The fertilizer distributed by these enterprises sold at a universally reduced price, between 20 and 60 percent of the full market cost. Currency over-valuation also created an additional "implicit" subsidy for imported fertilizer. These policies were seen as a way to counteract the effects of soil erosion and depletion, and increase crop yields by bringing fertilizer within the reach of subsistence farmers.[5] This followed the dominant ‘modernization’ model of the period, which aimed to develop production systems in the sector through the promotion of new technologies like fertilizer and improved hybrid seeds.[6]