Simulating the effects of tax exemptions on fertiliser use in Benin by linking biophysical and economic models
Arnim Kuhn,
Thomas Gaiser and
Esaïe Gandonou
Agricultural Systems, 2010, vol. 103, issue 8, 509-520
Abstract:
The sluggish increase in the area productivity of staple crops is a major factor causing increased dependence of African countries on food imports. The increased use of mineral fertiliser may dramatically improve the food balance of many countries and result in lower food prices, higher food supply and consumption, and improved food security and nutritional status. In Benin, West Africa, political measures to improve farmers' access to fertiliser are biased in favour of cotton production. This article simulates the impact of universal tax exemptions for fertiliser use on crop yields, food balances, and the use of land resources for the most important staple crops in Benin using a crop growth model and an agricultural sector model. The simulation results indicate that tax exemptions on fertiliser use could have positive effects on physical productivity and would increase food security until 2025 as compared to a baseline scenario. At the same time, the pressure on land resources would not be aggravated, so that better access to fertiliser may help to curb excessive cropland expansion in Benin.
Keywords: Green; revolution; Crop; modelling; Agricultural; sector; model; Input; subsidies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308-521X(10)00071-5
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agisys:v:103:y:2010:i:8:p:509-520
Access Statistics for this article
Agricultural Systems is currently edited by J.W. Hansen, P.K. Thornton and P.B.M. Berentsen
More articles in Agricultural Systems from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().