This study analyse how agricultural extension can be made more effective in terms of increasing farmers’ adoption of pro-nutrition technologies, such as biofortified crops. In a randomised controlled trial with farmers in Kenya, the authors implemented several extension treatments and evaluated their effects on the adoption of beans biofortified with iron and zinc. Difference-in-difference estimates show that intensive agricultural training can increase technology adoption considerably.
Biotechnology offers great potential to contribute to sustainable agricultural growth, food security and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Yet there are economic and institutional constraints at national and international levels that inhibit the poor people's access to appropriate biotechnological innovations.
Written employment contracts may improve the conditions of agricultural workers in developing countries, but farmers as employers often prefer less formal oral arrangements. We evaluate whether farmers’ preferences, which are deeply rooted in traditional norms, can be influenced through a group awareness campaign. In a randomised experiment in Côte d’Ivoire, we show that such a campaign increases farmers’ preferences for written contracts and for contract features involving social benefits for workers.
Este manual fue producido como un recurso para los Facilitadores Nacionales de Innovación (NIF) en todos los países del Proyecto de Desarrollo de Capacidades para Sistemas de Innovación Agrícola (CDAIS). El objetivo de este manual es guiar el nivel de organización de las actividades y capacitar a los facilitadores nacionales de innovación. Les ayudará a aumentar su comprensión de las diferentes etapas del proceso de coaching.
Ce manuel a été produit comme ressource pour les facilitateurs nationaux de l'innovation (FNI) à travers les pays du projet de développement des capacités pour les systèmes d'innovation agricole (CDAIS). L'objectif de ce manuel est de guider le niveau d'organisation des activités ainsi que de coacher les facilitateurs nationaux de l'innovation. Cela les aidera à mieux comprendre les différentes étapes du processus de coaching.
Ces directives sont produites par la FAO dans le cadre du projet de développement des capacités pour les systèmes d'innovation agricole (CDAIS). L'objectif de ce document est de fournir des directives pratiques pour mettre en œuvre des événements sur le marché afin de renforcer l'innovation agricole. Un marché est un événement organisé pour faciliter l'adéquation de la demande et de l'offre et pour promouvoir l'apprentissage, le partage et l'échange d'informations, de connaissances et d'expériences pratiques sur des sujets spécifiques.
Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), or FAW, is an insect native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In the absence of natural controls or good management, it can cause significant damage to crops. It prefers maize, although it can feed on more than 80 additional species of crops including rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton.
The latest turmoil of production and price volatility in the global food sector has put agriculture back to the top of the development agenda. Population growth, changing consumer preferences, bioenergy demand and climate change are some of the huge challenges for agricultural production today and in the future. In the last decades, productivity has been constantly improved through the introduction of improved crop varieties and the greater use of mechanization, irrigation, chemical fertilizer and pesticides.
This article adds to the literature about the impact of social networks on the adoption of modern seed technologies among smallholder farmers in developing countries. The analysis centers on the adoption of hybrid wheat and hybrid pearl millet in India. In the local context, both crops are cultivated mainly on a subsistence basis, and they provide examples of hybrid technologies at very different diffusion stages: while hybrid wheat was commercialized in India only in 2001, hybrid pearl millet was launched in 1965.
There is an emerging body of literature analysing how smallholder farmers in developing countries can benefit from modern supply chains. However, most of the available studies concentrate on export markets and fail to capture spillover effects that modern supply chains may have on local markets. Here, we analyse the case of sweet pepper in Thailand, which was initially introduced as a product innovation in modern supply chains, but which is now widely traded also in more traditional markets.