Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture
Since 2020, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced disruptions to agricultural activities due to the adverse effects of multiple global crises. Notably, the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in inorganic fertilizer prices, which had potentially significant impacts on Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture sector given that most countries in the region are net importers of inorganic fertilizers and the Russian Federation is the world’s largest exporter. Using high-frequency longitudinal phone survey data spanning four years from six Sub-Saharan African countries, this paper examines the dynamics of smallholder agriculture against the backdrop of these crises, with particular focus on prices, availability, and use of inorganic fertilizer, as well as the strategies employed by farmers to cope with high fertilizer prices and other accessibility constraints. The results show that inorganic fertilizer prices have increased in the region since 2020, forcing smallholder farmers to adopt coping mechanisms that are less productivity-enhancing, making them even more susceptible to future crises. Specifically, farming households reduced the quantity of inorganic fertilizer applied, by applying it at lower rates or to a smaller area. In some cases, households sold assets or borrowed money to cope with the high prices of inorganic fertilizers. This calls for policies to help smallholder farmers in the region to build strong support systems to be more resilient and better able to cope with the adverse effects of rising inorganic fertilizer prices during polycrises and related shocks.
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Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2024-07-16
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Subjects: | INORGANIC FERTILIZER, COPING STRATEGIES, PRICE SHOCKS, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, SDG 8, |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099412307092441567/IDU173affa201e3db14e931a1d4143913f4f7024 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41877 |
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dig-okr-10986418772024-07-25T20:53:13Z Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture Cross-Country Evidence from High-Frequency Phone Surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa Amankwah, Akuffo Ambel, Alemayehu Gourlay, Sydney Kilic, Talip Markhof, Yannick Wollburg, Philip INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 Since 2020, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced disruptions to agricultural activities due to the adverse effects of multiple global crises. Notably, the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in inorganic fertilizer prices, which had potentially significant impacts on Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture sector given that most countries in the region are net importers of inorganic fertilizers and the Russian Federation is the world’s largest exporter. Using high-frequency longitudinal phone survey data spanning four years from six Sub-Saharan African countries, this paper examines the dynamics of smallholder agriculture against the backdrop of these crises, with particular focus on prices, availability, and use of inorganic fertilizer, as well as the strategies employed by farmers to cope with high fertilizer prices and other accessibility constraints. The results show that inorganic fertilizer prices have increased in the region since 2020, forcing smallholder farmers to adopt coping mechanisms that are less productivity-enhancing, making them even more susceptible to future crises. Specifically, farming households reduced the quantity of inorganic fertilizer applied, by applying it at lower rates or to a smaller area. In some cases, households sold assets or borrowed money to cope with the high prices of inorganic fertilizers. This calls for policies to help smallholder farmers in the region to build strong support systems to be more resilient and better able to cope with the adverse effects of rising inorganic fertilizer prices during polycrises and related shocks. 2024-07-16T15:53:41Z 2024-07-16T15:53:41Z 2024-07-16 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099412307092441567/IDU173affa201e3db14e931a1d4143913f4f7024 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41877 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper; 10842 CC BY 3.0 IGO https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank application/pdf text/plain Washington, DC: World Bank |
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INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 |
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INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 Amankwah, Akuffo Ambel, Alemayehu Gourlay, Sydney Kilic, Talip Markhof, Yannick Wollburg, Philip Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
description |
Since 2020, many countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced disruptions to
agricultural activities due to the adverse effects of
multiple global crises. Notably, the Russian invasion of
Ukraine caused a surge in inorganic fertilizer prices, which
had potentially significant impacts on Sub-Saharan Africa’s
agriculture sector given that most countries in the region
are net importers of inorganic fertilizers and the Russian
Federation is the world’s largest exporter. Using
high-frequency longitudinal phone survey data spanning four
years from six Sub-Saharan African countries, this paper
examines the dynamics of smallholder agriculture against the
backdrop of these crises, with particular focus on prices,
availability, and use of inorganic fertilizer, as well as
the strategies employed by farmers to cope with high
fertilizer prices and other accessibility constraints. The
results show that inorganic fertilizer prices have increased
in the region since 2020, forcing smallholder farmers to
adopt coping mechanisms that are less
productivity-enhancing, making them even more susceptible to
future crises. Specifically, farming households reduced the
quantity of inorganic fertilizer applied, by applying it at
lower rates or to a smaller area. In some cases, households
sold assets or borrowed money to cope with the high prices
of inorganic fertilizers. This calls for policies to help
smallholder farmers in the region to build strong support
systems to be more resilient and better able to cope with
the adverse effects of rising inorganic fertilizer prices
during polycrises and related shocks. |
format |
Working Paper |
topic_facet |
INORGANIC FERTILIZER COPING STRATEGIES PRICE SHOCKS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH SDG 8 |
author |
Amankwah, Akuffo Ambel, Alemayehu Gourlay, Sydney Kilic, Talip Markhof, Yannick Wollburg, Philip |
author_facet |
Amankwah, Akuffo Ambel, Alemayehu Gourlay, Sydney Kilic, Talip Markhof, Yannick Wollburg, Philip |
author_sort |
Amankwah, Akuffo |
title |
Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
title_short |
Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
title_full |
Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
title_fullStr |
Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fertilizer Price Shocks in Smallholder Agriculture |
title_sort |
fertilizer price shocks in smallholder agriculture |
publisher |
Washington, DC: World Bank |
publishDate |
2024-07-16 |
url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099412307092441567/IDU173affa201e3db14e931a1d4143913f4f7024 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41877 |
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