Publication:
Yield Gains from Balancing Fertilizer Use: Evidence from Eastern India

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dc.contributor.authorArteaga, Julian
dc.contributor.authorDeininger, Klaus
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-29T17:46:55Z
dc.date.available2025-05-29T17:46:55Z
dc.date.issued2025-05-29
dc.description.abstractAs with most agricultural inputs, the optimal use of fertilizer leverages the production complementarities between different types of nutrients. Wide variation in the intensity of nutrient application rates suggests there are potentially large productivity gains to be had from rebalancing fertilizer use across nutrient types even under a fixed expenditure budget. Using detailed information on a large sample of rice fields across three states in eastern India, this paper investigates whether a more balanced use of fertilizer—measured as the ratio of potash to nitrogen applied to a field—can lead to higher yields and revenues. To address the endogeneity of fertilizer application decisions, the analysis exploits the fact that nitrogen-based fertilizers demanded by Indian farmers are mostly produced domestically in a limited number of manufacturing plants, while all potash-based fertilizers must be imported by ship from abroad. Instrumenting for the ratio of potassium-to-nitrogen fertilizer applied on a field with the relative travel distances between farmers’ villages and both the nearest urea production plant and the nearest international port, the paper estimates the impact of more balanced fertilizer use on yields and revenues. The estimates show that at median levels of fertilizer use, and keeping the level of expenditure on fertilizers constant, rebalancing fertilizer application choices such that the potassium-to-nitrogen ratio of fertilizer is doubled would lead to a 4.8 percent increase in yield.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099743205282518627
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/43259
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 11134
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectINDIA
dc.subjectSOIL FERTILITY
dc.subjectINPUT SUBSIDIES
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
dc.titleYield Gains from Balancing Fertilizer Useen
dc.title.subtitleEvidence from Eastern Indiaen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.associatedcontenthttps://reproducibility.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/275 Link to reproducibility package
okr.date.disclosure2025-05-29
okr.date.lastmodified2025-05-29T16:07:31Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099743205282518627
okr.guid099743205282518627
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-68ffe115-8c8a-4ebb-9929-28a75fc1adb5
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-11134
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum40016924
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum40016924
okr.identifier.reportWPS11134
okr.import.id7505
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttps://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099743205282518627/pdf/IDU-68ffe115-8c8a-4ebb-9929-28a75fc1adb5.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeSouth Asia
okr.region.countryIndia
okr.sectorFY17 - Other Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry,FY17 - Other Water Supply, Sanitation and Waste Management
okr.sectorAgriculture, Fishing and Forestry,Water, Sanitation and Waste Management
okr.themeFY17 - Adaptation,FY17 - Climate change,FY17 - Mitigation,FY17 - Disease Control,FY17 - Renewable Natural Resources Asset Management,FY17 - Watershed Management,FY17 - Rural Infrastructure and service delivery,FY17 - Rural Development,FY17 - Pandemic Response
okr.themeFY17 - Human Development and Gender,FY17 - Urban and Rural Development,FY17 - Environment and Natural Resource Management
okr.topicAgriculture::Agribusiness
okr.topicAgriculture::Agriculture & Farming Systems
okr.topicAgriculture::Food Markets
okr.topicEnvironment::Environmental Management
okr.unitDEC-Sustainability & Infrastruct (DECSI)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication68546f99-84de-5466-be55-9170c38603e2
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery68546f99-84de-5466-be55-9170c38603e2
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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