Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries

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dc.creatorRagasa, Catherine
dc.creatorTakeshima, Hiroyuki
dc.creatorAsante, Seth
dc.creatorAmare, Mulubrhan
dc.creatorMa, Ning
dc.creatorOlanrewaju, Opeyemi
dc.creatorDuchoslav, Jan
dc.date2025-05
dc.date2025-02-06T13:16:23Z
dc.date2025-02-06T13:16:23Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:43:25Z
dc.descriptionEnhancing 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.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/172861
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/112805
dc.languageen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/148032
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/147956
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/146636
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168416
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168471
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceRagasa, 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
dc.subjectmaize
dc.subjectagricultural productivity
dc.subjectagrifood systems
dc.subjectinorganic fertilizers
dc.subjectyields
dc.subjectprofitability
dc.subjectdata
dc.subjectprices
dc.titleMaize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries
dc.typeJournal Article

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)