Basile Boulay (University of Nottingham)

Title: “ Revisiting the old debate: plot size and agricultural productivity“

Abstract: The debate on the existence of an inverse relationship (IR) between size and productivity in agriculture is probably the oldest puzzle in the agricultural literature. A vast body of research has debated the existence of the IR as well as the policy implications in favour of land redistribution as a means to eradicate rural poverty. While publication of more detailed agricultural data has pushed for an empirical revival of the topic, the concept of ‘size’ is still problematic in these studies, as well as the limited attention given to existing varieties of farming practices. Our study uses data on Tanzania to explore the determinants of productivity at the crop/plot level, thus addressing some of the key issues neglected in the recent literature. Our results show that the IR is strikingly robust at this level of analysis: yields are on average higher on smaller cultivated areas whatever the specification one uses or the crop one looks at.