IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/apecpp/v45y2023i1p436-459.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Extension services and the technical efficiency of crop‐specific farms in China

Author

Listed:
  • Qian Liu
  • Yongmu Jiang
  • Carl‐Johan Lagerkvist
  • Wei Huang

Abstract

China operates the world's largest system of extension services, but knowledge about its effectiveness is limited. Using farm survey data and a stochastic meta‐frontier production function, this study investigates the impact of extension services on the technical efficiency of crop‐specific farms in China. Results reveal that extension services have a statistically significant and strongly correlated relationship with farm technical efficiency and that different sources of extension have an inconsistent impact on it. Crop‐specific farms require distinct extension provision whose content is designed to match farmers' needs, and hence a pluralistic and well‐functioning system of extension provision should be developed.

Suggested Citation

  • Qian Liu & Yongmu Jiang & Carl‐Johan Lagerkvist & Wei Huang, 2023. "Extension services and the technical efficiency of crop‐specific farms in China," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 436-459, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:45:y:2023:i:1:p:436-459
    DOI: 10.1002/aepp.13209
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13209
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/aepp.13209?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2010. "Agricultural Development, Nutrition, and the Policies Behind China’s Success," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, June.
    2. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for Agriculture: A Review of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries - Working Paper 269," Working Papers 269, Center for Global Development.
    3. Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Evenson, Robert E., 1994. "Efficiency in agricultural production: The case of peasant farmers in eastern Paraguay," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 27-37, January.
    4. Stefan Dercon & Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott & Tassew Woldehanna, 2009. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension and Roads on Poverty and Consumption Growth in Fifteen Ethiopian Villages," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1007-1021.
    5. Davis, K. & Nkonya, E. & Kato, E. & Mekonnen, D.A. & Odendo, M. & Miiro, R. & Nkuba, J., 2012. "Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agricultural Productivity and Poverty in East Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 402-413.
    6. Hazell, Peter & Poulton, Colin & Wiggins, Steve & Dorward, Andrew, 2010. "The Future of Small Farms: Trajectories and Policy Priorities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1349-1361, October.
    7. Yu, Bingxin & Nin-Pratt, Alejandro & Funes, José & Gemessa, Sinafikeh Asrat, 2011. "Cereal production and technology adoption in Ethiopia:," IFPRI discussion papers 1131, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Boris E. Bravo‐Ureta & Robert E. Evenson, 1994. "Efficiency in agricultural production: the case of peasant farmers in eastern Paraguay," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 10(1), pages 27-37, January.
    9. Jean-Paul Chavas & Ragan Petrie & Michael Roth, 2005. "Farm Household Production Efficiency: Evidence from The Gambia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 87(1), pages 160-179.
    10. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Antonio José Orozco-Gallo, 2017. "Technical efficiency for Colombian small crop and livestock farmers: A stochastic metafrontier approach for different production systems," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Jock R. Anderson, 2004. "Agricultural Extension: Good Intentions and Hard Realities," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 41-60.
    12. Ragasa, Catherine & Mazunda, John, 2018. "The impact of agricultural extension services in the context of a heavily subsidized input system: The case of Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 25-47.
    13. Cliff Huang & Tai-Hsin Huang & Nan-Hung Liu, 2014. "A new approach to estimating the metafrontier production function based on a stochastic frontier framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 241-254, December.
    14. Jinyang Cai & Guanming Shi & Ruifa Hu, 2016. "An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field School in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, February.
    15. Van den Berg, Henk & Jiggins, Janice, 2007. "Investing in Farmers--The Impacts of Farmer Field Schools in Relation to Integrated Pest Management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 663-686, April.
    16. Gashaw Tadesse Abate & Gian Nicola Francesconi & Gian Nicola Francesconi, 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders' technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," Euricse Working Papers 1350, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    17. Cai, Jinyang & Jia, Yao & Hu, Ruifa & Zhang, Chao, 2020. "Four decades of China’s agricultural extension reform and its impact on agents’ time allocation," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), January.
