Promoting sustainable intensification and productivity growth in Sahel agriculture after macroeconomic policy reform

Abstract

Policy reforms and structural adjustment programs in Sahelian countries have eliminated many public agricultural support programs, creating a vacuum that has not yet been filled by the private sector. Sahelian farmers thus face more difficult access to inputs and higher input costs. Input use has stagnated or declined, yet higher population and less land for expansion of cultivation make it vital to increase the productivity of already cultivated land through adoption of intensive agricultural production techniques. While partial intensification is becoming common, too little investment is occurring in inputs and land improvements that maintain soil fertility, control erosion, and improve water availability. Partial intensification therefore risks being an unsustainable strategy. Higher and more sustainable productivity growth requires significantly increased use of chemical and organic fertilizer, improved seeds, bunds, and animal traction. The dilemma is how to ensure that such investments are financially and economically profitable and affordable in terms of government budgets. It is crucial to: (1) improve input access and reduce the unit cost of inputs to farmers through infrastructure investment; (2) increase the productivity of fertilizer and improved seed by encouraging complementary farm-level investments; (3) improve the coordination of input and output marketing systems, and improve incentives for private sector involvement; (4) improve farmers' ability to buy inputs using credit and non-farm income; (5) reduce the financial risks of purchased input use through integrated input/output markets and innovative credit schemes; and (6) evaluate the net economic benefits of selected agricultural support programs, including input subsidies.