IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rff/dpaper/dp-08-32-efd.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Estimating Returns to Soil and Water Conservation Investments: An Application to Crop Yield in Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Nyangena, Wilfred
  • Köhlin, Gunnar

Abstract

Productivity gains from soil and water conservation (SWC) have empirical support in research stations. Previous empirical results from on-farm adoption of SWC are, however, varied. This study investigated the impact of soil conservation investment on farm productivity in three regions in Kenya. Using plot-level survey data, we focused on land productivity on plots with and without SWC. We tested the overall soil conservation hypothesis that increased SWC is beneficial for yield, as well as more specific hypotheses that SWC affects levels of inputs, returns from these inputs, and crop characteristics. The results showed a mixed picture where plots without SWC generally have higher yield values per hectare. However, plots with SWC are significantly steeper and more eroded than plots without SWC. A more careful analysis of a two-stage random effects–switching regression estimation comparing three SWC technologies to plots without SWC indicated that SWC increased the returns from degraded plots and sometimes from other inputs. A simulation exercise based on these estimations also showed that, in most cases, adoption has been beneficial for those who have done it and would be beneficial for those who have not.

Suggested Citation

  • Nyangena, Wilfred & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2008. "Estimating Returns to Soil and Water Conservation Investments: An Application to Crop Yield in Kenya," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-32-efd, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-08-32-efd
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/EfD-DP-08-32.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adegbidi, Anselme & Gandonou, Esaie & Oostendorp, Remco, 2004. "Measuring the Productivity from Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Technologies with Household Fixed Effects: A Case Study of Hilly Mountainous Areas of Benin," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 313-346, January.
    2. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    3. Christopher B. Barrett & Christine M. Moser & Oloro V. McHugh & Joeli Barison, 2004. "Better Technology, Better Plots, or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes in Productivity and Risk among Malagasy Rice Farmers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(4), pages 869-888.
    4. Fidele Byiringiro & Thomas Reardon, 1996. "Farm productivity in Rwanda: effects of farm size, erosion, and soil conservation investments," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(2), pages 127-136, November.
    5. Antle, John M, 1983. "Infrastructure and Aggregate Agricultural Productivity: International Evidence," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(3), pages 609-619, April.
    6. Benjamin, Dwayne, 1995. "Can unobserved land quality explain the inverse productivity relationship?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 51-84, February.
    7. George E. Battese, 1997. "A Note On The Estimation Of Cobb‐Douglas Production Functions When Some Explanatory Variables Have Zero Values," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1‐3), pages 250-252, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ojo, Temitope O. & Baiyegunhi, Lloyd J.S & Adetoro, Adetoso A. & Ogundeji, Abiodun A., 2021. "Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Technology and Its Impact on the Productivity of Smallholder Rice Farmers in Southwest, Nigeria," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314981, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Million Sileshi & Reuben Kadigi & Khamaldin Mutabazi & Stefan Sieber, 2019. "Impact of soil and water conservation practices on household vulnerability to food insecurity in eastern Ethiopia: endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(4), pages 797-815, August.
    3. Awotide, B.A. & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Alene, Arega & Manyong, Victor M., 2015. "Impact of Access to Credit on Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Smallholder Cassava Farmers in Nigeria," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 210969, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Maseko, Sulinkhundla, 2021. "The impact of climate-smart technology adoption on farmers’ welfare in Northern Zambia," Research Theses 334765, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    5. AGBENO, Yao, 2021. "Impact of Access to Agricultural Credit on the Productivity of Togolese Farmers," International Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (IJAGST), SvedbergOpen, vol. 1(4), November.
    6. George Atisa & Mahadev Bhat & Michael McClain, 2014. "Economic Assessment of Best Management Practices in the Mara River Basin: Toward Implementing Payment for Watershed Services," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(6), pages 1751-1766, April.
    7. Anwasia Anthonia Ifeoma & Anselm Anibueze Enete & Ezeibe Adaku Bridget, 2023. "Determinant and Impact of Renewable Energy Utilization on Farm Productivity in South-South Nigeria," Journal of Agriculture and Crops, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 9(1), pages 105-113, 01-2023.
    8. Kehinde, Ayodeji Damilola, 2021. "Impact of Credit Access and Cooperative Membership on Cocoa Productivity in Southwestern Nigeria," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315855, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Zhunusova, Eliza & Kyalo Willy, Daniel & Holm-Müller, Karin, 2013. "An Analysis of Returns to Integrated Soil Conservation Practices in the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya," 2013 Fourth International Conference, September 22-25, 2013, Hammamet, Tunisia 160676, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    10. Nurakhmet Nugymanov & Baglan Muratbek & Xianhui Geng, 2024. "Influence of Biophysical Factors on the Adoption of Soil Conserving Practices among Wheat Farmers in Kazakhstan," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 1983-1995, August.
