IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v31y2014i2p231-243.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Voluntarism as an investment in human, social and financial capital: evidence from a farmer-to-farmer extension program in Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Evelyne Kiptot
  • Steven Franzel

Abstract

A decline in public sector extension services in developing countries has led to an increasing emphasis on alternative extension approaches that are participatory, demand-driven, client-oriented, and farmer centered. One such approach is the volunteer farmer-trainer (VFT) approach, a form of farmer-to-farmer extension where VFTs host demonstration plots and share information on improved agricultural practices within their community. VFTs are trained by extension staff and they in turn train other farmers. A study was conducted to understand the rationale behind the decisions of smallholder farmers to volunteer their time and resources to train other farmers without pay and to continue volunteering. Data were gathered through focus group discussions and individual interviews involving 99 VFTs. Findings of the study showed that VFTs were motivated by a combination of personal and community interests that were influenced by religious beliefs, cultural norms, and social and economic incentives. Altruism, gaining knowledge and skills, and social benefits were the most frequently mentioned motivating factors for becoming VFTs.3 years after starting, the income earned from selling associated inputs and services was also a main motivating factor. There were no significant differences between motivating factors for men and women VFTs. The findings point to the fact that VFTs work effectively without being paid, but investments in human, social, and financial capital are crucial to keeping them motivated. These factors are key to ensuring the sustainability of farmer-to-farmer extension programs beyond the projects’ lifespan. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Evelyne Kiptot & Steven Franzel, 2014. "Voluntarism as an investment in human, social and financial capital: evidence from a farmer-to-farmer extension program in Kenya," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 231-243, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:31:y:2014:i:2:p:231-243
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-013-9463-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10460-013-9463-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-013-9463-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ziemek, Susanne, 2006. "Economic analysis of volunteers' motivations--A cross-country study," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 532-555, June.
    2. Joel Sobel, 2002. "Can We Trust Social Capital?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 139-154, March.
    3. Enid Katungi & Svetlana Edmeades & Melinda Smale, 2008. "Gender, social capital and information exchange in rural Uganda," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 35-52.
    4. Roy, Kakoli & Ziemek, Susanne, 2000. "On the Economics of Volunteering," Discussion Papers 281245, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    5. Evelyne Kiptot, 2007. "Eliciting indigenous knowledge on tree fodder among Maasai pastoralists via a multi-method sequencing approach," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(2), pages 231-243, June.
    6. Nicoline de Haan, 2001. "Of goats and groups: A study on social capital in development projects," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 18(1), pages 71-84, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fédes Rijn & Ephraim Nkonya & Adewale Adekunle, 2015. "The impact of agricultural extension services on social capital: an application to the Sub-Saharan African Challenge Program in Lake Kivu region," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 597-615, December.
    2. Dineo Seabe & Ronelle Burger, 2017. "Building bridges or deepening divides: Resources and formal volunteering in post-apartheid South Africa," Working Papers 03/2017, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    3. Fan Yang & Krishna P. Paudel, 2023. "Nutrition, multidimensional poverty and income: The case of Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1962-1984, October.
    4. Fisher, Monica & Holden, Stein T. & Katengeza, Samson P., 2017. "Adoption of CA technologies among Followers of Lead Farmers: How Strong is the Influence from Lead Farmers?," CLTS Working Papers 7/17, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 21 Oct 2019.
    5. Rodrigo Abed & Haroon Sseguya & James Flock & Silvanus Mruma & Hamisi Mwango, 2020. "An Evolving Agricultural Extension Model for Lasting Impact: How Willing Are Tanzanian Farmers to Pay for Extension Services?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    6. Qing Zhang & Juan Li & Tiaojun Xiao, 2022. "Contract design for technology sharing between two farmers," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 314(2), pages 677-707, July.
    7. Ellinor Isgren & Yann Clough & Alice Murage & Elina Andersson, 2023. "Are agricultural extension systems ready to scale up ecological intensification in East Africa? A literature review with particular attention to the Push-Pull Technology (PPT)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(5), pages 1399-1420, October.
