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Spatial dimensions of precision agriculture: a spatial econometric analysis of millet yield on Sahelian coversands
Author(s) -
Florax Raymond J.G.M.,
Voortman Roelf L.,
Brouwer Joost
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2002.tb00129.x
Subject(s) - agriculture , spatial variability , yield (engineering) , precision agriculture , production (economics) , environmental science , soil fertility , soil water , field (mathematics) , geography , agronomy , agricultural economics , agroforestry , soil science , statistics , mathematics , economics , biology , macroeconomics , materials science , archaeology , metallurgy , pure mathematics
The identification of local soil variability caused by within‐field differences of macronutrients and ecological features is of paramount importance for the effectiveness of precision agriculture. We present several spatial statistical and econometric techniques to capture local differences in soil variation, ecological characteristics, and yield more effectively than the analytical techniques traditionally used in agronomy. The application of these techniques is illustrated in a case study dealing with precision agriculture in the West African Sahel. The production of millet on acid sandy soils constitutes a typical example of low soil fertility areas exhibiting small absolute but large relative differences in crop production conditions over short distances.