Institutt for økonomi
og ressursforvaltning


Om IØR
Ansatte
Studier
Forskning
Publikasjoner

IØR- bulletinen
Instituttseminarer
Oppslagsarkiv
Studentportalen Athene
Studentenes Optimum
-------------------------------

English




 

Journal #J-03/2001
Farm-level benefits to investments for mitigating land degradation:
Empirical evidence from Ethiopia
Bekele Shiferaw & Stein T. Holden
Department of Economics & Social Sciences
Agricultural University of Norway
PO Box 5033, N-1432 Ås, Norway
http://www.nlh.no/ior/
e-mail: stein.holden@ior.nlh.no  

Shiferaw, B. & S.T. Holden (2001): "Farm-level benefits to investments for mitigating land degradation: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia", Environment and Development Economics, 6:335-358.

Abstract:
Resource conservation programs have often been launched without careful evaluation of farmers' intertemporal tradeoffs in undertaking conservation investments. Such investments often have long pay back periods and reduce short-term household incomes. The critical question is whether long-term benefits would be sufficient to compensate farmers' immediate costs. Lack of empirical data on crop responses to soil erosion has hindered policy-relevant research. This study uses empirical data from the Ethiopian highlands to estimate the damage from soil erosion and evaluate the profitability of proposed conservation investments. A farm-level model is developed to study economic incentives to implement proposed conservation methods. Results show that incentives to invest in conservation practices are very low except for low cost methods like grass strips. The yield penalty due to area loss and high investment costs contribute to this. Policies focusing on minimizing the area loss effect and subsidizing the initial investment costs are shown to improve farmers' incentives to conserve the soil. A preferred policy option in the short-term is supporting low cost technologies that provide short-term benefits to poor farmers.

Key words: Land degredation, soil conservation, investment, farm-level modelling.

To order: fax (+47) 6494 3012 or e-mail: ior@ior.nlh.no

 

Institutt for økonomi og ressursforvaltning
Tårnbygningen
Postboks 5003, 1432 Ås
Tlf.: 6496 5700 | Faks: 6494 3012 | E-post: ior@umb.no