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Estimating Agroforestry's Effect on Productivity in Kenya: An Application of a Treatment Effects Model

Tsunehiro Otsuki (otsuki@osipp.osaka-u.ac.jp)

No 10E001, OSIPP Discussion Paper from Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of adopting agroforestry and other soil conservation technologies (SCTs) on agricultural productivity in Kenya, using plot-level data on agricultural production. Using a treatment effects model, it is found that adopting agroforestry methods, as well as manure, chemical fertilizer, and terracing/trenching, increases total factor productivity (TFP) and land productivity. The TFP gain is estimated to be 40.7 percent from agroforestry. The average treatment effect for the adopters, however, turns slightly negative due to the negative self-selection effect, possibly because the agroforestry adopters tend to perceive adverse conditions on their land, which motivates them to adopt SCTs. In this sense, agroforestry and the other SCTs are preventive actions predominantly taken by farmers facing adverse conditions. The analysis demonstrates that both the simple mean comparison and the least squares estimation, due to their failure to reflect those complexities, could obscure the real benefits of SCTs.

Keywords: soil conservation technology; sustainability and agricultural productivity; self-selected participation; treatment effects model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H43 O13 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2010-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr and nep-eff
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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