    18. Ma, Wanglin & Renwick, Alan & Yuan, Peng & Ratna, Nazmun, 2018. "Agricultural cooperative membership and technical efficiency of apple farmers in China: An analysis accounting for selectivity bias," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 122-132.
    19. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(6), pages 631-647, November.
    20. Christopher O’Donnell & D. Rao & George Battese, 2008. "Metafrontier frameworks for the study of firm-level efficiencies and technology ratios," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 231-255, March.
    21. Jinyang Cai & Yao Jia & Ruifa Hu & Chao Zhang, 2020. "Four decades of China’s agricultural extension reform and its impact on agents’ time allocation," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), pages 104-125, January.
    22. Donald F. Larson & Keijiro Otsuka & Tomoya Matsumoto & Talip Kilic, 2014. "Should African rural development strategies depend on smallholder farms? An exploration of the inverse-productivity hypothesis," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(3), pages 355-367, May.
    23. Owens, Trudy & Hoddinott, John & Kinsey, Bill, 2003. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farm Production in Resettlement Areas of Zimbabwe," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 337-357, January.
    24. Jin Yang & Zuhui Huang & Xiaobo Zhang & Thomas Reardon, 2013. "The Rapid Rise of Cross-Regional Agricultural Mechanization Services in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1245-1251.
    25. Mellor, John W. & Malik, Sohail J., 2017. "The Impact of Growth in Small Commercial Farm Productivity on Rural Poverty Reduction," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1-10.
    26. Wade, Tara & Claassen, Roger & Wallander, Steven, 2015. "Conservation-Practice Adoption Rates Vary Widely by Crop and Region," Economic Information Bulletin 262111, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    27. George Battese & D. Rao & Christopher O'Donnell, 2004. "A Metafrontier Production Function for Estimation of Technical Efficiencies and Technology Gaps for Firms Operating Under Different Technologies," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 91-103, January.
    28. Timothy J. Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao & Christopher J. O’Donnell & George E. Battese, 2005. "An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-25895-9, November.
    29. George E. Battese & D. S. Prasada Rao, 2002. "Technology Gap, Efficiency, and a Stochastic Metafrontier Function," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 1(2), pages 87-93, August.
    30. George W. Norton & Jeffrey Alwang, 2020. "Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 8-20, March.
    31. Mohammad Mohi Uddin & Bernhard Brümmer & Kurt Johanes Peters, 2014. "Technical efficiency and metatechnology ratios under varying resource endowment in different production systems," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3), pages 485-505, August.
    32. Hu, Ruifa & Cai, Yaqing & Chen, Kevin Z. & Huang, Jikun, 2012. "Effects of inclusive public agricultural extension service: Results from a policy reform experiment in western China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 962-974.
    33. Ariel Dinar, 1996. "Extension Commercialization: How Much to Charge for Extension Services," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(1), pages 1-12.
    34. Abate, G. T., 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders\u2019 technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," IWMI Working Papers H045831, International Water Management Institute.
    35. Williams, F. E. & Taron, Avinandan, 2020. "Demand-led extension: a gender analysis of attendance and key crops," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-19.().
    36. Gideon Danso-Abbeam & Lloyd J. S. Baiyegunhi, 2020. "Technical efficiency and technology gap in Ghana’s cocoa industry: accounting for farm heterogeneity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 100-112, January.
    37. Chandra Bahadur Adhikari & Trond Bjorndal, 2012. "Analyses of technical efficiency using SDF and DEA models: evidence from Nepalese agriculture," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(25), pages 3297-3308, September.
    38. Battese, G E & Coelli, T J, 1995. "A Model for Technical Inefficiency Effects in a Stochastic Frontier Production Function for Panel Data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 325-332.
    39. Wallace E. Huffman, 1977. "Allocative Efficiency: The Role of Human Capital," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 91(1), pages 59-79.
    40. Denise Young & Honghai Deng, 1999. "The effects of education in early-stage agriculture: some evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(11), pages 1315-1323.
    41. David J. Pannell & Roger Claassen, 2020. "The Roles of Adoption and Behavior Change in Agricultural Policy," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 31-41, March.
