Browsing by Subject "Technology adoption"

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Factors influencing the adoption of agricultural machinery by Chinese maize farmers
(2021) Quan, Xiuhao; Doluschitz, Reiner
As the major labor force has shifted from rural areas to cities, labor shortages in agricultural production have resulted. In the context of technical progress impact, and depending on farm resource endowments, farmers will choose effective labor saving technology such as machinery to substitute for the missing manual labor. The reasons behind farmers’ adoption of machinery technology are worth exploring. Therefore, this study uses 4165 Chinese maize farmers as the target group. Multivariate probit models were performed to identify the factors that affect maize farmers’ adoption of four machinery technologies as well as the interrelation between these adoption decisions. The empirical results indicate that maize sowing area, arable land area, crop diversity, family labor, subsidy, technical assistance, and economies of scale have positive effects on machinery adoption, while the number of discrete fields in the farm has a negative impact. Maize farmers in the Northeast and North have higher machinery adoption odds than other regions. The adoption of these four machinery technologies are interrelated and complementary. Finally, moderate scale production, crop diversification, subsidizing agricultural machinery and its extension education, and land consolidation, are given as recommendations for promoting the adoption of agricultural machinery by Chinese maize farmers.
Land titling policy and soil conservation in the uplands of Northern Vietnam
(2008) Dung, Pham Thi My; Saint-Macary, Camille; Keil, Alwin; Zeller, Manfred; Heidhues, Franz
In Vietnam, a quasi private property regime has been established in 1993 with the issuance of exchangeable and mortgageable long term land use right certificates. Using primary qualitative and quantitative data collected in a mountainous district of Northern Vietnam, this paper investigates the role of the land policy in the adoption of soil conservation technologies by farmers. This issue is of crucial importance in the region where population growth and growing market demands have induced farmers to intensify agricultural production. While poverty has been reduced, environmental problems such as soil erosion, landslides, and declining soil fertility have become more severe over the past years. Among the abundant literature on the impact of property rights and formal land titles in developing countries, only a few studies have focused on the adoption of soil conservation technologies: an important element in sustainable development strategies of fragile agro-ecological areas confronted with increasing population densities. Our findings suggest that soil conservation technologies are perceived as being economically unattractive; therefore, most upland farmers continue to practice the prevailing erosion-prone cultivation system. Focusing on agroforestry as one major soil conservation option, we estimate household and plot level econometric models to empirically assess the determinants of adoption. We find that the possession of a formal land title influences adoption, but that the threat of land re-allocations in villages discourages adoption by creating uncertainty and tenure insecurity. We conclude that more efforts are needed from decision-makers to promote and support the adoption of conservation practices and to clarify objectives of the land policy in order to secure land tenure and foster sustainable development in fragile areas.
Technology adoption and farm performance in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from Mozambique and Ghana
(2025) Asravor, Jacob; Zeller, Manfred
Increasing the productivity of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is fundamental to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region and, by extension, in the world. Given its importance to rural livelihoods and national economies in SSA, productivity growth in this crucial sector has the potential to stimulate broad-based poverty reduction (SGD 1) and further address the persistent food insecurity and malnutrition challenges (SDG 2) faced by the region. However, despite its potential for growth and importance to the region, productivity growth in agriculture has either stagnated or declined in SSA over the years. Efforts to tackle this persistent challenge have been focused on the promotion of improved technological packages and modern farming practices in various parts of the region. Nonetheless, adoption has mostly remained sluggish across SSA, stressing the continuing need for a deeper understanding of the underlying barriers to sustained adoption, as well as the effects of adopted technologies and farming practices on farm performance, particularly in terms of technical efficiency and technological gains. The smallholder farming contexts of Mozambique and Ghana offer distinct cases for gaining useful insights into the underlying barriers to sustained adoption of modern technologies and farming practices, as well as their effects on farm performance. Specifically, despite ongoing efforts by the Mozambican government and development partners to promote sustainable intensification practices, such as integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices (including mineral fertilizer, improved seeds and depending on the location, organic inputs such as manure and compost), adoption remains low among farm households. As a result, resource-poor farmers often resort to unsustainable land use practices, such as shifting cultivation, slash-and-burn agriculture, deforestation and forest degradation, along with low-cost