    8. Nilsson, Pia & Backman, Mikaela & Bjerke, Lina & Maniriho, Aristide, 2019. "One cow per poor family: Effects on the growth of consumption and crop production," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Ragasa, Catherine, 2020. "Effectiveness of the lead farmer approach in agricultural extension service provision: Nationally representative panel data analysis in Malawi," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Christophe Rodier & Paul C. Struik, 2018. "Nodal Farmers’ Motivations for Exchanging Sorghum Seeds in Northwestern Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Maredia, Mywish K. & Farris, Jarrad G. & Mason, Nicole M. & Morgan, Stephen N., 2022. "Effectiveness of farmer-led extension that combines demonstration plots and free trial packs: A field experiment in Tanzania," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322528, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Long Niu & Chuntian Lu & Rui Sun, 2023. "The Impact of Livelihood Capital on Subjective Well-Being of New Professional Farmers: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lipford, Jody W. & Yandle, Bruce, 2009. "The determinants of purposeful voluntarism," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 72-79, January.
    2. Mabuza, Majola Lawrence & Ortmann, Gerald F. & Wale, Edilegnaw Zegeye, 2012. "Collective action in commercial mushroom production: the role of social capital in the management of informal farmer groups in Swaziland," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126764, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. George Okello Candiya Bongomin & John C. Munene & Joseph Ntayi Mpeera & Charles Malinga Akol, 2017. "Financial inclusion in rural Uganda: The role of social capital and generational values," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1302866-130, January.
    4. Paul-Francois Muzindutsi, 2015. "Denied Investment: A Case of Community Member’s Attitudes towards Volunteering in Corporate Social Investment Initiatives," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 7(2), pages 176-182.
    5. Marcus Dittrich & Bianka Mey, 2023. "Voluntary labour supply by birth cohort: empirical evidence from Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(2), pages 389-410, May.
    6. Haobin Fan & Xuanyi Nie, 2020. "Impacts of Layoffs and Government Assistance on Mental Health during COVID-19: An Evidence-Based Study of the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-23, September.
    7. Nijkamp, P. & Stough, R. & Sahin, M., 2009. "Impact of social and human capital on business performance of migrant entrepreneurs - a comparative dutch-us study," Serie Research Memoranda 0017, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    8. Katarzyna Growiec & Jakub Growiec, 2016. "Bridging Social Capital and Individual Earnings: Evidence for an Inverted U," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 601-631, June.
    9. Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew & Gerber, Nicolas & Matz, Julia Anna, 2018. "Gendered Social Networks, Agricultural Innovations, and Farm Productivity in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 321-335.
    10. Roberta Dessì & Salvatore Piccolo, 2008. "Two is Company, N is a Crowd? Merchant Guilds and Social Capital," CSEF Working Papers 202, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 12 Jul 2009.
    11. Nikolova, Milena & Roman, Monica & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2017. "Left behind but doing good? Civic engagement in two post-socialist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 658-684.
    12. Dufhues, Thomas & Buchenrieder, Gertrud & Quoc, Hoang Dinh & Munkung, Nuchanata, 2011. "Social capital and loan repayment performance in Southeast Asia," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 679-691.
    13. Yatish Kumar & Priya Bhakat, 2022. "Social Capital in Old-Age and the Role of the Social Marginalisation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 371-388, August.
    14. Hodder Rupert, 2016. "Global South and North: Why Informality Matters," New Global Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 113-131, July.
    15. Munasib, Abdul B.A. & Jordan, Jeffrey L., 2011. "The Effect of Social Capital on the Choice to Use Sustainable Agricultural Practices," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 43(2), pages 1-15, May.
    16. Wouter Groot & Haranath Tadepally, 2008. "Community action for environmental restoration: a case study on collective social capital in India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 519-536, August.
    17. Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus, 2017. "Entrepreneurship and Institutions: A Bidirectional Relationship," Working Paper Series 1153, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 05 May 2017.
    18. Soumyananda Dinda, 2014. "Inclusive growth through creation of human and social capital," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(10), pages 878-895, October.
    19. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Falck, Oliver & Heblich, Stephan, 2010. "Social capital access and entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 821-833, December.
    20. Katia Melnik & Jean-Benoît Zimmermann, 2008. "An Economic Approach To Voluntary Association," Working Papers halshs-00347448, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:31:y:2014:i:2:p:231-243. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.