Views about the role of fertilizer subsidies as a means of stimulating agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa have varied significantly over the past fifty years. Some governments and experts advocate that fertilizer subsidies are essential for achieving long-term food security, while others argue that subsidy schemes have had limited success, benefitting relatively few privileged producers while substantially distorting markets.
In her AgTalk, Nicole Mason, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University, explains how the $1 billion that African governments spend on fertilizer subsidies goes to rich farmers who don't need it.