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Input Intensity
Input use intensity measures the amount of a given input used per unit of area (e.g., kg nitrogen input/ha; liter of irrigation water/ha). Input intensity provides a measure of assessing two important issues: 1) whether a given input is used and 2) amount used per unit area. This indicator may also provide a sense of the community’s input usage and assess the need to supply more (in cases where low levels are used) or in cases of overuse, explore options to advise farmers about how to reduce the amounts used or use the resource more efficiently. This might include information on diminishing marginal returns and yield plateaus with input use. It is important to note that input use efficiency tends to be highest at very low production levels. The indicator is primarily useful for comparing efficiency of systems with relatively similar levels of production. Input intensity data are mainly measured at the field scale in the agricultural survey (see LSMS-ISA survey).
How to operationalize the metric
Method of data collection and data needed to compute the method:
Household agricultural surveys on management practices and output on given areas are a commonly used data collection method. This information is measured at the field/plot level. Farmers may be asked to keep journals or diary entries for specific plots to assess input use. Data collected for this measure are:
Input used in production. This will be, for example, chemical fertilizer in kilograms, organic fertilizer in kilograms, labor in hours per season note that even though the example has focused on chemical fertilizer use, the concept can apply to other inputs);
- Area (in hectares) used to produce crop of livestock ;
- Production in kilograms or tones; and
- Conversion table for nutrient concentration of common fertilizer blend or mix.
Unit of analysis:
The unit of analysis is kilogram (kg) of input per hectare (ha). Use of simple equation that divides amount of input (in kg) by the area input is applied to (ha) for this assessment (Shriar et al. 2002).
Limitations regarding estimating and interpreting:
This metric is important in cases where there is need to monitor or increase inputs use to reach a targeted level (like the Abuja Declaration of 2006 that proposal to increase fertilizer use from 7kg/Ha to 50 Kg/Ha of nutrients). Measurement of this indicator in isolation may not provide a holistic outlook on the impact of fertilizer use on productivity unless the major goal is to observe increase in input intensity.