Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries
Enhancing maize productivity growth is pivotal for revolutionizing the agrifood system in Africa, with inorganic fertilizer serving as a fundamental input for catalyzing this progress. However, concerns are mounting about the low and decreasing yield response and profitability of inorganic fertilize...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172861 |
| _version_ | 1855541627856093184 |
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| author | Ragasa, Catherine Takeshima, Hiroyuki Asante, Seth Amare, Mulubrhan Ma, Ning Olanrewaju, Opeyemi Duchoslav, Jan |
| author_browse | Amare, Mulubrhan Asante, Seth Duchoslav, Jan Ma, Ning Olanrewaju, Opeyemi Ragasa, Catherine Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| author_facet | Ragasa, Catherine Takeshima, Hiroyuki Asante, Seth Amare, Mulubrhan Ma, Ning Olanrewaju, Opeyemi Duchoslav, Jan |
| author_sort | Ragasa, Catherine |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Enhancing maize productivity growth is pivotal for revolutionizing the agrifood system in Africa, with inorganic fertilizer serving as a fundamental input for catalyzing this progress. However, concerns are mounting about the low and decreasing yield response and profitability of inorganic fertilizer use, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to refine yield response and profitability models by incorporating recent data from nationally representative and panel datasets spanning six countries. Most countries exhibited low nitrogen yield responsiveness (4–7 kg), while Ghana and Uganda showed higher responsiveness (15–20 kg) per additional 1 kg of nitrogen. Analysis of fertilizer-to-maize price ratios from 2010 to 2023 showed a downward trend, with spikes in 2022 in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Overall, except for those years, the data suggest a trend of increasingly favorable price incentives for fertilizer use. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda experienced declines in the fertilizer-to-maize price ratio. Increasing inorganic fertilizer use would be profitable in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda at current market prices, but not in Malawi or Tanzania. Subsidies in Malawi and Tanzania have boosted profitability, but these may not be necessary in Ghana, Nigeria, or Uganda, which already have favorable price incentives; Malawi could benefit by substantially reducing its 80 percent subsidy while maintaining decent price incentives and farm profits. The paper proposes policy options based on factors influencing yield responsiveness and potential improvements drawn from new modeling and synthesis of the literature. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace172861 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1728612025-10-26T12:50:57Z Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries Ragasa, Catherine Takeshima, Hiroyuki Asante, Seth Amare, Mulubrhan Ma, Ning Olanrewaju, Opeyemi Duchoslav, Jan maize agricultural productivity agrifood systems inorganic fertilizers yields profitability data prices Enhancing maize productivity growth is pivotal for revolutionizing the agrifood system in Africa, with inorganic fertilizer serving as a fundamental input for catalyzing this progress. However, concerns are mounting about the low and decreasing yield response and profitability of inorganic fertilizer use, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to refine yield response and profitability models by incorporating recent data from nationally representative and panel datasets spanning six countries. Most countries exhibited low nitrogen yield responsiveness (4–7 kg), while Ghana and Uganda showed higher responsiveness (15–20 kg) per additional 1 kg of nitrogen. Analysis of fertilizer-to-maize price ratios from 2010 to 2023 showed a downward trend, with spikes in 2022 in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Overall, except for those years, the data suggest a trend of increasingly favorable price incentives for fertilizer use. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda experienced declines in the fertilizer-to-maize price ratio. Increasing inorganic fertilizer use would be profitable in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda at current market prices, but not in Malawi or Tanzania. Subsidies in Malawi and Tanzania have boosted profitability, but these may not be necessary in Ghana, Nigeria, or Uganda, which already have favorable price incentives; Malawi could benefit by substantially reducing its 80 percent subsidy while maintaining decent price incentives and farm profits. The paper proposes policy options based on factors influencing yield responsiveness and potential improvements drawn from new modeling and synthesis of the literature. 2025-05 2025-02-06T13:16:23Z 2025-02-06T13:16:23Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172861 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148032 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147956 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146636 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168416 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168471 Open Access Elsevier Ragasa, Catherine; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Asante, Seth; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ma, Ning; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; and Duchoslav, Jan. 2025. Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries. Food Policy 133(May 2025): 102815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102815 |
| spellingShingle | maize agricultural productivity agrifood systems inorganic fertilizers yields profitability data prices Ragasa, Catherine Takeshima, Hiroyuki Asante, Seth Amare, Mulubrhan Ma, Ning Olanrewaju, Opeyemi Duchoslav, Jan Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title | Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title_full | Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title_fullStr | Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title_short | Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries |
| title_sort | maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer new survey evidence from six african countries |
| topic | maize agricultural productivity agrifood systems inorganic fertilizers yields profitability data prices |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172861 |
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