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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Vartika Singh

Vartika Singh is a Senior Research Analyst in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, based in New Delhi, and a Senior Research Officer at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Humboldt University in Berlin and a guest researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany. Her research interest is in the nexus of food-water-energy and land. 

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Development Strategies and Governance

Stephen Davies

Nonresident Fellow

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ORCiD
Stephen Davies

Bio

Stephen Davies is a Nonresident Fellow with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, and is working in an outposted capacity.

Publications

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Journal Article

Soil fertility in mixed crop-livestock farming systems of Punjab, Pakistan: The role of institutional factors and sustainable land management practices

2024Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar; Mufti, Samaa; Davies, Stephen; Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay
Details

Soil fertility in mixed crop-livestock farming systems of Punjab, Pakistan: The role of institutional factors and sustainable land management practices

CONTEXT Soil salinization is a significant environmental challenge prevalent in arid and semi-arid regions, causing adverse effects on crop yields and jeopardizing household food security. Previous research has examined the influence of institutional dynamics and the adoption of sustainable land management practices in bolstering agricultural output, and some have investigated the interplay among socioeconomic determinants, institutional frameworks, and the uptake of climate-resilient and sustainable methodologies, or the association between soil health and agricultural productivity. Yet, there has been a lack of studies that considered this relationship altogether and their role in enhancing soil fertility. OBJECTIVE We investigate the relationship among socioeconomic and institutional factors, adoption of sustainable land management practices, and the resulting changes in soil fertility between 2016 and 2019 within the context of mixed crop-livestock farms in the three irrigated agroecological zones of Punjab, Pakistan. A household survey was conducted in 2019 to complement soil attributes data collected by the Government of Punjab in 2016. Households that implemented sustainable land management practices between 2016 and 2019 were analysed to investigate the effect of various factors on soil fertility, including the adoption of sustainable land management practices and their influence on soil fertility dynamics. METHODS A structural equation model was employed to examine the relationship among exogenous variables, moderating variables, and endogenous variables, to explain their collective influence on soil fertility between the two periods. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The key findings highlight the significant role of institutional factors, including access to formal information channels such as extension services, demonstration trials, and credit facilities, alongside secure land rights, in predicting the adoption of sustainable land management practices such as gypsum application, laser land leveling, farmyard manuring, and agroforestry. Furthermore, specific SLM practices, particularly agroforestry featuring intercropping with Acacia spp. and farmyard manure application, exhibited positive impacts on change in soil organic matter, albeit with agroforestry showing a negative influence on soil phosphorus levels. The adoption of gypsum and LLL displayed positive effects on soil phosphorus levels over time, contrasting with LLL’s adverse impact on soil organic matter. SIGNIFICANCE Our findings suggest that soil fertility benefits from policies enacted through public-private partnerships that lead to improved access to sustainable land management information, reduced credit barriers, establishment of local soil testing facilities, and expedited land entitlement processes. These findings highlight the critical role of collaborative partnerships and institutional arrangements in enhancing agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.

Year published

2024

Authors

Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar; Mufti, Samaa; Davies, Stephen; Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay

Citation

Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar; Mufti, Samaa; Davies, Stephen; and Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay. 2024. Soil fertility in mixed crop-livestock farming systems of Punjab, Pakistan: The role of institutional factors and sustainable land management practices. Agricultural Systems 218: 103964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103964

Country/Region

Pakistan

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Soil Fertility; Crops; Livestock; Farming Systems; Land Management; Sustainable Land Management

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103964 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Soil quality evaluation for irrigated agroecological zones of Punjab, Pakistan: The Luenberger indicator approach

2024Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Hailu, Atakelty; Mugera, Amin; Pandit, Ram; Davies, Stephen
Details

Soil quality evaluation for irrigated agroecological zones of Punjab, Pakistan: The Luenberger indicator approach