agronomic practices like crop rotation, crop residue retention and intercropping to safeguard soil fertility. However, evidence is scarcely available on the underlying barriers to sustained adoption of promoted ISFM practices, along with the technological and technical efficiency gains associated with integrating improved versus recycled seeds with agronomic practices in Mozambique. Furthermore, one of the key challenges to technology adoption, as well as to farm performance and the long-term sustainability of agriculture, is the issue of aging farming population. This issue is particularly pressing in Ghana, where, in addition to the growing disinterest of young people in farming and an estimated life expectancy ranging from 55 – 65 years, the average age of farmers is reported to be 55. Given that the majority (73.5%) of Ghana’s population is below the age of 36, an improved understanding of how farm operators’ age influences their managerial performance and technology adoption is crucial for shaping evidence-informed policies aimed at attracting, retaining and leveraging this demographic dividend within the Ghanaian agricultural sector. From the foregoing, this thesis has three key objectives: (1) to explore context-specific evidence on the systemic barriers to sustained adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices by Mozambican smallholder farmers; (2) to examine the technological and technical efficiency gains associated with integrating improved versus recycled seeds with agronomic practices such as crop rotation, intercropping and crop residue management by Mozambican smallholder farmers; and (3) to assess how the age of farm operators – disaggregated into the youth, middle-aged and aged – influences their managerial performance and farm technology adoption in Ghana. The objectives of this thesis were achieved using data from both primary and secondary sources. Relying on mixed-methods research design, qualitative data were drawn using key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs), and quantitative data via a household survey in the Central and Northern zones of Mozambique. These primary data were used to address the first and second objectives of the thesis. Overall, 32 qualitative interviews, consisting of 8 FGDs, 5 medium- and large-scale farmer KIIs and 19 expert KIIs were conducted in Mozambique. This was followed by a household survey which was conducted in the Central and Northern zones of Mozambique, involving 607 farming households who were selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Both datasets were collected in 2022. To address the third objective of the thesis, secondary data from two nationally representative surveys in Ghana were used. These include all seven waves of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) which were conducted from 1987/88 – 2016/17 and the two waves of the Ghana Socio-economic Panel Survey (GSPS) conducted between 2009/10 and 2014/15. While the GLSS was implemented using a repeated cross-sectional design, the GSPS followed a panel design. Overall, 24,596 farm households across Ghana were included in the sample for analysis. This thesis is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the research topic by providing a general overview of the study within the global and sub-Saharan African contexts, followed by background information on agriculture and technology adoption in both Mozambique and Ghana. Chapter 2 explores the systemic barriers that continue to impede the sustained uptake of ISFM practices among Mozambican smallholder farmers. Chapter 3 evaluates the technological and technical efficiency gains associated with existing farmer practices of integrating improved versus recycled seeds with agronomic practices in Mozambique. Chapter 4 examines the relationship between farm operators’ age, technology adoption and managerial performance in Ghana. Finally, chapter 5 presents the conclusion of the thesis, outlines its limitations and makes recommendations for policy and future studies. Chapter 2 relies on mixed-methods research design to explore the systemic barriers to sustained adoption of ISFM practices among Mozambican resource-poor farmers. Complementing content analysis of qualitative data with descriptive analysis of data from a household survey, the findings indicate that whereas Mozambican smallholder farmers have generally recognized the compelling need for ISFM practices in high-value crop production systems such as vegetables, cotton, sugarcane and tobacco, they are reluctant to make similar investments in food crops. Instead, they adopt low-cost agronomic practices such as crop residue management, intercropping, crop rotation and shifting cultivation to safeguard soil fertility in food crop systems. Evidence further shows that the use of improved seeds, mineral fertilizers and depending on the location, external organic inputs such as manure and compost, is more prevalent among three groups of Mozambican smallholder farmers: independent vegetable producers, farmers participating in contract farming schemes and those residing in districts bordering Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Additionally, despite expressing strong willingness to invest in these inputs, farmers’ access to and use of these inputs are hindered by a complex set of systemic barriers, including unfavorable market conditions which limit profitability and intensify risk; institutional limitations such as credit constraints and human capital limitations; liquidity constraints; challenges associated with key ISFM components; an existing culture of dependency shaped by past experiences of farmers with free inputs; and entrenched perceptions among both farmers and professionals that Mozambican