Incentives, social learning and economic development : Experimental and quasi-experimental evidence from Uganda

Informational constraints hinder successful adoption and scaling of potentially beneficial agricultural technologies. Social learning in the form of farmer-to-farmer technology transfer can help to address informational constraints. Without incentives, however, the first individuals in the target population to receive the technology may not “automatically” share the knowledge with their neighbours. This thesis examined the effect of private material rewards and social recognition on the diffusion of agricultural technologies through social learning. Secondly, it assessed the role of social distance in influencing information exchange, and the subsequent impacts on knowledge exposure and technology adoption. Thirdly, the mechanisms through which social networks influence technology diffusion were examined. Fourthly, the thesis quantified the impacts of adopting climate smart agricultural (CSA) technologies on productivity, downside risk, food security, and resilience of livelihoods in the post-conflict northern Uganda. The main results are summarized as follows: (1) rewarding disseminating farmers (DFs) with social recognition increased their effort to train their covillagers; (2) social distance influenced information exchange between DFs and their covillagers, but the direction of influence was inconclusive; (3) information exchange links increased awareness, knowledge, and adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties by covillagers; (4) incentives changed both the DFs and neighbours’ networks subsequently increasing knowledge diffusion and adoption by co-villagers; (5) Adoption of CSA technologies boosted productivity, reduced production risk, and increased food security, but did not reduce downside risks. The thesis discusses policy implications of the findings and provides recommendations for future research.</p

An Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Rice Farmers in Ahero Irrigation Scheme, Kenya

Rice has continued to be an important cereal in Kenya in the recent years. Although it is third after maize and wheat in terms of consumption and production, its rate of consumption has increased over the years compared to maize and wheat. Rice production in Kenya does not meet demand, and the deficit has to be met with imports. Improving productivity would ensure increase in production, improved food security, reduced rice import bills and increased income among smallholder farmers. The current study, therefore, estimated technical efficiency of rice farmers in Ahero Irrigation Scheme, Kisumu County, Kenya. Stratified sampling and probability proportionate to size sampling was used to sample 220 rice farmers. A stochastic Cobb Douglas production function was used to estimate technical efficiency. The study further assessed the factors that affect technical efficiency of the rice farmers. The coefficients of fertilizer and labour were found to positively influence paddy productivity while that of chemical cost negatively influenced paddy productivity. The level of efficiency of rice farmers was found to be 0.82.  The study further found that gender, farming experience, income level and distance to market were found to be significant determinants of technical efficiency. The study therefore recommended policies that will ensure that the costs of productive inputs are affordable to farmers and improving households’ income through better prices for their outputs. Improvement in the transport infrastructure is also important in reducing inefficiencies in paddy production. Key words: Rice, technical efficiency, stochastic Cobb Douglas production function, Keny

Endowments, expectations, and the value of food safety certification: experimental evidence from fish markets in Nigeria

We study the impact of endowments and expectations on reference point formation and measure the value of food safety certification in the context of fish trading on real markets in Nigeria. In our field experiment, consumers can trade a known food item for a novel food item that is superior in terms of food safety--or vice versa. Endowments matter for reference point formation, but we also document a reverse endowment effect for a subsample of respondents. The effect of expectations about future ownership is weak and mixed. While expectations seem to affect bidding behavior for subjects "trading up" to obtain the certified food product (a marginally significant effect), it does not affect bids for subjects "trading down" to give up this novel food item. Finally, willingness to pay for safety certified food is large for our respondents-our estimate of the premium is bounded between 37 and 53% of the price of conventional, uncertified food

The Role of Heterogenous Implementation on the Uptake and Long-Term Diffusion of Agricultural Insurance in a Pastoral Context

To make a difference in lower-income countries, agricultural innovations must be adopted and ultimately diffused across diverse local environments. This study contributes to the ongoing debate about the factors limiting the spread of agricultural innovations by considering the role of heterogenous supply in determining observed demand for the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) product, which is a commercial insurance product serving historically uninsured pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. Analysis of sales data from 2010-2020 in Ethiopia and Kenya shows that local conditions can reduce the likelihood of supply channels reaching prospective clients, effectively excluding them from accessing insurance, while other factors can work towards increasing supply of insurance while also decreasing demand for it. Surveys collected from insurance sales agents reveals considerable heterogeneity in their ability to and effort in suppling IBLI. Discussions with IBLI’s providers confirms the role of supply constraints in observed demand; the firms consistently point towards the cost of last-mile extension and sales as their largest challenge to increasing sales, and emphasize that it is cost-prohibitive to provide equal access to well-trained insurance agents across the areas that they operate. These findings suggest that current investments aimed at increasing insurance coverage by increasing demand, for example through improved product design or by subsidizing premiums, should be accompanied by investments in developing more cost-effective marketing and distribution processes so that demand can be acted upon. On a broader level, the results highlight a need to consider non-random and incomplete supply as a factor when examining observed uptake of agricultural innovations

Understanding farmers’ indicators in climate-smart agriculture prioritization in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).

