Substandard Fertilizer and Agricultural Performance:Evidence from Southeast Asia and sub-Sahara Africa
IDE Research Bulletin
ARIMOTO Yutaka
March 2020
PDF (72KB)
Background and Objective
We
investigate
the
spread
of
substandard
fertilizer
in
the
market
and
its
possible
consequence
on
the
application
and
the
agricultural
performance
in
Southeast
Asia
and
sub-Sahara
Africa.
Low
quality
fertilizer
discourages
farmers
to
adopt
modern
technologies,
and
this
leads
to
stagnant
productivity
growth.
Based
on
careful
observations
and
quantitative
evidence
from
field
surveys,
we
discuss
the
potential
causes
and
consequences
of
the
prevalence
of
substandard
fertilizer.
We
also
examine
the
role
and
effectiveness
of
the
regulations
and
inspection
institutions
in
dealing
with
this
widely
observed
issue.
Our
goal
is
to
provide
valuable
information
and
implications
for
the
policies
to
address
the
problem
of
substandard
inputs
in
the
developing
world.