soils are inherently “fertile” or “virgins” and “fertilizers destroy the soil”. Given these findings, the study recommends that interventions aiming to promote sustainable land use practices like ISFM in land-abundant contexts of SSA like Mozambique, should prioritize addressing these systemic barriers to ensure sustained adoption of these practices. For instance, to raise productivity in food crop systems, agrarian interventions should adopt a holistic value chain approach which goes beyond the production phase to strengthen other critical segments of the value chain, such as extending agro-dealer networks to major production areas, as well as enhancing access of smallholder farmers to output markets that offer stable and fair prices. Again, there is the urgent need to intensify education and raise awareness among both farmers and professionals to dispel the widespread misconception that fertilizers damage the soil and on the need for farmers to implement ISFM as a package rather than in isolation. Addressing these systemic constraints holds an enormous prospect for fostering the sustained uptake of sustainable intensification practices like ISFM in Mozambique. Drawing on the findings from chapter 2, which indicates that Mozambican smallholder farmers seldom invest in purchased inputs for food crops, chapter 3 utilizes the same data to assess the technological and technical efficiency gains associated with existing farmer practices of integrating improved versus recycled seeds with agronomic practices, including crop rotation, intercropping and crop residue management in food crop systems. Relying on an endogeneity-corrected stochastic frontier and metafrontier functions to analyze the quantitative data, results from this first-stage analysis were contextualized and reinforced with evidence from the qualitative data. The findings suggest that farm households who integrated improved seeds with agronomic practices achieve a modest technological advantage (4%) relative to their peers who integrated recycled seeds with these same practices. Nonetheless, the results reveal no significant difference in technical efficiency between both groups. Instead, farm households in both groups performed these agronomic practices so poorly, such that each group could expand its total farm production by more than 50% simply by implementing these existing agronomic practices more efficiently. Consequently, the greatest potential for raising farm output in food crop systems in Mozambique lies in the capacity of resource-poor households to effectively implement these existing agronomic practices. Based on the findings, it is recommended that programs aiming to boost productivity in food crop systems in Mozambique should prioritize building the capacity of farm households to enable them implement these agronomic practices more efficiently. Encouraging resource-poor farmers to strictly adhere to recommended agronomic protocols, such as selecting the right crop mixes for intercropping and rotation, retaining crop residues on the field and using inoculants to boost nitrogen fixation in legumes can considerably enhance soil fertility and support productivity in subsequent crops. Given the increasingly aging farming population in Ghana and the urgent need for evidence-informed policies aimed at attracting and retaining the country’s growing youth population in agriculture, chapter 4 of the thesis relies on a nationally representative data from the GLSS and GSPS to evaluate how the age of resource-poor farmers influence their farm-level decision-making in terms of technology adoption and managerial performance. Drawing on a three-decade dataset from cereal-producing households and guided by the definitions of youth provided by the African Youth Charter and Ghana’s National Youth Policy, farm households were categorized into three age-based groups: youth (15–35 years), middle-aged (36–59 years) and aged (60 years and above). The findings indicate that farm operator age does not have a statistically significant effect on the type or level of agricultural technology adopted by farming households in Ghana. This finding remains robust even when the analysis is disaggregated by cereal type (i.e., maize, rice, millet and sorghum). However, the findings reveal marked differences in managerial performance between younger and older farmers, with the youth exhibiting greater managerial proficiency relative to their older peers. These findings suggest that when offered equal access to productive resources, younger farmers are better equipped to drive agricultural productivity growth in Ghana, thereby significantly contributing to the sector’s growth in the country. The study recommends for policymakers to pursue youth-focused agrarian initiatives that ensure easy access of the youth to productive resources such as land, credit and improved technologies, aimed at enabling younger farmers to leverage their potential in driving agricultural productivity gains. Overall, the findings of this thesis bring to the fore the existing systemic barriers that continue to obstruct smallholder investment decisions in sustainable land use practices like ISFM in land-abundant contexts like Mozambique and further underscore the urgent need for policy measures aimed at addressing them. It further stresses that the greatest potential for sustainably raising farm performance in low-input food crop systems in Mozambique lies in the ability of resource-poor farmers to implement these low-cost agronomic practices more efficiently. Finally, the findings highlight the need to focus on enhancing the managerial skillsets of farm operators across all age groups, especially the younger ones, rather than just concentrating on technological advancements.
