Allocation and Valuation of Smallholder Maize Residues in Western Kenya

Julia Berazneva, David R. Lee, Frank Place and George Jakubson

Ecological Economics, 2018, vol. 152, issue C, 172-182

Abstract: Crop residues, one of smallholder farmers' most common but overlooked resources, serve multiple purposes in many rural households: they are a source of fuel, animal feed, and soil amendments. They are key to maintaining soil fertility, depletion of which is widely considered to be one of the major causes of low food production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using household survey data from western Kenya, we investigate the contribution of maize residues to smallholders' agricultural production and estimate their shadow value to be 5.94 Kenyan shillings (US$0.07) per kilogram. Valuing crop residue benefits contributes to multiple social goals, including improved economic evaluation of alternative agricultural practices and environmental conservation efforts.

Keywords: Natural Resource Valuation; Crop Residues; Sustainable Agriculture; Environmental Goods; Western Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q24 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:152:y:2018:i:c:p:172-182

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.05.024

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