Comparing alternative provision possibilities through extension services. The over-application of fertilizer is very common, especially when fertilizer is heavily subsidized. This overuse reduces farmers’ yields, leads to soil degradation and harms the environment. Soil tests can provide information that allows farmers to determine the right mix and quantity of fertilizer. This can help farmers to manage their soils more sustainably. Yet, soil tests are rarely applied, also because they typically exceed the costs that extension services can cover. This raises the question of how soil tests could be distributed to farmers in a way that ensures adoption and is at least partially cost covering. To answer this question, we investigated farmers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for rapid low-cost paddy soil tests in Indonesia. We compare two ways how government extension offices could distribute soil tests.
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