The impact of agricultural innovations on poverty, vulnerability and resilience to food insecurity of smallholders in Ethiopia
(2022) Biru, Wubneshe Dessalegn; Zeller, Manfred
Ethiopia has adopted agriculture centered growth strategies over the last three decades that give more emphasis on improving agricultural production and productivity with the ultimate goal to transform the country’s economy. The strategies have mainly aimed at improving smallholder agriculture through introducing improved technologies intended to boost agricultural production and thus alleviate poverty and food insecurity. Although agriculture centered growth strategies contributed to sustained growth in the country over the last two decades, the benefits of growth have not been evenly distributed with observed rising income inequality and a still significant proportion of smallholders remaining under the poverty line. Similarly, despite considerable yield progress over the last three decades due to the introduction of improved inputs Ethiopian farmers’ yield gap compared with other developing countries is quite high. Moreover, the frequent occurrences of shocks such as drought and flooding adversely affect smallholders substantially and thereby exacerbate the existing poverty and food insecurity problems in the country. This thesis applied different econometric techniques to analyze the impact of the adoption of multiple agricultural technologies on crop yield, poverty, vulnerability, and resilience to food insecurity in Ethiopia. The study uses four rounds of household level panel data collected between 2012 and 2019 to assess the link between the adoption of the different combinations of five productivity-enhancing technologies: chemical fertilizer, improved seed, pesticide, and soil and water conservation practices: terracing and contour ploughing on consumption, poverty, vulnerability, and yields of smallholders. To solve the endogeneity problem in the regression models, we applied two-stage multinomial endogenous switching regression model combined with the Mundlak approach. Additionally, the thesis examines the role of the adoption of chemical fertilizer and improved seeds on household resilience to food insecurity amid the occurrence of adverse shocks. The findings are presented in three chapters of the cumulative thesis (Chapters two to four). Chapter two analyses the effect of productivity enhancing technologies and soil and water conservation measures and their possible combinations on consumption, poverty, and vulnerability to poverty. Per capita consumption expenditure for food and other essential non-food items, such as clothing and footwear, is used as a proxy variable to measure poverty. Using the national poverty line in 2011 prices, sample households are grouped into poor and non-poor households and the movement of sample households in and out of poverty between 2012 and 2016 is analyzed using a poverty transition matrix. By employing the ordered logit model, the study additionally examined the dynamics of poverty and vulnerability as well as their drivers. The results show that the adoption of the different combinations of agricultural technology sets including single technology adoption has considerable impacts on consumption expenditure and the greatest impact is attained when farmers combine multiple complementary inputs. Similarly, we find that the likelihood of households remaining poor or vulnerable decreased with adoption. In addition, the study revealed that poorer households are the least adopters of the technology combinations considered in the study, thereby being the least to benefit from adoption. We, therefore, conclude that the adoption of multiple complementary technologies has substantial dynamic benefits that improve the poverty and vulnerability status of households, and given the observed low level of adoption rates, we suggest that much more intervention is warranted, with a special focus on poorer and vulnerable households, to ensure smallholders get support to improve their input use. Chapter three assesses the impacts of multiple technology adoption on the yield of Ethiopia’s four staple crops, namely teff, wheat, maize and barley. Regarding the empirical estimation, we specified yield equations for each of the four crops and five to six possible input combinations that are included in the analysis indicating the presence of slope effect of technology choice other than the intercept of the outcome equations. The findings suggest that the application of two or more complementary inputs is considerably linked with higher maize, teff, barley, and wheat yield. Specifically, barley yield is highest for farmers who have adopted a combination of at least three of the technologies. Maize producers are the largest beneficiaries of the technologies. The impact of the technology choice sets tends to have an inconclusive effect on wheat and teff yields. However, a significant yield gap in all of the four crops was observed. Socio-economic characteristics of the household head such as age and gender as well as the household’s access to infrastructure and spatial characteristics of the household are other important determinants of crop yield. The implications are that more publicly funded efforts could be worthwhile for easing adoption constraints, which would in turn help smallholders to increase their crop yields that indirectly improve their livelihood. Chapter four aims to identify the determinants of household resilience to food insecurity which is the household’s ability to absorb or cope with the negative effects of shocks and bounce back to at least their initial livelihood status and assess its role on future household food security when hit by adverse shocks. Furthermore, the study analyzes the role of single or joint adoption of chemical fertilizer and improved seed on household food security. The household food security indicators used in the analysis are dietary diversity and per capita food consumption and uses data from the last three waves out of our four survey rounds. In terms of empirical estimation, the household resilience capacity index is estimated by combining factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Then different regression models are executed to assess the causal link between technology adoption and resilience capacity and household food security indicators in the face of adverse shocks. Our findings reveal that the most important pillars contributing to the building of household resilience capacity are assets followed by access to basic services. We find that the initial level of the household resilience score is significantly and positively associated with future household food security status. Moreover, the results reveal that the adoption of chemical fertilizer and improved seed is significantly and positively associated with household resilience capacity index, dietary diversity, and food consumption over time. Shocks such as drought appear to be significant contributors to the loss of household food security. Overall, it is revealed that the adoption of improved inputs significantly and positively increases household food security. However, the results show no evidence that supports the current level of adoption that helps households to shield themselves from the adverse effects of shocks. Finally, this study gives insights on examining the impacts and impact pathways of adoption of improved technologies on smallholder welfare which guide decision-makers for intervention as well as pave a way for future research that contributes to the fight against rural poverty and food insecurity. This thesis also concludes that public intervention in terms of investment in providing improved agricultural practices is crucial in improving rural livelihood, but it has to be inclusive and provide opportunities for the poor and vulnerable.