Socio-economic impacts of zero and reduced tillage in wheat fields of the Moroccan drylands

cg.contacty.yigezu@cgiar.orgen_US
cg.contributor.centerInternational Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDAen_US
cg.contributor.crpCGIAR Research Program on Wheat - WHEATen_US
cg.contributor.funderInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center - CIMMYTen_US
cg.contributor.projectCRP WHEAT Phase IIen_US
cg.contributor.project-lead-instituteInternational Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDAen_US
cg.coverage.countryMAen_US
cg.coverage.regionNorthern Africaen_US
cg.creator.idYigezu, Yigezu: 0000-0002-9156-7082en_US
cg.creator.idAl-Shater, Tamer: 0000-0002-0698-689Xen_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12640en_US
cg.isijournalISI Journalen_US
cg.issn0169-5150en_US
cg.issn1574-0862en_US
cg.issue4en_US
cg.journalAgricultural Economicsen_US
cg.subject.agrovocdrylandsen_US
cg.subject.agrovoczero tillageen_US
cg.subject.agrovocmoroccoen_US
cg.subject.agrovocimpacten_US
cg.volume52en_US
dc.contributorAl-Shater, Tameren_US
dc.creatorYigezu, Yigezuen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-29T22:18:27Z
dc.date.available2021-09-29T22:18:27Z
dc.description.abstractZero tillage (ZT) is recommended for dryland farming because it enhances retention of residual soil moisture. However, it is not always clear whether this translates to an economic advantage over conventional tillage, which helps in controlling weeds. Using a nationally representative sample of 1901 wheat fields in Morocco as a case study, we provide comparative analysis on different tillage intensities. Results from an endogenous switching regression model showed that fields that were not tilled gave 298.6 kg/ha (23%) higher yields, US$89/ha (27%) more income and more stable yields than those tilled once or more. Fields that were not tilled also had 87% lower yield variance with 100% and 65.6% less risk of giving yield levels below 500 and 1000 kg/ha, respectively. The highest yield losses occurred during the first and third tillage passes, but the second had negligible effect. Labor saving from avoiding tillage under ZT was undermined by higher labor needed for weeding. Along with biophysical benefits documented elsewhere, our results show that, if constraints for its wider diffusion are removed, zero or reduced tillage has the potential to sustainably improve the economic and biophysical viability of dryland agriculture in Morocco and other similar countries in North Africa andWest Asia.en_US
dc.formatPDFen_US
dc.identifierhttps://mel.cgiar.org/reporting/downloadmelspace/hash/c9937ecd4448a0d15ce1d52d35763cc9/v/b298dae999b64f5fa52e1536dfaf588een_US
dc.identifier.citationYigezu Yigezu, Tamer Al-Shater. (2/6/2021). Socio-economic impacts of zero and reduced tillage in wheat fields of the Moroccan drylands. Agricultural Economics, 52 (4), pp. 645-663.en_US
dc.identifier.statusOpen accessen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/66168
dc.languageenen_US
dc.publisherWiley (12 months)en_US
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC-4.0en_US
dc.sourceAgricultural Economics;52,(2021) Pagination 645-663en_US
dc.subjectendogenous switching regressionen_US
dc.subjectintensity of tillageen_US
dc.titleSocio-economic impacts of zero and reduced tillage in wheat fields of the Moroccan drylandsen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dcterms.available2021-06-02en_US
dcterms.extent645-663en_US
mel.impact-factor2.585en_US

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