Chirantan Chatterjee, Eric Hanushek, Shreekanth Mahendiran
Children in many extremely poor, remote regions are growing up illiterate and innumerate despite high reported school enrolment ratios (Pritchett 2013, Glewwe and Muralidharan 2016). This phenomenon of ‘schooling without learning’ has many alleged sources, such as insufficient demand, inadequate schooling materials, and a lack of qualified, motivated teachers. These factors are resulting in a substantial part of developing countries’ populations being illiterate and innumerate. The consequences of this phenomenon are dire: for these groups, lower lifetime incomes are expected as a result, and less opportunity to succeed in the growing worlds around them; and for the rest of the world, greater socioeconomic inequality.
Credit: Anna Fairbairn.
URBANA, Ill. - Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa use fertilizer well below recommended rates, contributing to consistently low agricultural productivity. Farmers in Tanzania and Kenya, for example, apply just 13 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared with 165 to 175 kilograms in India and Brazil. Low use directly affects cereal yields, which average 1.2 to 1.7 metric tons per hectare, compared to 4 to 4.5 metric tons in South America and Asia.
A new study from the University of Illinois finds farmers have misconceptions about fertilizer quality and suggests those misconceptions are a major reason for low application rates. Farmers were not using much fertilizer; that s well established in the region of Tanzania where we were working. In discussions with farmers we heard again and again the explanation was they thought the fertilizer was fake or bad, and they didn t want to buy it, says Hope Michelson, associate professor in the Department
Credit: Anna Fairbairn.
URBANA, Ill. - Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa use fertilizer well below recommended rates, contributing to consistently low agricultural productivity. Farmers in Tanzania and Kenya, for example, apply just 13 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared with 165 to 175 kilograms in India and Brazil. Low use directly affects cereal yields, which average 1.2 to 1.7 metric tons per hectare, compared to 4 to 4.5 metric tons in South America and Asia.
A new study from the University of Illinois finds farmers have misconceptions about fertilizer quality and suggests those misconceptions are a major reason for low application rates. Farmers were not using much fertilizer; that s well established in the region of Tanzania where we were working. In discussions with farmers we heard again and again the explanation was they thought the fertilizer was fake or bad, and they didn t want to buy it, says Hope Michelson, associate professor in the Department