Organic Farming Technologies and Agricultural Productivity: The case of Semi-Arid Ethiopia

Abstract

Organic farming practices, in as far as they rely on local or farm renewable resources, present desirable options for enhancing agricultural productivity for resource-constrained farmers in developing countries. In this paper we use plot-level data from semi-arid area of Ethiopia to investigate the impact of organic farming practices on crop productivity, with a particular focus on conservation tillage. Specifically we seek to investigate whether conservation tillage results in more or less productivity gains than chemical fertilizer. Our results reveal a clear superiority of organic farming practices over chemical fertilizers in enhancing crop productivity. Thus our results underscore the importance of encouraging resource-constrained farmers in developing countries to adopt organic farming practices, especially since they enable farmers to reduce production costs, provide environmental benefits, and as our results confirm, enhance crop productivity.