Do context‐specific fertilizer blends improve household food security? Evidence from Ghana's planting for food and jobs program

Abstract

Food insecurity remains a major development challenge in sub‐Saharan Africa, where efforts to increase agricultural productivity increasingly emphasize context‐specific fertilizer technologies. Under Ghana's Planting for Food and Jobs program, new fertilizer blends (NFBs) were introduced to address location‐specific soil nutrient deficiencies and improve fertilizer‐use efficiency. This study examines the impact of NFB use on household food security and identifies the factors influencing NFB use and food security outcomes across Ghana's major agroecological zones. Using survey data from 1304 farming households across five regions and a recursive bivariate probit model to account for potential endogeneity in fertilizer‐use decisions, the study analyzes farmers in the Sudan Savanna, Guinea Savanna, and Transitional Zone. The results reveal substantial agroecological heterogeneity. NFB use significantly improves household food security in the Guinea Savanna, has no statistically significant effect in the Sudan Savanna, and exerts a negative effect in the Transitional Zone. NFB use is influenced by education, farming experience, land tenure security, savings, financial access, extension services, and fertilizer availability, while household food security is shaped by gender, marital status, land tenure security, savings behavior, financial access, and extension services. The findings underscore the importance of agroecological context in fertilizer policy design and demonstrate that the welfare effects of fertilizer technologies are not uniform across production environments. The study highlights the need for agroecological‐zone‐specific fertilizer promotion strategies, strengthened extension services, improved land tenure security, enhanced financial support systems, and reliable input distribution mechanisms to maximize the food security benefits of fertilizer technologies in Ghana.