Organic soil amendments and food security: Evidence from Cameroon

Abstract

Food insecurity remains a persistent policy issue in many developing countries. While socio-political, epidemiological, climatic, and productivity-related factors have received attention regarding food insecurity, a rarely considered factor is the changing quality of the soil, a natural resource base that has the potential of increasing or reducing vulnerability to food insecurity. The use of organic soil amendments may be socioeconomically and environmentally advantageous. This study examines the inherent relationship between the use of organic soil amendments and food security among smallholder farming households. Using the seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model and the recursive bivariate probit (RBP) model on nationally representative household-level data from Cameroon, we find evidence that the use of organic soil amendments is positively associated with household food security. We also find the use of organic soil amendments to be associated with reduced levels of mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity. Empirical evidence is also suggestive of a positive association between crop diversification and food security. The results further show that households with larger farm sizes tend to use more organic soil amendments than households with smaller farms. Taken together, our findings confirm another pathway of improving food security with implications for the broad path toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 of ending hunger.

Soil conservation and smallholder welfare under cassava‐based systems in Thailand

“…Previous empirical analysis (Adams et al, 2020; Adolwa et al, 2019; Nunes et al, 2018; Xiong et al, 2018) found similar results on the positive association between the adoption of soil conservation and yields. In some cases, the adoption of soil conservation practices such as the use of organic soil amendments has been shown to be associated with food security (Tabe‐Ojong, Fabinin, et al, 2022). For the more specific case of Thailand, earlier analysis from this same project area found substantial yield increases because of the farmer participatory research and extension approach (Dalton et al, 2011).…”

“…Beyond yield and profit increases, adoption of soil conservation could further induce welfare changes given that the benefits of adopting soil conservation are not immediate 1 (Knowler & Bradshaw, 2007; Lapar, 1999; Pannell et al, 2014). The adoption of organic soil amendments, a critical component of soil conservation, has been shown to increase food security (Tabe‐Ojong, Fabinin, et al, 2022). That said, existing studies report significant heterogeneity and context‐dependency, calling for a wider evidence base to improve learning on the relationship between soil conservation and welfare.…”

“…Beyond yield and profit increases, adoption of soil conservation could further induce welfare changes given that the benefits of adopting soil conservation are not immediate 1 (Knowler & Bradshaw, 2007;Lapar, 1999;Pannell et al, 2014). The adoption of organic soil amendments, a critical component of soil conservation, has been shown to increase food security (Tabe-Ojong, Fabinin, et al, 2022).…”

Behavioural factors matter for the adoption of climate-smart agriculture

“…Fallowing refers to keeping a farmland untilled or unsown for some time to allow soil fertility regeneration and other biological functions. Finally, organic soil amendments refer to the use of green and animal manure to improve the fertility of the soil and it has been argued to be important for food security 24 . All these variables are captured as dichotomous variables.…”

“…It also represents as aspect of crop diversification which is important for dietary diversity and food consumption 6 . This is also the case for organic soil amendments which is associated with food security 24 . Some of the crops cultivated under intercropping have also been highlighted to contribute to carbon sequestration in many drylands of Africa 25 .…”