Abstract
Fertilizer use remains below recommended rates in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to low crop yields and poverty. We explore the role of fertilizer quality. We interviewed fertilizer sellers in an important agricultural region in Tanzania and sampled their fertilizer to establish that the nutrient content of fertilizers is good, meeting industry standards. However, we find farmers’ beliefs to be inconsistent with this reality. Beliefs about adulteration push down farmer willingness-to-pay for fertilizer; with farmers willing to pay more if quality is verified. In addition, we find some evidence of a quality inference problem: many fertilizers have degraded appearance, and farmers appear to rely on these observable attributes to (incorrectly) assess unobservable nutrient content. Market prices reflect neither nutrient content nor degradation in appearance, even in competitive markets. Our results suggest the existence of an equilibrium where farmer beliefs about f
Abstract
The economy of Guinea-Bissau, highly dependent on the export of cashew nuts, is being severely hit by ruptures in the world supply chains resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The associated drop in raw cashew prices will increase poverty and food insecurity, potentially further aggravated by reduced investment capital for the subsequent agricultural season. Our introduction of the n’kalô service, a market information system, provides smallholders with weekly voice messages transmitting the most recent market updates and price tendencies. This provides cashew producers with important guidance in such uncertain times. The strong socio-economic impact of the crisis should incentivize the country’s transition towards economic diversification and in-country cashew processing.