Publication:
Non-Labor Input Quality and Small Farms in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

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dc.contributor.authorMichelson, Hope
dc.contributor.authorGourlay, Sydney
dc.contributor.authorWollburg, Philip
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-17T21:39:20Z
dc.date.available2022-06-17T21:39:20Z
dc.date.issued2022-06
dc.description.abstractAdoption of non-labor agricultural inputs, including pesticides and mineral fertilizers, remains low among small-scale farmers in many low-income countries. Accurate measurement of the quality of these inputs and of quantities deployed is essential for assessing economic returns, understanding the drivers of agricultural productivity, and proposing and evaluating policies for increasing agricultural production. Reviewing evidence regarding the quality of mineral fertilizers and pesticides available to small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, this paper summarizes four key findings. First, the available evidence on non-labor input quality to date centers mostly on urea fertilizer and glyphosate herbicide, with limited assessment of other important inputs, including multi-nutrient fertilizers. Second, the evidence shows that nitrogen shortages are exceedingly rare for urea, although quality problems are more common in fertilizer blends including nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium blends, as well as diammonium phosphate, and in glyphosate herbicide. Third, although nutrient shortages in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium fertilizer blends and diammonium phosphate fertilizer blends are likely attributable to problems with manufacturing and storage, problems with available herbicides could be due to manufacturing issues, counterfeiting, or adulteration. Fourth, although farmers are broadly suspicious of the quality of mineral fertilizer and pesticides, evidence from several studies suggests that these beliefs do not reflect lab-based assessments of quality. In light of these findings, this paper recommends best practices for evaluation of non-labor input quality and summarizes research evaluating farmer assessment of fertilizer and pesticide quality. The paper concludes by identifying key evidentiary gaps related to measuring non-labor agricultural input quality and use, and recommends specific topics for future research.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230006172215257/IDU054afa1b60f50c0489d0afa50c562a97e2882
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10092
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/37571
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Papers;10092
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL INPUTS
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA REVIEW
dc.subjectSMALLHOLDERS
dc.subjectLOW-INCOME FARMERS
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectFERTILIZER QUALITY
dc.subjectPESTICIDE QUALITY ISSUES
dc.subjectECONOMIC RETURNS OF FARMS
dc.subjectFOOD SECURITY
dc.titleNon-Labor Input Quality and Small Farms in Sub-Saharan Africaen
dc.title.subtitleA Reviewen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.disclosure2022-06-17
okr.date.lastmodified2022-06-17T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230006172215257/IDU054afa1b60f50c0489d0afa50c562a97e2882
okr.guid099230006172215257
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10092
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum33844873
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum33844873
okr.identifier.reportWPS10092
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099230006172215257/pdf/IDU054afa1b60f50c0489d0afa50c562a97e2882.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalSub-Saharan Africa
okr.topicAgriculture::Agribusiness
okr.topicAgriculture::Agricultural Research
okr.topicAgriculture::Agricultural Sector Economics
okr.topicAgriculture::Crops & Crop Management Systems
okr.unitData Production and Methods (DECPM)
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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