Though extension services have long since proved their value to agricultural production and farmer prosperity, their record in sub-Saharan Africa has been mixed. To study the impact of such programs on farmers' learning about agricultural technologies, we implemented a quasi-randomized controlled trial and collected detailed panel data among Malawian farmers. Based on those findings, we develop a two-stage learning framework, in which farmers formulate yield expectations before deciding on how much effort to invest in learning about these processes. Using data centered on farmer beliefs, knowledge, and constraints, we find evidence that beliefs about potential yields hinge on first-hand and local experience, and that these beliefs significantly impact learning efforts. Consistent with this, we find that farmers who participated in season-long, farmer-led demonstration plot cultivation plan to adopt more components of new multi-component technology, compared to farmers who were invited to attend only field-day events.
Farm input subsidies are often criticised on economic and ecological grounds. The promotion of natural resource management (NRM) technologies is widely seen as more sustainable to increase agricultural productivity and food security. Relatively little is known about how input subsidies...
C’est en 1954 que les paysans de la Commune rurale de l’Imanan, située dans l’Ouest du Niger, ont commencé la culture de pomme de terre. Partie d’une simple culture d’appoint associée à d’autres spéculations, la production de pomme de terre...
We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights oninvestment and productivity in agriculture in Akwapim, Ghana. Weshow that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local politicalhierarchy have more secure tenure rights and that as a consequencethey invest...
Weather risk is a serious issue in the African small farm sector that will further increase due to climate change. Farmers typically react by using low amounts of agricultural inputs. Low input use can help to minimize financial loss in...
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. It reviews three cases of systems of innovation operating in contrasting regional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, in terms of four features of...