Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) has been promoted by research and philanthropic organizations as well as governments in an attempt to increase crop yields and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. As this has largely been a continent-wide initiative, it is surprising that there is still scant information on its impact on crop yields and household income. This paper uses a counterfactual model to assess ISFM impact on yields and total household incomes using farm household data from Tamale (northern Ghana) and Kakamega (western Kenya). Descriptive results show that maize yields on plots where ISFM was implemented are higher but there are no differences in profitability. In addition, total household income is higher for adopters than non-adopters in Tamale. The analyses reveal that ISFM adoption leads to an increase in maize yields by up to 16% both in Tamale and Kakamega. Adoption of the innovation increases total household income by 20% in Tamale. Some implications for future research are discussed.
Classical innovation adoption models implicitly assume homogenous information flow across farmers, which is often not realistic. As a result, selection bias in adoption parameters may occur. We focus on tissue culture (TC) banana technology that was introduced in Kenya more...
Classical innovation adoption models implicitly assume homogenous information flow across farmers, which is often not realistic. As a result, selection bias in adoption parameters may occur. We focus on tissue culture (TC) banana technology that was introduced in Kenya more...
In the existing literature, the effects of contract farming on household welfare were examined with mixed results. Most studies looked at single contract types. This paper contributes to the literature by comparing two types of contracts – simple marketing contracts...
This report describes the 2012 NAIS Assessment was piloted in 4 countries: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire, open-ended interview questions, and data mining of secondary sources. A team led by a national coordinator took...
The purpose of this paper is to map some elements that can contribute to an IFAD strategy to stimulate and support pro-poor innovations. It is an initial or exploratory document that hopefully will add to an ongoing and necessary debate,...
