Can information help reduce imbalanced application of fertilizers in India? Experimental evidence from Bihar

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dc.creatorFishman, Ram
dc.creatorKishore, Avinash
dc.creatorRothler, Yoav
dc.creatorWard, Patrick S.
dc.creatorJha, Shankar
dc.creatorSingh, R.K. P.
dc.date2016-04-01
dc.date2024-06-21T09:07:00Z
dc.date2024-06-21T09:07:00Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:42:51Z
dc.descriptionThe imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers in India is widely blamed for low yields, poor soil health, pollution of water resources, and large public expenditures on subsidies. To address the issue, the government of India is investing in a large-scale, expensive program of individualizedsoil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations, with the hope that scientific information will lead farmers to optimize the fertilizer mix. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the Indian state of Bihar in what we believe to be the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the program as currently implemented. We found no evidence of any impact of soil testing and customized fertilizer recommendations on actual fertilizer use or the willingness to pay for lacking nutrients (elicited using aBecker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism). Several factors could be driving these results, including a lack of understanding, lack of confidence in the information’s reliability, or the costs of the recommended fertilizer mixes. We provide evidence that suggestslack of confidence is the main factor inhibiting farmers’ response
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/146418
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/112545
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/150122
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/154765
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/146535
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceFishman, Ram; Kishore, Avinash; Rothler, Yoav; Ward, Patrick S.; Jha, Shankar; Singh, R. K. P. 2016. Can information help reduce imbalanced application of fertilizers in India? Experimental evidence from Bihar. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1517. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146418
dc.subjectfertilizers
dc.subjectfarm inputs
dc.subjectbecker-degroot-marschak mechanism
dc.subjectsoil analysis
dc.subjectexperimental design
dc.titleCan information help reduce imbalanced application of fertilizers in India? Experimental evidence from Bihar
dc.typeWorking Paper

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