In order to increase the uptake of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies, it is important to understand the contexts in which farmers operate. Farmers use different indicators to decide whether or not to implement, what to implement, and where to implement specific technologies. Identifying and understanding such indicators can be helpful to efforts aiming to scale out adoption. The purpose of this study was to identify indicators that farmers use to prioritize agricultural innovations, in general, and CSA, in particular. Kilolo and Mbarali Districts lie in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania. Four participatory workshops, in the form of focus group discussions, were conducted in these two districts. In each district, a separate workshop was held with farmers from each agro-ecological zone (AEZ). Separate workshops were held with farmers and experts to explore differences between stakeholders and across the districts regarding perceptions of the status of soil fertility, prioritized practices, and ranking of indicators for prioritizing practices. Characterization of the AEZ, prioritization of practices, identification of indicators for prioritizing CSA, and selection of practices for demonstration as well as sites for the demonstration plots were done separately with men and women groups. Practices were prioritized using pairwise ranking, while indicators were scored on a rating scale from least important (1) to most important (5). Results showed that, both in Kilolo and Mbarali Districts, farmers perceive the status of soil fertility as poor. Up to 60 % of the workshop participants were not satisfied with the status of soil fertility in their farms. More than 80% of workshop participants in each of the four workshops reported that they practiced burning. The main reasons for burning were to save labour and time and to reduce crop–livestock conflict. The men’s group in the upland zone in Mbarali District ranked mulching, water harvesting, improved varieties, and crop rotation as the most important practices in respective order. In the lowlands, both men and women groups selected irrigation, chemical fertilizer, and crop rotation as most relevant practices. Awareness and use of the practices was low among participants in the two workshops. The most prioritized practices by the women’s group in the uplands, Kilolo District, were improved breeds and improved varieties. Intercropping was the least prioritized practice. The men’s group prioritized improved varieties and pesticides application, while irrigation and fertilizer application ranked lowest. In the lowlands, men’s and women’s groups prioritized irrigation, inorganic fertilizer and improved varieties as most important. Mulching and herbicides ranked as least prioritized. In addition, the men’s group from the lowland zone ranked pesticide application among the most important practices, while farmyard manure and zero grazing were ranked as least important. Important indicators that farmers identified to prioritize agricultural practices across the two districts included yield, income, cost, labour, availability of inputs, the status of soil fertility, and knowledge about the practices. Several practices were selected for the proposed CSA demonstration plots. The women’s group in the uplands zone in Mbarali prioritized improved crop varieties, water harvesting, mulching, and fertilizer application. The men’s group chose irrigation, herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, and seed selection. In the lowlands, improved crop varieties, inorganic fertilizer, farmyard manure, and mulching were selected by women. Men preferred seed preparation, right use of fertilizers (i.e., rate and type), integrated pest management, and improved storage. The selected important practices for demonstration in the uplands in Kilolo District were minimum tillage, soil testing, improved varieties, fertilizer application, and irrigation. Farmers in the lowlands chose production of clean seeds of different crops, such as tomatoes, beans, maize, and chillies. In addition, they were interested in learning about fertilizer application, pesticides application, and preparation and application of compost manure. The findings of this research have several implications for policy. First, there is need to increase awareness of farmers about CSA practices, particularly those that they prioritize. The finding that farmers perceive poor soil fertility but do not prioritize soil fertility management practices implies the need to promote adoption of such technologies. Thirdly, a bottom-up approach that involves working with farmers to prioritize agricultural practices suitable for their specific AEZ and preferred by either the men or women is important to inform investment of limited resources to increase food security and resilience to climate risks while minimizing trade-offs. The findings highlight indicators that influence farmers’ adoption of agricultural practices as well as constraints to implementation

Evaluation of farm-level impacts of soil fertility management strategies in maize-bean farming systems in Uganda and Tanzania

We conducted an ex ante evaluation of soil fertility management strategies on soil organic matter (SOM), nitrogen balance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and profitability under three important scenarios: (1) inorganic fertilizers, (2) organic manure, and (3) combined organic manure and inorganic fertilizers. Focus group discussions and household surveys were used to collect data in Rakai, Uganda, and Lushoto, Tanzania. We assessed impact for three farm types (small scale, medium scale, and large scale) using a bioeconomic model: FarmDESIGN. Our main findings are as follows. First, whereas in Lushoto the combined use of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers contributed the most to SOM relative to the baseline for all farm types, in Rakai the same scenario had greater impacts for only medium- and large-scale farms. For small-scale farms, improvement in SOM mostly came from the use of inorganic fertilizers. Second, in both countries, nitrogen balance increased across all scenarios and farm types. Third, the increase in SOM and nitrogen balance was accompanied by an increase in GHG emissions, especially for scenarios with manure or combining manure and inorganic fertilizers. Fourth, impacts were mixed in terms of profitability. In Lushoto, Tanzania, the smallscale farm has the lowest operating profit, while the large-scale farm has the highest. In Rakai, Uganda, gross margins from crops contributed the largest share to farm profitability. Our findings not only suggest increased soil fertility with the adoption of improved management strategies but also highlight potential trade-offs in terms of increased emissions and reduced profitability for some farm types. Taking into account both synergies and trade-offs when promoting soil fertility management strategies might yield successful efforts

Climate Smart Agriculture Rapid Appraisal (CSA-RA) report from the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT)

A Climate Smart Agriculture Rapid Appraisal (CSA-RA) was carried out by CIAT in collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) for the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) in September 2014. The CSA-RA aimed to assess within and between district variations in farming systems, agricultural management practices, challenges for current agricultural practices, and climate vulnerability, in order to inform targeting of climate smart agriculture (CSA). The CSA-RA used key-informant interviews, participatory workshops, transect walks, farmer interviews, as well as gender-disaggregated methods to gather information on important agriculture-related features and constraints faced by farmers. The CSA-RA from the SAGCOT was carried out in four districts: Bagamoyo, Kilosa, Kilolo and Mbarali