The following post by Hailemariam Tiruneh, Research Fellow, IFPRI was originally published on https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/ .
Kenya has a long history of implementing fertiliser subsidy programmes aimed at supporting smallholder farmers.
These initiatives have evolved over the years, from targeted programmes for resource-poor farmers to broader, non-targeted schemes like the the National Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (NFSP) implemented in 2022 to boost food production and stabilise prices in the wake of global supply chains disruptions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NFSP provides subsidised fertiliser to all registered farmers, with the quantity allocated based on the size of registered land holdings.
To assess the impact of the NFSP on farm productivity, researchers collected data in main maize producing counties and conducted appropriate econometric analysis to isolate the effect of fertilizer subsidy on maize yield by accounting for other factors such as seed, rainfall, access to credit, irrigation, gender, education, etc.
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This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.