Effects of Agricultural Inputs Use on Agricultural Productivity in Nepal: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Agricultural inputs have crucial role to deliver increased productivity and sustained agricultural growth in an economy. However, adequate empirical research is not available related to effects of agricultural inputs use on agricultural productivity in Nepalese context. Thus, empirical study was conducted so as to reveal the effects of agricultural inputs use in agricultural production sector. This study utilized time series data of 30 years (1990 to 2019) retrieved from various secondary data sources of agricultural input supply in Nepal. Then, data obtained were processed and analyzed in two ways: First, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of different agricultural inputs were estimated using Log-Lin regression model. Second, the parameters estimates of Cobb-Douglas regression analysis was obtained taking Agricultural GDP as the dependent variable and independent variables viz. cultivated area, irrigated area, population engaged in agriculture, fertilizer consumption, pesticides application, improved seeds used and government expenditure. The results depicted that growth rate of various agricultural inputs use had raised significantly and was in increasing trend during the study period. Furthermore, cultivated area, irrigated area and pesticides application were found statistically significant and had significant impact on growth of agricultural GDP (Gross Domestic Product).