naa a22 4500 569250862 20190725055454.0 cr unu---uuuuu 190725e201907 xx s 000 0 eng 10.3929/ethz-b-000354207 doi 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.05.004 doi (ETHRESEARCH)oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/354207 Understanding fertilizer adoption and effectiveness on maize in Zambia [Elektronische Daten] [William J. Burke, Emmanuel Frossard, Stephen Kabwe, Thom S. Jayne] Food policy Open access ethresearch Increased fertilizer use will likely be crucial for raising and sustaining farm productivity in Africa, but adoption may be limited by ineffectiveness under certain conditions. This article quantifies the impacts of soil characteristics on maize response to fertilizer in Zambia using a nationally representative sample of 1453 fields, combining economic, farm management and soil analysis data. Depending on soil regimes, average maize yield response estimates range from insignificant (0) to 7 maize kg per fertilizer kg. For the majority of farmers, the estimated average value cost ratio is between 1 and 2, meaning fertilizer use would be fiscally rational, barring uncertainty and transfer costs. Since transfer costs exist and outcomes are uncertain, however, many farmers may sensibly pause before deciding whether to adopt fertilizer. This suggests shifting the emphasis of chronically low fertilizer use in Africa away from explanations of "market failure” toward greater emphasis on improving fertilizer efficacy. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ethresearch Sub-Saharan Africa ethresearch Zambia ethresearch Agricultural productivity ethresearch Crop response ethresearch Fertilizer profitability ethresearch Soil quality ethresearch Burke William J. joint author Frossard Emmanuel joint author Kabwe Stephen joint author Jayne Thom S. joint author Food Policy Oxford : Elsevier 86, p. 101721 0306-9192 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/354207 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) 1 Journal Article ethresearch ETHRESEARCH 856 40 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/354207 text/html WWW-Backlink auf das Repository (Open access) ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Burke William J. joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Frossard Emmanuel joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Kabwe Stephen joint author ETHRESEARCH 700 1- Jayne Thom S. joint author ETHRESEARCH 773 0- Food Policy Oxford : Elsevier 86, p. 101721 0306-9192 BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH ETHRESEARCH Journal Article Open access