Tanzania fertilizer use increased after intervention, but changes were not sustained, study shows

Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to use very small amounts of fertilizer, limiting their crop productivity. A 2016 intervention in Tanzania increased farmers' fertilizer use and their crop yields. However, a follow-up study from an international team of researchers has found that the 2016 effects proved temporary, and farmers have since reverted to baseline low rates of fertilizer use and low crop yields.