania," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304604, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Komarek, Adam M. & Koo, Jawoo & Wood-Sichra, Ulrike & You, Liangzhi, 2018. "Spatially-explicit effects of seed and fertilizer intensification for maize in Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 158-165.
    9. Prem S. Bindraban & Christian O. Dimkpa & Scott Angle & Rudy Rabbinge, 2018. "Unlocking the multiple public good services from balanced fertilizers," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 273-285, April.
    10. Ng'ombe, John, 2019. "Economics of the Greenseeder Hand Planter, Discrete Choice Modeling, and On-Farm Field Experimentation," Thesis Commons jckt7, Center for Open Science.
    11. Lasdun, Violet & Harou, Aurelie P. & Magomba, Christopher & Guerena, David, 2022. "Peer Learning in a Digital Farmer-to-Farmer Network: Effects on Technology Adoption and Self-Efficacy Beliefs," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322561, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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