Ajayi, A.O. (author), Ajayi, O.C. (author), Akinnifesi, F.K. (author), Sileshi, G. (author), and Mng'omba, S. (author)
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2010-09-14
Published:
Ivory Coast
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 178 Document Number: C30710
Notes:
Paper presented at Tropentag 2010, Conference on International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development, Zurich, Switzerland, September 14-16, 2010. 1 page.
Tripp, Robert (author / Overseas Development Institute, London, UK), Wijeratne, Mahinda (author / University of Ruhuna, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka), and Piyadasa, V. Hiroshini (author / University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2005-10
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 146 Document Number: C23161
15 p., The results of a study in Sri Lanka, combined with a review of the literature, provide evidence that Farmer Field Schools (FFS) can contribute to increasing farmers' skills and lowering insecticide use in rice. However, there are questions about their capacity to reach the majority of farmers and there's little evidence that skills learned are passed to nonparticipants, or that an FFS is a likely basis for sustained group activity. The results draw attention to the problems of relying on simple formulas in agricultural programs and point to inadequacies in the assessment of donor projects.
22pgs, We introduce the “coordination frontier” (CF), a simple practical tool to assess the likelihood of success of voluntary coordination in situations where, ex ante, the collective action solution provides an appealing alternative (e.g., for pest and disease control). We demonstrate the value of information conveyed by the CF, explain how to construct the CF from experimental data, and show how to apply the CF in practice. We illustrate the concept with an application to data from a framed field economic experiment, which was designed to elicit the preferences of Florida's citrus growers regarding their willingness to coordinate actions to combat citrus greening disease. This is a highly relevant case study not only because of the significant impact caused by citrus greening on Florida's citrus industry but also because a voluntary area-wide pest management program to control it had been established in 2010 and eventually failed; a similar program is now in place in California, where the disease spread is at an earlier stage. Had the CF been available in Florida, estimates of the (aggregate) chances of successful coordination could have been shared with growers to update their beliefs regarding the chances of successful coordination to help reduce strategic uncertainty. Policymakers in California could use the CF in such way and devise ways to encourage participation to increase the chances of reaching a desired coordination threshold.