    11. Menale Kassie & Gunnar Köhlin & Randy Bluffstone & Stein Holden, 2011. "Are soil conservation technologies “win‐win?” A case study of Anjeni in the north‐western Ethiopian highlands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 89-99, May.
    12. T. O Ojo & L.J. S Baiyegunhi & A. O Salami, 2019. "Impact of Credit Demand on the Productivity of Rice Farmers in South West Nigeria," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 11(1), pages 166-180.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nassul S. Kabunga & Thomas Dubois & Matin Qaim, 2012. "Yield Effects of Tissue Culture Bananas in Kenya: Accounting for Selection Bias and the Role of Complementary Inputs," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 444-464, June.
    2. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2014. "Is there a farm-size productivity relationship in African agriculture ? evidence from Rwanda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6770, The World Bank.
    3. Klasen, Stephan & Reimers, Malte, 2017. "Looking at Pro-Poor Growth from an Agricultural Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 147-168.
    4. Mequaninte, Teferi & Birner, Regina & Mueller, Ulrike, 2015. "Adoption of Land Management Practices in Ethiopia: Which Network Types," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212631, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Mensah, Edouard R. & Kostandini, Genti, 2020. "The inverse farm size-productivity relationship under land size mis-measurement and in the presence of weather and price risks: Panel data evidence from Uganda," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304477, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Larson,Donald F. & Muraoka,Rie & Otsuka,Keijiro, 2016. "On the central role of small farms in African rural development strategies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7710, The World Bank.
    7. Taylor, Matthew P.H. & Helfand, Steven M., 2021. "The Farm Size – Productivity Relationship in the Wake of Market Reform: An Analysis of Mexican Family Farms," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315138, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & van Kooten, G. Cornelis & van Soest, Daan P., 2017. "Technological innovation and dispersion: Environmental benefits and the adoption of improved biomass cookstoves in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 337-345.
    9. Christine M. Moser & Christopher B. Barrett, 2006. "The complex dynamics of smallholder technology adoption: the case of SRI in Madagascar," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(3), pages 373-388, November.
    10. Marijn Verschelde & Marijke D’Haese & Glenn Rayp & Ellen Vandamme, 2013. "Challenging Small-Scale Farming: A Non-Parametric Analysis of the (Inverse) Relationship Between Farm Productivity and Farm Size in Burundi," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 319-342, June.
    11. Thomas Masterson, 2007. "Productivity, Technical Efficiency, and Farm Size in Paraguayan Agriculture," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_490, Levy Economics Institute.
    12. Lim, Krisha & Wichmann, Bruno & Luckert, Martin, 2021. "Adaptation, spatial effects, and targeting: Evidence from Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    13. Pender, John & Nkonya, Ephraim & Jagger, Pamela & Sserunkuuma, Dick & Ssali, Henry, 2004. "Strategies to increase agricultural productivity and reduce land degradation: evidence from Uganda," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 31(2-3), pages 181-195, December.
    14. Ahsanuzzaman, & Priyo, Asad Karim Khan & Nuzhat, Kanti Ananta, 2022. "Effects of communication, group selection, and social learning on risk and ambiguity attitudes: Experimental evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    15. Kimhi, Ayal, 2003. "Plot Size And Maize Productivity In Zambia: The Inverse Relationship Re-Examined," Discussion Papers 14980, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management.
    16. Varma, Poornima, 2017. "Adoption of System of Rice Intensification and its Impact on Rice Yields and Household Income: An Analysis for India," IIMA Working Papers WP2017-02-03, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    17. Bevis, Leah EM. & Barrett, Christopher B., 2020. "Close to the edge: High productivity at plot peripheries and the inverse size-productivity relationship," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    18. Graf, Sarah Lena & Oya, Carlos, 2021. "Is the system of rice intensification (SRI) pro poor? Labour, class and technological change in West Africa," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    19. Christopher B. Barrett & Asad Islam & Abdul Mohammad Malek & Debayan Pakrashi & Ummul Ruthbah, 2022. "Experimental Evidence on Adoption and Impact of the System of Rice Intensification," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(1), pages 4-32, January.
    20. Raffaella Castagnini & Klaus Deininger & Maria A. Gonzalez, 2004. "Comparing land reform and land markets in colombia: impacts on equity and efficiency," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3258, The World Bank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Kenya; soil conservation; switching regression; rural households; yields;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-08-32-efd. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Resources for the Future (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.