000			03264nam a22003737a 4500
001			69749
003			MX-TxCIM
005			20260119084932.0
008			260105s2025 mx ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
040			_aMX-TxCIM
041			_aeng
100	0		_8001714264 _aBisrat Gebrekidan _gSustainable Agrifood Systems _937336
245	1	0	_aTargeting agricultural lime investments in maize-based systems of Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia : _bA brief summary of high-level evidence to inform soil health policy
260			_a[Mexico] : _bCIMMYT ; _bCGIAR, _c2025.
300			_a20 pages
500			_aOpen Access
520			_aThis technical report synthesizes agronomic trial evidence and spatially explicit ex-ante modeling to assess the productivity and economic returns to agricultural lime application in maize-based systems of Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. The analysis is motivated by increasing policy interest in soil health investments as a pathway to improve fertilizer use efficiency, close yield gaps, and enhance the cost-effectiveness of public and private agricultural investments. While soil acidity is widespread across Southern and Eastern Africa, the evidence shows that the economic case for liming is highly heterogeneous and context specific. Across Malawi and Tanzania, agronomic responses to lime are generally modest and spatially constrained, translating into limited short-term profitability under prevailing price conditions. Only small, localized pockets achieve benefit–cost ratios above unity, underscoring the risks of blanket recommendations or nationwide subsidy programs. In contrast, Zambia exhibits substantially stronger yield responses and more favorable economic returns, with a large share of maize-growing areas showing positive net benefits from lime application. However, even in Zambia, profitability remains sensitive to lime prices, transport costs, and spatial variation in soil acidity and yield potential. Taken together, the findings highlight the need for targeted, data-driven soil health strategies that explicitly account for spatial heterogeneity, market conditions, and risk. Lime investments are most defensible when embedded within broader soil fertility and input intensification strategies, rather than promoted as a stand-alone solution.
546			_aText in English
591			_aSilva, J.V. : No CIMMYT Affiliation
597			_dCGIAR Trust Fund _fSustainable Farming _aEnvironmental health & biodiversity _aPoverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs _cSystems Transformation _uhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/179702
650		7	_aAgricultural lime _2AGROVOC _941000
650		7	_aMaize _2AGROVOC _91173
650		7	_aFertilizers _2AGROVOC _91111
650		7	_aYield gap _2AGROVOC _91356
650		7	_aPublic-private partnerships _2AGROVOC _910552
650		7	_aAgricultural policies _2AGROVOC _95634
651		7	_aMalawi _2AGROVOC _91319
651		7	_aUnited Republic of Tanzania _2AGROVOC _94101
651		7	_aZambia _2AGROVOC _94309
700	1		_aChamberlin, J. _gSustainable Agrifood Systems _8I1706801 _92871
700	1		_aSilva, J.V. _8001712458 _gSustainable Agrifood Systems _99320
856	4		_yOpen Access through DSpace _uhttps://hdl.handle.net/10883/36655
942			_cRE _n0 _2ddc
999			_c69749 _d69741