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Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?

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  • Kassie, Menale
  • Zikhali, Precious
  • Pender, John
  • Köhlin, Gunnar

Abstract

This paper uses data from household- and plot-level surveys conducted in the highlands of the Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia to examine the contribution of sustainable land-management practices to net values of agricultural production in areas with low- and high-agricultural potential. A combination of parametric and nonparametric estimation techniques is used to check result robustness. Both techniques consistently predict that minimum tillage is superior to commercial fertilizers—as are farmers’ traditional practices without use of commercial fertilizers—in enhancing crop productivity in the low-agricultural potential areas. In the high-agricultural potential areas, by contrast, use of commercial fertilizers is superior to both minimum tillage and farmers’ traditional practices without commercial fertilizers. The results are found to be insensitive to hidden bias. Our findings imply a need for careful agroecological targeting when developing, promoting, and scaling up sustainable land-management practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Kassie, Menale & Zikhali, Precious & Pender, John & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2011. "Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?," RFF Working Paper Series dp-11-05-efd, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-11-05-efd
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    Cited by:

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    2. Asuming-Brempong, Samuel, 2010. "Land Management Practices and Their Effects on Food Crop Yields in Ghana," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 96830, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    3. Elias, Hailu, 2019. "Impact of Credit Constraints on Agricultural Productivity in the face of Climate Variability: Panel Data Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 28(02), October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    agricultural productivity; commercial fertilizer; Ethiopia; low and high agricultural potential; minimum tillage; propensity score matching; switching regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land

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