Weather index insurance, agricultural input use, and crop productivity in Kenya

Kenneth W. Sibiko () and Matin Qaim
Additional contact information
Kenneth W. Sibiko: Maseno University
Matin Qaim: University of Goettingen

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2020, vol. 12, issue 1, No 10, 167 pages

Abstract: Abstract Weather risk is a serious issue in the African small farm sector that will further increase due to climate change. Farmers typically react by using low amounts of agricultural inputs. Low input use can help to minimize financial loss in bad years, but is also associated with low average yield and income. Increasing small farm productivity and income is an important prerequisite for rural poverty reduction and food security. Crop insurance could incentivize farmers to increase their input use, but indemnity-based crop insurance programs are plagued by market failures. This article contributes to the emerging literature on the role of weather index insurance (WII). We use data from a survey of farmers in Kenya, where a commercial WII scheme has been operating for several years. Regression models with instrumental variables are used to analyze WII uptake and effects on input use and crop productivity. Results show that WII uptake is positively and significantly associated with the use of chemical fertilizer and improved seeds, and also with crop yield. We conclude that upscaling WII programs may help to spur agricultural development in the small farm sector.

Keywords: Weather risk; Crop insurance; Fertilizer; Small farms; Impact evaluation; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-019-00987-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:ssefpa:v:12:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s12571-019-00987-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ulture/journal/12571

DOI: 10.1007/s12571-019-00987-y

Access Statistics for this article

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food is currently edited by R.N. Strange

More articles in Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food from Springer, The International Society for Plant Pathology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().