Transformative change through Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES): a conceptual framework and application to conservation agriculture in Malawi

Benton, Tim G.; Droppelmann, Klaus; Mapemba, Lawrence; Pierson, Oliver; Ward, Patrick S.

doi:10.1017/sus.2018.4

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…For example, Ngoma et al (2018b) using framed economic field experiments found that providing a green subsidy framed as an add-on incentive to the current farmer input subsidies for verified CA adopters raised the probability of adopting CA by 12% points among smallholder farmers in the study areas in Zambia. Ward et al (2018) and Bell et al (2018) found that providing subsidies and payments for ecosystem services improved the adoption of CA and other sustainable land management practices in Malawi. The use of premium prices for produce with certified low carbon footprint is another market option.…”

Section: Discussion: How To Increase and Sustain Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conditional input subsidies to limit cropland expansion and linking carbon credits from CA adoption to payments for environmental services (PES) are alternatives that can be explored and used to incentivize mitigation under CA. A World Bank funded Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) Landscape Management Project that promotes sustainable agriculture and forest conservation in Zambia is a good example of such initiatives and Bell et al (2018) reports on the positive effects of PES on land management in Malawi. 7 And, lastly, CA can also better contribute to the adaptation objectives if the full CA suite including crop diversification, rotation and residue retention is applied.…”

Section: Discussion: How To Increase and Sustain Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Impatient farmers or farmers with high discount rates may not adopt CA if they believe that significant benefits only accrue in the medium to long-term, and yet their primary interests to feed families, are short term. Using economic field experiments, Ward et al (2018) and Bell et al (2018) found that providing subsidies and payments for ecosystem services improved the adoption of CA and other sustainable land management practices in Malawi. There is scope to apply behavioral and experimental economics to study pecuniary and non-pecuniary incentives for CA adoption among smallholder farmers.…”

Section: Other Factors Influencing Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

et al. 2021

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Conservation Agriculture (CA) aims to concurrently promote agricultural productivity, local livelihoods, climate resilience and other environmental objectives. We review the emerging evidence base in Eastern and Southern Africa to address whether CA is climate smart and why adoption rates by smallholders remain generally very low. We first develop an adoption framework that can be used to assess when and where the different components of CA are expected to be adopted under different conditioning factors and consider options to make CA climate smart. Our results suggest that CA can contribute positively to productivity and adaptation/resilience objectives, although the degree of success varies considerably by farm, household and regional characteristics. Overall, we find that capital-intensive (mechanized) CA is more likely to be adopted in areas of economic dynamism where capital is cheap relative to labor. Labor-intensive CA practices are more likely to be adopted in regions of economic stagnation where capital is expensive, and labor is abundant and cheap. A subnational focus is needed to identify economic conditions of different regions and agro-ecological zones and to test hypotheses derived from the framework in this paper and to propose the most appropriate CA packages for promotion. Our findings suggest that labor using variants of CA such as planting basins are more likely to be adopted than are capital using mechanized options in densely populated parts of Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe where labor is abundant, and presumably cheap, but capital is expensive. However, rising land scarcity (prices) and wages in the region present an opportunity for capital intensive, mechanized CA operations to be adopted if the cost of capital can be kept low and if there is a supportive environment for mechanization. We conclude that CA is climate smart and if adopted widely, it has the potential to help build resilience in smallholder farming systems. CA can be more climate smart, and its uptake can be enhanced by reframing, better targeting, adapting CA to location-specific economic and biophysical, and through greater and more effective public spending on agricultural research and development.

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Section: Discussion: How To Increase and Sustain Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion: How To Increase and Sustain Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Other Factors Influencing Ca Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

et al. 2021

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“…To the extent that the social benefits that emerge from the sustained production ofin situ andex situ ecosystem services exceed the total costs of encouraging these practices on a landscape scale, this would suggest an economically efficient means of correcting an important market failure. As Bell et al (2018) have demonstrated, even just considering theex situ ecosystem services associated with hydropower generation, the costs associated with a PES program like the one evaluated here would be orders of magnitude less expensive than alternative means for dealing with soil erosion and siltation, suggesting a highly cost-effective solution. Second, our results suggest that the agglomeration payment mechanism may be an effective means for encouraging the consolidation of fragmented land under a unified conservation objective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Smart subsidies for sustainable soils: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in southern Malawi

Ward

Mapemba

2021

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

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Conventional agricultural practices -especially conventional tillage -are a major driver of soil erosion globally. While soil may not frequently be considered a vulnerable natural resource, the erosion and degradation of soils poses a serious threat to food production and the production of numerous otherin situ andex situ ecosystem services. This study provides some of the first evidence on the effectiveness of a payments for ecosystem services (PES) program to encourage the adoption of soil conservation practices, specifically conservation agriculture (CA). Through minimized soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversified crop mix, CA is believed to enhance soil fertility and rehabilitate soil structure, with the resulting preservation of ecosystem service flows. By providing calibrated financial incentives, we demonstrate that it is possible to substantially increase the extent and intensity of CA adoption. What's more, we show that a novel incentive mechanisms that leverages social networks for the consolidation of fragmented land may be more effective at bringing more land under conservation objectives, even if some of the additional land does not officially fall under the purview of the PES program. We also demonstrate that some of the supposed weaknesses hindering the adoption of CA -lower yields in the short-run and higher expenditures on weed control -were not necessarily obstacles in our study area, perhaps suggesting that the provision of subsidies need not continue into perpetuity, but may only be needed to overcome short-term transition costs.

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“…Marenya, Smith and Nkonya 2014;Ward et al 2016;Schaafasma, Ferrini and Turner 2019), there is limited evidence which exploits exogenous variation to test how farmers respond to actual incentives. One exception is ongoing work by Bell et al (2018b) which uses randomized assignment to test the effects of incentives on CA adoption in Malawi and finds an initial increase in adoption after the first season of the project. Also related, Oliva et al (forthcoming) study incentives for adoption of a technology with delayed payout under uncertainty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing the adoption of conservation agriculture: A framed field experiment in Northern Ghana

Ambler¹,

Brauw²,

Murphy³

2020

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in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI's strategic research aims to foster a climate-resilient and sustainable food supply; promote healthy diets and nutrition for all; build inclusive and efficient markets, trade systems, and food industries; transform agricultural and rural economies; and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is integrated in all the Institute's work. Partnerships, communications, capacity strengthening, and data and knowledge management are essential components to translate IFPRI's research from action to impact. The Institute's regional and country programs play a critical role in responding to demand for food policy research and in delivering holistic support for country-led development. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world.

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Transformative change through Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES): a conceptual framework and application to conservation agriculture in Malawi

Cited by 14 publications

References 47 publications

Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

Smart subsidies for sustainable soils: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in southern Malawi

Increasing the adoption of conservation agriculture: A framed field experiment in Northern Ghana

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