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‘Rule-of-Thumb’ Instructions to Improve Fertilizer Management: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

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  • Islam, Mahnaz
  • Beg, Sabrin

Abstract

Heavy government subsidies have led to inefficient application and overuse of fertilizer in Bangladesh. This results in higher than optimal costs to farmers and environmental and public costs. In a randomized controlled trial, we provide farmers with a simple tool (leaf color chart) and basic `rule-of-thumb' instructions to guide the timing and quantity of urea (nitrogen) application. Treatment farmers reduce urea use by 8\% without compromising yield, suggesting significant scope for improving urea management. The results are mainly driven by farmers delaying urea application as returns to urea are low early on in the season and urea applied is likely to be wasted. Cost-effectiveness estimates suggest that each dollar spent on this intervention produces a return of \$2.8 dollars due to reduction of urea use over three seasons, as well as significant environmental benefits. We also find suggestive evidence that optimizing the timing of urea application affects farmers' yields, plausibly as the intervention allows farmers to reallocate urea application to times when returns to urea are highest.

Suggested Citation

  • Islam, Mahnaz & Beg, Sabrin, 2020. "‘Rule-of-Thumb’ Instructions to Improve Fertilizer Management: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 108117, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:108117
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rasul, Golam & Thapa, Gopal B., 2003. "Sustainability Analysis of Ecological and Conventional Agricultural Systems in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 1721-1741, October.
    2. Alejandro Drexler & Greg Fischer & Antoinette Schoar, 2014. "Keeping It Simple: Financial Literacy and Rules of Thumb," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 1-31, April.
    3. Esther Duflo & Michael Kremer & Jonathan Robinson, 2011. "Nudging Farmers to Use Fertilizer: Theory and Experimental Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2350-2390, October.
    4. Marenya, Paswel P. & Barrett, Christopher B., 2007. "Household-level determinants of adoption of improved natural resources management practices among smallholder farmers in western Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 515-536, August.
    5. Damon Jones & David Molitor & Julian Reif, 2019. "What do Workplace Wellness Programs do? Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 1747-1791.
    6. Elaine M. Liu, 2008. "Time to Change What to Sow: Risk Preferences and Technology Adoption Decisions of Cotton Farmers in China," Working Papers 1064, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    7. Elaine M. Liu, 2013. "Time to Change What to Sow: Risk Preferences and Technology Adoption Decisions of Cotton Farmers in China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1386-1403, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fred Mawunyo Dzanku & Robert Darko Osei, 2023. "Does combining traditional and information and communications technology–based extension methods improve agricultural outcomes? Evidence from field experiments in Mali," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 450-475, February.
    2. Michelson, Hope & Gourlay, Sydney & Lybbert, Travis & Wollburg, Philip, 2023. "Review: Purchased agricultural input quality and small farms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Anik, Asif Reza & Eory, Vera & Begho, Toritseju & Rahman, Md. Mizanur, 2023. "Determinants of nitrogen use efficiency and gaseous emissions assessed from farm survey: A case of wheat in Bangladesh," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    4. Grimm, Michael & Luck, Nathalie, 2023. "Experimenting with a green ‘Green Revolution’. Evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Indonesia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    5. 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.
    6. Zimei Liu & Ke Chen & Yezhi Ren, 2024. "Heterogeneous Impacts of Traditional and Modern Information Channels on Farmers’ Green Production: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Grimm, Michael & Luck, Nathalie & Raya, Alia Bihrajihant & Sawhney, Udit, 2024. "Small-Scale Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Information: A Comparison of Individual Purchase Decisions with Contributions to a Club Good," IZA Discussion Papers 17472, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Oyakhilomen Oyinbo & Jordan Chamberlin & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Miet Maertens, 2022. "Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 831-852, March.
    9. Beg, Sabrin & Islam, Mahnaz & Rahman, Khandker Wahedur, 2024. "Information and behavior: Evidence from fertilizer quantity recommendations in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technology Adoption; Farm Management; Environmental Economics; Resource Management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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