Linking risk aversion, time preference and fertilizer use in Burkina Faso

Abstract

This paper investigates whether Burkinabe maize farmers’ fertilizer-use decisions are correlated with their risk and time preferences. We conducted a survey and a series of hypothetical experiments on a sample of 1,500 farmers. We ?nd that more patient farmers do use more fertilizer, but it is only because they plant more maize (a fertilizer-intensive crop) rather than because they use more fertilizer per hectare of maize planted. Conversely, we ?nd no statistically signi?cant link between risk aversion and fertilizer use. We use a simple two-period model, which suggests that risk aversion may indeed have an ambiguous effect on fertilizer use.

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