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Does cooperative membership enhance inorganic fertilizer use intensity? Panel data evidence from maize farmers in Ethiopia

Does cooperative membership enhance inorganic fertilizer use intensity? Panel data evidence from... Agricultural cooperatives are increasingly being viewed as an effective means of promoting agricultural technologies in developing countries. This paper examines the effects of cooperative membership on inorganic fertilizer use intensity. Employing a three‐wave panel dataset relating to smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia, we model inorganic fertilizer application as a two‐step decision‐making process involving both fertilizer adoption and its use intensity. To reflect these two related steps, we use a double‐hurdle model. We account for unobservable household heterogeneity and endogeneity utilizing a correlated random‐effects framework and a control function approach. The findings reveal that cooperative membership increased inorganic fertilizer use intensity, as well as the probability of it being used in the first place by 4.2% and 5.3%, respectively. Following further examination of who benefits most among cooperative members, we discovered that membership benefits all farmers in terms of fertilizer use intensity, irrespective of the members’ poverty status. However, we did not observe a significant effect of cooperative membership on the likelihood of fertilizer use by land‐poor and less asset‐endowed households. This highlights the necessity of implementing policies that provide poor and marginalized Ethiopian maize farmers with resources that enhance the contribution agricultural cooperatives make to their well‐being. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics Wiley

Does cooperative membership enhance inorganic fertilizer use intensity? Panel data evidence from maize farmers in Ethiopia

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References (82)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Journal compilation © 2023 EMF.
ISSN
1370-4788
eISSN
1467-8292
DOI
10.1111/apce.12446
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Agricultural cooperatives are increasingly being viewed as an effective means of promoting agricultural technologies in developing countries. This paper examines the effects of cooperative membership on inorganic fertilizer use intensity. Employing a three‐wave panel dataset relating to smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia, we model inorganic fertilizer application as a two‐step decision‐making process involving both fertilizer adoption and its use intensity. To reflect these two related steps, we use a double‐hurdle model. We account for unobservable household heterogeneity and endogeneity utilizing a correlated random‐effects framework and a control function approach. The findings reveal that cooperative membership increased inorganic fertilizer use intensity, as well as the probability of it being used in the first place by 4.2% and 5.3%, respectively. Following further examination of who benefits most among cooperative members, we discovered that membership benefits all farmers in terms of fertilizer use intensity, irrespective of the members’ poverty status. However, we did not observe a significant effect of cooperative membership on the likelihood of fertilizer use by land‐poor and less asset‐endowed households. This highlights the necessity of implementing policies that provide poor and marginalized Ethiopian maize farmers with resources that enhance the contribution agricultural cooperatives make to their well‐being.

Journal

Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics – Wiley

Published: Jun 26, 2023

Keywords: agricultural cooperatives; Ethiopia; fertilizer use intensity; maize farmers; technology adoption

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