How time subsidies increased fertilizer use by up to 11%

Historically, fertilizer use has been low in Africa, even though there is evidence that it is associated with greater attention to weeding, better seed, improved irrigation practices, and generates high returns on investment.¹ This partly because behavioral biases lead to a preference over immediate gains rather than investments over a longer period of time. Taking a behavioral approach yields a better way to solve this issue, especially when considering that this behavior is the opposite of what we’d expect to see. 

Duflo and researchers created three implementations of the SAFI program, all conducted in Western Kenya. In this program, farmers are offered free delivery of fertilizer. The first condition is the program as it’s meant to be run at the time of harvest. In the second condition, they offered the same program at harvest but during the heavy rain season. Lastly, they offered the program before the harvest began, testing whether farmers were present-biased.