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Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

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Title Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption
 
Creator Miehe, Caroline
Campenhout, Bjorn van
Nabwire, Leocardia
Sparrow, Robert
Spielman, David J.
 
Subject agricultural technologies
seeds
investments
fertilizers
pesticides
planting
irrigation
weeding
farmers
crop yield
outputs
innovation adoption
smallholders
maize
behaviour
knowledge
 
Description To fully benefit from new agricultural technologies like improved seed varieties, significant investment in complementary inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and practices such as systematic planting, irrigation, and weeding are also required. Farmers may fail to recognize the importance of these complements, leading to unsatisfactory crop yields and outputs and, eventually, dis-adoption of the variety. We provide a simple model of biased expectations, complementary input use and technology adoption and test its predictions using a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in eastern Uganda. We find that pointing out the importance of complementary investments using a short, engaging video effectively deters some farmers from using commercial improved varieties. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find some evidence that this behavior change emanates from increased knowledge and expectations that are more in line with realized outcomes.
 
Date 2023-05-08
2023-05-09T20:27:51Z
2023-05-09T20:27:51Z
 
Type Working Paper
 
Identifier Miehe, Caroline; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; and Spielman, David J. 2023. Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2183. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/130294
https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700
 
Language en
 
Relation IFPRI Discussion Paper
 
Rights Other
Open Access
 
Format application/pdf
 
Publisher International Food Policy Research Institute