What is technology adoption? Exploring the agricultural research value chain for smallholder farmers in Lao PDR

Abstract

A common and driving assumption in agricultural research is that the introduction of research trials, new practices and innovative technologies will result in technology adoption, and will subsequently generate benefits for farmers and other stakeholders. In Lao PDR, the potential benefits of introduced technologies have not been fully realised by beneficiaries. We report on an analysis of a survey of 735 smallholder farmers in Southern Lao PDR who were questioned about factors that influenced their decisions to adopt new technologies. In this study, we have constructed measures or states of adoption which identify key elements of an adoption decision-making nexus. Analysis was conducted to statistically group explanatory factors of adoption. The key explanatory factors represented attributes of the farmer, the factors considered when undertaking production decisions and elements of the agricultural value chain that present as opportunities or constraints. We describe the combination of farmer's personal attributes, perceptions of the value chain, and the introduction of new technologies by external actors as an "agricultural research value chain", where agricultural research activities intervene to derive greater benefits for local farmers. A generalised linear model, via Poisson (multiple) regression analysis on the identified explanatory factors, was applied to explore how they influence adoption measures and we found several significant relationships.

A Game-Based Approach to Exploring Gender Differences in Smallholder Decisions to Change Farming Practices: White Rice Production in Laos

“…These actions released additional labour to engage in alternative on-farm and off-farm income-generating activities. This finding is very much in line with other studies that show that nontraditional off-farm and nonfarming activities have become integral to the way households generate income in Lao PDR [12][13][14][15], as well as in other emerging economies [75].…”

“…The southern provinces are crucial to the Lao PDR government's agricultural strategy and planning as they are the site of seven large plains that have been designated as "suitable for intensive crop production". The research study undertaken in these provinces involved over 950 participants, including 900 farmers and 50 stakeholders involved in data collection exercises [12,14,[56][57][58].…”

“…The flip side of the switch to white rice is the threat it carries to preferred subsistence food for the family. Decisions on household agricultural practices are being made in the larger context of industrialization and urbanization, with nontraditional off-farm and nonfarming activities becoming integral to the way that households generate income [12][13][14][15].…”

“…Modification of farming practices through the adoption of technologies often occurs at a much slower rate than hoped [27][28][29][30][31][32]. The current low adoption rates of new technologies [33], including white rice production, suggest that more needs to be understood about how farmers decide on their production goals and how the offered technologies might fit with such goals [12]. Recognizing the central role of gender in the process of agrarian and also a wider societal transition in Lao PDR, we argue for the need to explore the differences in behaviours between rural women and men.…”

Gendered Roles in Agrarian Transition: A Study of Lowland Rice Farming in Lao PDR

“…To explore these questions, we draw primarily on the analysis of quantitative data from 293 female and 452 male farmers surveyed in 2016 in 18 villages in Southern Lao [26,27]. We further use the qualitative and other research data, i.e., from interviews and focus groups, key informant insights, and field observations, to provide plausible explanations and to, as best as available primary and secondary data permit, validate our interpretations of what is causing the quantitative results.…”