Economic impacts of fall armyworm and its management strategies: evidence from southern Ethiopia

Menale Kassie, Tesfamicheal Wossen, Hugo De Groote, Tadele Tefera, Subramanian Sevgan and Solomon Balew

European Review of Agricultural Economics, 2020, vol. 47, issue 4, 1473-1501

Abstract: This paper explores the economic implications of fall armyworm (FAW) and its management strategies by exploiting exogenous variation in FAW exposure amongst households in southern Ethiopia. We find that FAW exposure affects maize yield and sales negatively, but not consumption. Furthermore, we find evidence of crowding-in and intensification of insecticide use in response to FAW exposure. We also find suggestive evidence that existing extension service arrangements lack the capacity to deal with emerging threats such as FAW. Results imply that targeted interventions aimed at improving the effectiveness of control measures and institutional capacity would be key to reduce the adverse effects of FAW.HighlightsThe economic impact of fall armyworm (FAW) in southern Ethiopia assessedFall armyworm significantly reduces maize yields and maize salesA positive correlation observed between FAW exposure and intensity of insecticide useExisting individual FAW control strategies do not significantly abate losses from FAWImproving institutional capacity is essential to control FAW

Keywords: fall armyworm; control strategies; maize productivity; maize sales; maize consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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