    42. Gershon Feder & Rinku Murgai & Jaime B. Quizon, 2004. "The Acquisition and Diffusion of Knowledge: The Case of Pest Management Training in Farmer Field Schools, Indonesia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 221-243, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Antonio José Orozco-Gallo, 2017. "Technical efficiency for Colombian small crop and livestock farmers: A stochastic metafrontier approach for different production systems," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Antonio José Orozco-Gallo, 2015. "Eficiencia técnica de los hogares con producción agropecuaria en Colombia," Documentos de trabajo sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 227, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    3. Khanal, Uttam & Wilson, Clevo & Shankar, Sriram & Hoang, Viet-Ngu & Lee, Boon, 2018. "Farm performance analysis: Technical efficiencies and technology gaps of Nepalese farmers in different agro-ecological regions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 645-653.
    4. George W. Norton & Jeffrey Alwang, 2020. "Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 8-20, March.
    5. Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Higgins, Daniel & Arslan, Aslihan, 2020. "Irrigation infrastructure and farm productivity in the Philippines: A stochastic Meta-Frontier analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    6. Djuraeva, Mukhayyo & Bobojonov, Ihtiyor & Kuhn, Lena & Glauben, Thomas, 2023. "The impact of agricultural extension type and form on technical efficiency under transition: An empirical assessment of wheat production in Uzbekistan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 203-221.
    7. Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman & Jeffry D. Connor, 2022. "Impact of Agricultural Extension Services on Fertilizer Use and Farmers’ Welfare: Evidence from Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, July.
    8. Zhu, Xiaoke & Hu, Ruifa & Zhang, Chao & Shi, Guanming, 2021. "Does Internet use improve technical efficiency? Evidence from apple production in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    9. Torres Franco, Nicolás Arturo & Dávalos, Eleonora & Morales, Leonardo Fabio, 2021. "Heterogeneous Effects of Agricultural Technical Assistance in Colombia," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(4), pages 459-481, November.
    10. Thanh Pham Thien Nguyen & Son Hong Nghiem & Eduardo Roca & Parmendra Sharma, 2016. "Efficiency, innovation and competition: evidence from Vietnam, China and India," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 1235-1259, November.
    11. Nguyen, Hoa-Thi-Minh & Do, Huong & Kompas, Tom, 2021. "Economic efficiency versus social equity: The productivity challenge for rice production in a ‘greying’ rural Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    12. Tanko, Mohammed & Ismaila, Salifu, 2021. "How culture and religion influence the agriculture technology gap in Northern Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    13. Jolex, Aubrey, 2022. "Influence of agricultural extension services on technical efficiency of maize farmers in Malawi," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 17(1), March.
    14. Niu, Chiyu & Ragasa, Catherine, 2018. "Selective attention and information loss in the lab-to-farm knowledge chain: The case of Malawian agricultural extension programs," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 147-163.
    15. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Antonio José Orozco-Gallo, 2020. "Corporate taxes and firms' performance: A meta-frontier approach," Borradores de Economia 1116, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    16. John N. Ng’ombe, 2017. "Technical efficiency of smallholder maize production in Zambia: a stochastic meta-frontier approach," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(4), pages 347-365, October.
    17. Shalander Kumar & Abhishek Das & Michael Hauser & Geoffrey Muricho & Tulu Degefu & Asnake Fikre & Chris Ojiewo & Setotaw Ferede & Rajeev K. Varshney, 2022. "Estimating the potential to close yield gaps through increased efficiency of chickpea production in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(5), pages 1241-1258, October.
    18. Roengchai Tansuchat, 2023. "A Copula-Based Meta-Stochastic Frontier Analysis for Comparing Traditional and HDPE Geomembranes Technology in Sea Salt Farming among Farmers in Phetchaburi, Thailand," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Satoshi Honma & Jin-Li Hu, 2018. "A meta-stochastic frontier analysis for energy efficiency of regions in Japan," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Tai-Hsin Huang & Yi-Chun Lin & Kuo-Jui Huang & Yu-Wei Liao, 2022. "Comparing Cost Efficiency Between Financial and Non-financial Holding Banks and Insurers in Taiwan Under the Framework of Copula Methods and Metafrontier," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(4), pages 735-766, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:apecpp:v:45:y:2023:i:1:p:436-459. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2040-5804 .

    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.