Agricultural Technology and Povertry Reduction: A Micro-Level Analysis of Causal Effects

Agricultural technology opens great opportunities of increasing food grain production in land scarce countries. But questions are raised about the potential adverse or favourable impact of new technology on economic conditions of the poor. This study is aimed at contributing to the debate about the relative importance of ‘direct’ and ‘indirect effects’ of agricultural technology adoption within poverty alleviation strategies. It does so through an empirical investigation of the relationship between technological change, of the Green Revolution type, and wellbeing of smallholder farm households in two rural Bangladeshi regions. The paper assesses the “causal effect” of technological change on farm-households’ income through parametric and nonparametric estimates. In particular, it pursues a targeted evaluation of whether adopting new technology causes poor-resource farmers to improve their income through the ‘matching analysis’. It finds a robust and positive effect of agricultural technology adoption on farm households’ wellbeing suggesting that there is a large scope for enhancing the role of agricultural technology in directly contributing to poverty alleviation.Farm household behaviour, Technology adoption, Poverty alleviation, Propensity score matching

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS CURRICULA

The potential use of computers and electronic technology have created considerable interest among educators in agricultural economics. This paper provides an overview of the use of electronic technology within agricultural economics curricula; examines areas in which technological development offers promise and examines issues associated with adoption of the technology.Agricultural economics curricula, Computers, Multimedia, Technological adoption, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

PRODUCTIVITY AND LAND ENHANCING TECHNOLOGIES IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIA: HEALTH, PUBLIC INVESTMENTS, AND SEQUENTIAL ADOPTION

The adoption of more efficient farming practices and technologies that enhance agricultural productivity and improve environmental sustainability is instrumental for achieving economic growth, food security and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa. Our research examines the interaction between public investments, community health, and adoption of productivity and land enhancing technologies by households in the northern Ethiopian state of Tigray. Agricultural technology adoption decisions are modeled as a sequential process where the timing of choices can matter. We find that time spent sick and opportunity costs of caring for sick family members are significant factors in adoption. Sickness, through its impact on household income and labor allocation decisions for healthcare and other activities, significantly reduces the likelihood of technology adoption. Our findings suggest that agencies working to improve agricultural productivity and land resource conservation should consider not only the financial status of potential adopters, but also their related health situation.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

THE DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES: EVIDENCE FROM THE HILLSIDES OF HONDURAS

Recent years have seen a growth of interest in the adoption and diffusion of low-input sustainable agricultural technologies among smallholder agriculturalists in developing countries. This paper examines the adoption of one such technology, labranza minima, a form of minimum tillage, among resource-poor agricultural households in villages in central Honduras. Logistic regression is used to analyze the determinants of adoption of minimum tillage among a sample of 250 agricultural households. The results show that plots with irrigation, plots farmed by their owners and plots with steeper slopes were more likely canididates for minimum tillage adoption. Farmer household characteristics are not generally found to represent significant influences on adoption. Importantly, household income does not appar to be a determinant of adoption, suggesting that minimum tillage is an appropriate low-input technology for resource-poor households. The results also indicate that previous use of leguminous cover crops, soil amendments (including chemical fertilizers), and commercial vegetable production are all associated with minimum tillage adoption. Results from studies like this are useful in targeting low-input technologies and programs promoting them among the farm household population.technology adoption, sustainable agriculture, minimum tillage, Farm Management,

Farmer Perception of Technology and its Impact on Technology Uptake: The Case of Fodder Legume in Central Kenya Highlands.

Technology adoption by farmers is crucial to increasing agricultural productivity hence meeting food and nutrition challenges in Africa. Economists investigating consumer demand have accumulated considerable evidence showing that consumers generally have subjective preferences for product attributes. However, when investigating adoption of new agricultural technologies, economists have lagged behind in analysing how farmers' (the consumer of agricultural technologies) subjective perceptions of technology characteristics affect their adoption decisions. Focusing on farmer perceptions of technologies may provide a better understanding of technology adoption since they deal with the technologies and probably perceive technologies differently from researchers and extension agents. The objective of this paper is to investigate farmers' perception of technology and its impact on adoption using a case study of legume forages in central Kenya highlands. Data from a random sample of 131 farm households in four districts in central Kenya was used. Using participatory techniques, four most important fodder legume attributes to farmers in their adoption decision were identified. These were then used in conjoint analysis. An ordered probit model was estimated to assess relative importance of each attribute to the farmer. A tobit model was also estimated to show the effect of farmers' perception of calliandra and desmodium on probability and intensity of adoption. Results showed that dry season tolerance and economy on land are most important characteristics of fodder legumes to the farmers. It was also found that Calliandra and desmodium were more relevant to the farmers in the area than other fodders. Farmers' perception of the two fodders had a significant impact on their adoption. Consequently, it was recommended that before introducing a technology in an area, it is necessary that the farmers' perception of the technology be analysed Conjoint analysis, ordered probit and tobit estimates, fodder legume adoption.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

