The joint effects of information and financing constraints on technology adoption: Evidence from a field experiment in rural Tanzania

Harou, Aurélie; Madajewicz, Malgosia; Michelson, Hope; Palm, Cheryl; Amuri, Nyambilila; Magomba, Christopher; Semoka, J. M. R.; Tschirhart, Kevin; Weil, Ray R.

doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102707

Cited by 28 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Fishman et al (2016) find that access to soil health cards containing site-specific recommendations, based on traditional laboratory soil testing, does not affect farmers' fertilizer application rates in India, mainly due to a lack of farmers' confidence in the recommendations. Harou et al (2020) find that provision of site-specific recommendations to maize farmers in Tanzania, using the SoilDoc on-farm soil testing kit, significantly increases fertilizer application rates and yields but only if the recommendations are paired with an input subsidy. In a context of overuse of urea in rice production in Bangladesh, Islam and Beg (2020) find that the receipt of tailored fertilizer recommendations, based on a simple leaf color chart tool and basic rules-ofthumb training, significantly reduces urea application rates without compromising yields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Oyinbo

Chamberlin

Abdoulaye

et al. 2021

American J Agri Economics

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Despite decades of investment in agricultural extension, technology adoption among farmers and agricultural productivity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remain slow. Among other shortcomings, extension systems often make recommendations that do not account for price risk or spatial heterogeneity in farmers' growing conditions. However, little is known about the effectiveness of extension approaches for nutrient management that consider these issues. We analyze the impact of farmers' access to site-specific nutrient management recommendations and to information on expected returns, provided through a digital decision support tool, for maize production. We implement a randomized controlled trial among smallholders in the maize belt of northern Nigeria. We use three waves of annual panel data to estimate immediate and longer term effects of two different extension treatments: site-specific recommendations with and without complementary information about variability in output prices and expected returns. We find that site-specific nutrient management recommendations improve fertilizer management practices and maize yields but do not necessarily increase fertilizer use. In addition, we find that recommendations that are accompanied by additional information about variability in expected returns induce larger fertilizer investments that persist beyond the first year. However, the magnitudes of these effects are small: we find only incremental increases in investments and net revenues over two treatment years.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Oyinbo

Chamberlin

Abdoulaye

et al. 2021

American J Agri Economics

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“…Agricultural productivity, however, is a persistent challenge for most small‐holder farmers in Tanzania and across Africa. Agriculture is almost entirely rainfed, crop yields are 20–30% of potential, and the use of improved inputs is low (Duflo et al, 2008; Harou et al, 2022; Suri, 2011).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency and equity of input subsidies: Experimental evidence from Tanzania^†

Giné

Patel

Ribeiro

et al. 2022

American J Agri Economics

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Input subsidy programs (ISP) often have two conflicting targeting goals: selecting individuals with the highest marginal return to inputs on efficiency grounds, or the poorest individuals on equity grounds, allowing for a secondary market to restore efficiency gains. To study this targeting dilemma, we implement a field experiment where beneficiaries of an ISP were selected via a lottery or a local committee. In lottery villages, we find evidence of displacement of private fertilizer and of a secondary market as beneficiaries are more likely to sell inputs to nonbeneficiaries. In contrast, in non-lottery villages we find no evidence of displacement nor of elite capture. The impacts of the ISP on agricultural productivity and welfare are limited, suggesting that resources should be directed at complementary investments, such as improving soil quality and irrigation.

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“…Chemical fertilizer reduction has a significant positive externality in reducing environmental pollution and carbon emissions [ 6 ]. Governments are always expected to provide incentives for such positive externalities [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. To this end, China has introduced a series of policies to reduce the amounts of chemical fertilizers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the farmer's chemical fertilizer reduction behavior from the perspective of farmer differentiation

Zheng¹,

Yin²,

Yu³

2022

Heliyon

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The joint effects of information and financing constraints on technology adoption: Evidence from a field experiment in rural Tanzania

Cited by 28 publications

References 30 publications

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Efficiency and equity of input subsidies: Experimental evidence from Tanzania^†

Factors influencing the farmer's chemical fertilizer reduction behavior from the perspective of farmer differentiation

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The joint effects of information and financing constraints on technology adoption: Evidence from a field experiment in rural Tanzania

Cited by 28 publications

References 30 publications

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Digital extension, price risk, and farm performance: experimental evidence from Nigeria

Efficiency and equity of input subsidies: Experimental evidence from Tanzania†

Factors influencing the farmer's chemical fertilizer reduction behavior from the perspective of farmer differentiation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Efficiency and equity of input subsidies: Experimental evidence from Tanzania^†