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2. Information and Communication Technologies to Provide Agricultural Advice to Smallholder Farmers: Experimental Evidence from Uganda
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Van Campenhout, Bjorn (author), Spielman, David J. (author), and Lecoutere, Els (author)
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-03-26
- Published:
- United States: Wiley Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12029
- Journal Title:
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 103, Issue 1
- Notes:
- 21 Pages, Agricultural advisory services generally rely on interpersonal knowledge transfers by agricultural extension agents who visit farmers to provide information. This approach is not always effective and has proved hard to scale sustainably, particularly in highly dispersed smallholder farming systems. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been advanced as a promising way to overcome many of the problems associated with conventional agricultural extension. We evaluate the effectiveness of an ICT‐mediated approach to deliver agricultural information in a field experiment conducted among small‐scale maize farmers in eastern Uganda. Three complementary technologies designed to address both informational and behavioral constraints to technical change are considered. First, we investigate the effectiveness of audiovisual messages (video) as a means of delivering information on input use and improved maize management practices to farmers. Second, we quantify the additional impact of complementing video with an interactive voice response (IVR) service. Third, we estimate the incremental effect of time‐sensitive short message services (SMS) messages designed to remind farmers about applying key practices at specific points during the season. We find that households that were shown a short video on how to become better maize farmers were performing significantly better on a knowledge test, more likely to apply recommended practices, and more likely to use fertilizer than households that did not view the video. These same households also reported maize yields about 10.5% higher than those that did not view the video. We find little evidence of an incremental effect of the IVR service or SMS reminders.
3. On the value of innovation and extension information: SCN-resistant soybean varieties
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Moschini, Giancarlo (author) and Lee, Seungki (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-01-02
- Published:
- United States of America: Wiley Online
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12538
- Journal Title:
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Notes:
- 22 pages, This paper presents direct evidence on the impact of a specific extension program that is aimed at promoting the adoption of varieties resistant to the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), specifically the Iowa State University SCN-Resistant Soybean Variety Trials. We use two data sources: experimental data from these variety trials and a rich proprietary dataset on farmers’ seed purchases. Combining these data, we estimate the value of soybean cyst nematode-resistant variety availability, and the associated variety trials that provide information on their performance to farmers and seed companies. Given the scope and diffusion of this extension program, the focus of the analysis is on Iowa and northern Illinois over the period 2011–2016. Farmers’ seed choices are modeled in a discrete choice framework, specifically a one-level nested logit model. Using the estimated demand model, we find farmers’ marginal willingness to pay for soybean cyst nematode-resistant varieties, and for related extension information provided by the Iowa State University SCN-Resistant Soybean Variety Trials program, to be large. These results are confirmed by counterfactual analyses showing that, over the six-year period and region of the study, the total ex post welfare change associated with the existence of, and information about, SCN-resistant seeds is about $478 million. About one-third of this surplus is captured by seed suppliers, and two-thirds accrues to farmers.
4. The FarmDoc Project: this is still your father's extension program
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Ellinger, Paul (author), Schnitkey, Gary (author), Good, Darrel L. (author), and Irwin, Scott H. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2004-08
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C21123
- Journal Title:
- American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Journal Title Details:
- 86(3) : 772-777