A Dynamic Adoption Model with Bayesian Learning: Application to the U.S. Soybean Market

Agricultural technology adoption is often a sequential process. Farmers may adopt a new technology in part of their land first and then adjust in later years based on what they learn from the earlier partial adoption. This paper presents a dynamic adoption model with Bayesian learning, in which forward-looking farmers learn from their own experience and from their neighbors about the new technology. The model is compared to that of a myopic model, in which farmers only maximize their current benefits. We apply the analysis to a sample of U.S. soybean farmers from year 2000 to 2004 to examine their adoption pattern of a newly developed genetically modified (GM) seed technology. We show that the myopic model predicts lower adoption rates in early years than the dynamic model does, implying that myopic farmers underestimate the value of early adoption. My results suggest that farmers in my sample are more likely to be forward-looking decision makers and they tend to rely more on learning from their own experience than learning from their neighbors.technology adoption, Bayesian learning, structural estimation, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Industrial Organization, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Farm level adoption decisions of soil and water management technologies in semi-arid Eastern Kenya

In this paper the conceptual framework of individual farmers' adoption decisions of new agricultural technologies is used to identify factors that influence adoption modified fanya juu terraces in semi-arid eastern Kenya. The adoption decision model was specified using farm and farmers' characteristics and technology characteristics though likely to influence farmers' adoption behaviour. To test intensity of adoption a Torbit model was specified and estimated. Results of logit regression analysis reveal that access to markets, education, costs, technology attributes, labour, credit and risk preferences significantly influenced adoption decisions. Results from the estimated intensity of adoption model (tobit) show that variation in the proportion of land with technology was significantly influenced by age and level of education of the household head, access to markets, technology attributes, credit, off-farm income and risks.Logit analysis, Tobit analysis, modified terraces, adoption, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

Intrahousehold Bargaining and Agricultural Technology Adoption : Experimental Evidence from Zambia

This study examines how technology adoption is determined in an intra-household bargaining process between spouses with different incentives and resource constraints. We develop a noncooperative bargaining model in which individual investments affect not only a household’s total income but also its members’ future bargaining position, which can yield Pareto-inferior outcomes. To test for possible inefficiency, we introduce rice seeds to farmers in rural Zambia and randomly distribute vouchers for transportation from the village to a miller in town to husbands and wives. The results show that the identity of the voucher recipients matters for rice seed take-up when wives choose which crop to grow on suitable plots for rice production. We also find that the voucher given to husbands is effective only when they manage the plots by themselves. Furthermore, intra-household information flows are distorted by the recipients. The heterogeneous effects and incomplete information sharing among spouses provide evidence against efficient resource pooling within the family. We present suggestive evidence that limited commitment to the production plan is a key mechanism behind strategic spousal behavior. Overall, this study highlights the importance of directly targeting individuals with productive resources relevant to a technology.This study was financially supported by JSPS KAKENHI No. 16H02733.http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/kijima-yoko

Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Technologies by Smallholder Farmers in the Shamva District of Zimbabwe: A Tobit application

Conventional agricultural practices such as the use of the moldboard plough are no longer sustainable due to their extensive soil degradation effects. As a panacea, several Conservation Agriculture (CA) technologies have been promoted to improve soil structure and water conservation. However, adoption of these technologies has been resisted by smallholder farmers and identifying causes of the low adoption rates to facilitate intervention strategies remains a challenge to development practitioners. Using data from 100 farmers, this paper uses a Tobit application to assess the underlying factors important in determining farmers’ adoption of zero-tillage, crop rotation and contour ridging technologies. Empirical results suggest that adoption and use intensity of each of these technologies is affected by a set of distinct household factors. There is also evidence to show complementarities in adoption and use of these technologies, suggesting the need to tailor awareness and promotional strategies depending on the technology in question and socio-economic background of target farmers.Conservation Agriculture (CA), Conventional Farming (CF) technology, Tobit Model, Adoption, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management,

Heterogeneous returns and the persistence of agricultural technology adoption

In this paper we explore whether low rates of sustained technology use can be explained by heterogeneity in returns to adoption. To do so we evaluate impacts of the Cocoa Abrabopa Association, which provided a package of fertilizer and other inputs on credit to cocoa farmers in Ghana. High estimated average productive impacts for treated farmers are found to be consistent with negative economic profits for a substantial proportion of the treated population. By constructing an individual specific measure of returns,we demonstrate that low realized returns among adopters are associated with low retention rates, even after conditioning on output levels and successful repayment. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that high average returns mask substantial and persistent heterogeneity, and that farmers experiment in order to learn about their idiosyncratic returns.