This article describes the construction of the Luenberger soil quality indicator (SQI) using data on crop yield, non-soil inputs, and soil profile from three irrigated agroecological zones of Punjab, Pakistan, namely, rice–wheat, maize–wheat–mix, and cotton–mix zones. Plot level data are used to construct a soil quality indicator by estimating directional distance functions within a data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework. We find that the SQI and crop yield relationships exhibit diminishing returns to improving soil quality levels. Using the constructed SQI values, we estimate linear regression models to generate weights that could be used directly to aggregate individual soil attributes into soil quality indicators without the necessity of fitting a frontier to the crop production data. For wheat and rice production, we find that SQI is most sensitive to changes in soil electrical conductivity (EC) and potassium (K). The SQI has direct relevance for site-specific decision-making problems where policymakers need to price land resources and conservation services to achieve agricultural and environmental goals.

Year published

2024

Authors

Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Hailu, Atakelty; Mugera, Amin; Pandit, Ram; Davies, Stephen

Citation

Sheikh, Asjad Tariq; Hailu, Atakelty; Mugera, Amin; Pandit, Ram; and Davies, Stephen. 2024. Soil quality evaluation for irrigated agroecological zones of Punjab, Pakistan: The Luenberger indicator approach. Agricultural Economics 55(3): 531-553. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12831

Country/Region

Pakistan

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Soil Quality; Crop Yield; Agroecology; Rice; Wheat; Maize; Cotton; Conservation; Environment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12831 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan

2023Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; Ringler, Claudia
Details

The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan

Increasing demand for water juxtaposed with shrinking supplies will require a transfer of water resources out of agriculture into the domestic, industrial, and ideally environmental sectors. To examine the potential of policies to facilitate a release of water from agriculture, this paper uses IFPRI’s Computable General Equilibrium Model with a water extension, CGE-W, to assess the impact of commodity taxes on two highly water consumptive crops, rice and sugarcane, on water consumption and the overall economy. We find that land use grows by 1.56 million acres overall when the tax is imposed on both commodities, while 3.2-million-acre feet (MAF) of consumed water, equivalent to 6.35 MAF of water withdrawals, are released from agriculture. These outcomes are due to sugarcane’s reduced use of land over two cropping seasons and significant changes in cropping patterns. The study also examined releases of water from other possible policy measures and found that an even tax rate of 30% on sugarcane, rice and cotton yields 8.73 MAF of water from agriculture. However, with a hotter, drier climate virtually all these releases of water disappear because water must stay in agriculture due to higher evaporation and less precipitation, which raises irrigation demands. The needed policies will go beyond just taxation and might include changing cropping patterns and irrigation practices, as well as development of drought resistant varieties. Other approaches, such as buying tubewells from farmers, and developing markets for nonagricultural purchases of water, may have a role. The role of international trade in sugar and rice is shown to be significant and should be considered further in these analyses.

Year published

2023

Authors

Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; and Ringler, Claudia. 2023. The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2226. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137073.

Country/Region

Pakistan

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Water Security; Policies; Agricultural Production; Rice; Sugar Cane; Water Conservation; Water Allocation; Water Demand; Climate Change; Land Tax; Farmland; Computable General Equilibrium Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137073 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Events

The Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) 31st Annual General Meeting and Conference
IFPRI at External Event

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December 17 to 19, 2015

The Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) 31st Annual General Meeting and Conference

The Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) provides an important forum for economic professionals, policymakers, businessmen, and various schools of interested observers to debate development issues. The objective of this conference is to provide a forum and a platform to academics and policy-makers for an exchange of ideas on the […]

News

February 04, 2019 | In the News

Water reforms can lead to environmental, economic benefits in Pakistan: WB report (Pakistan Today)

Pakistan Today wrote an article about the World Bank’s recent study about the urgency around the country’s water reforms to improve water efficiency and service delivery due to low levels of water availability per person and high levels of water wastage. As a contributor to the study, Senior Research Fellow Stephen Davies was included in the […]

December 13, 2018 | In the News

Drop in three crops’ production forecast (Dawn)

Dawn released a news article about the first-ever Punjab Food Report that forecasts Pakistan’s future crop productions.  According to research by Senior Research Fellow Stephen Davies and Research Analyst Amna Ejaz, three of the country’s primary crops in the winter season are expected to decrease in yields.