IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org//a/eee/lauspo/v95y2020ics0264837719318587.html

Adoption and diffusion of improved technologies and production practices in agriculture: Insights from a donor-led intervention in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Kumar, Anjani
  • Takeshima, Hiroyuki
  • Thapa, Ganesh
  • Adhikari, Naveen
  • Saroj, Sunil
  • Karkee, Madhab
  • Joshi, P.K.

Abstract

Adoptions of improved technologies and production practices are important drivers of agricultural development in low-income countries like Nepal. Adopting a broad class of such technologies and practices is often critical for meeting the multifaceted goals of efficiency, profitability, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. This study aims to address the knowledge gaps that still exist concerning what determines the adoption of improved technologies and production practices, the factors affecting their diffusion, the impact of interventions on productivity and crops grown, and the variability of impact within a particular country context. In this paper we address these questions using data collected as part of the USAID-led Knowledge-Based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) project. We adopted a multistage sampling technique and surveyed 988 beneficiary households and 997 non-beneficiary households in KISAN intervention districts and non-intervention districts. Our findings suggest that, in Nepal, adoption of improved technologies and practices is significantly increased by improved access to markets, private sector involvement in selling improved seeds and disseminating information, membership in progressive farmers groups and cooperative societies, participation in agricultural training and farm visits, provision of subsidies for seeds, and access to credit. We also found the probability of the adoption of improved practices to be affected by farmers’ sources of information; for instance, the adoption of improved practices was increased when farmers obtained information from informal sources, cooperatives/farmers organizations, and public and private extension programs. The effects of KISAN projects vary significantly across the different crops grown, based on the evaluation models that address self-selection of both project participation and crop choices. These implications may also apply to other parts of the world facing similar challenges as Nepal, where limited market access, insufficient knowledge and resource capacity of farmers constrain their adoption of improved technologies and practices in agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Kumar, Anjani & Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Thapa, Ganesh & Adhikari, Naveen & Saroj, Sunil & Karkee, Madhab & Joshi, P.K., 2020. "Adoption and diffusion of improved technologies and production practices in agriculture: Insights from a donor-led intervention in Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:95:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719318587
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104621
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719318587
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104621?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Noltze, Martin & Schwarze, Stefan & Qaim, Matin, 2013. "Impacts of natural resource management technologies on agricultural yield and household income: The system of rice intensification in Timor Leste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 59-68.
    2. Munshi, Kaivan, 2008. "Information Networks in Dynamic Agrarian Economies," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 48, pages 3085-3113, Elsevier.
    3. Susmita Dasgupta & Craig Meisner & David Wheeler, 2007. "Is Environmentally Friendly Agriculture Less Profitable for Farmers? Evidence on Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 103-118.
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Imran Rasul, 2006. "Social Networks and Technology Adoption in Northern Mozambique," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 869-902, October.
    5. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    6. Nicole M. Mason & Melinda Smale, 2013. "Impacts of subsidized hybrid seed on indicators of economic well-being among smallholder maize growers in Zambia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(6), pages 659-670, November.
    7. Pramila Krishnan & Manasa Patnam, 2014. "Neighbors and Extension Agents in Ethiopia: Who Matters More for Technology Adoption?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 308-327.
    8. Gershon Feder, 1982. "Adoption of Interrelated Agricultural Innovations: Complementarity and the Impacts of Risk, Scale, and Credit," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 64(1), pages 94-101.
    9. Langyintuo, Augustine S. & Mungoma, Catherine, 2008. "The effect of household wealth on the adoption of improved maize varieties in Zambia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 550-559, December.
    10. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad & Shivakoti, Sabnam & Kaphle, Basu Dev & Kumar, Anjani, 2017. "Heterogeneous returns to chemical fertilizer at the intensive margins: Insights from Nepal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 97-109.
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11412 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Feleke, Shiferaw & Zegeye, Tesfaye, 2006. "Adoption of improved maize varieties in Southern Ethiopia: Factors and strategy options," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 442-457, October.
    13. Khatri-Chhetri, Arun & Pant, Anjali & Aggarwal, Pramod K. & Vasireddy, Vijya Vardhan & Yadav, Akhilesh, 2019. "Stakeholders prioritization of climate-smart agriculture interventions: Evaluation of a framework," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 23-31.
    14. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    15. Schreinemachers, Pepijn & Wu, Mei-huey & Uddin, Md. Nasir & Ahmad, Shahabuddin & Hanson, Peter, 2016. "Farmer training in off-season vegetables: Effects on income and pesticide use in Bangladesh," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 132-140.
    16. Pereira, Luis Santos & Oweis, Theib & Zairi, Abdelaziz, 2002. "Irrigation management under water scarcity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 175-206, December.
    17. Popular Gentle & Rik Thwaites & Digby Race & Kim Alexander & Tek Maraseni, 2018. "Household and community responses to impacts of climate change in the rural hills of Nepal," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 267-282, March.
    18. Marenya, Paswel P. & Barrett, Christopher B., 2007. "Household-level determinants of adoption of improved natural resources management practices among smallholder farmers in western Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 515-536, August.
    19. Gollin, Douglas, 2010. "Agricultural Productivity and Economic Growth," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: Robert Evenson & Prabhu Pingali (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 73, pages 3825-3866, Elsevier.
    20. Ransom, J. K. & Paudyal, K. & Adhikari, K., 2003. "Adoption of improved maize varieties in the hills of Nepal," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 299-305, December.
    21. Hailemariam Teklewold & Menale Kassie & Bekele Shiferaw, 2013. "Adoption of Multiple Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Rural Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 597-623, September.
    22. Aslihan Arslan & J. Edward Taylor, 2009. "Farmers’ Subjective Valuation of Subsistence Crops: The Case of Traditional Maize in Mexico," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 956-972.
    23. Asfaw, Solomon & Shiferaw, Bekele & Simtowe, Franklin & Lipper, Leslie, 2012. "Impact of modern agricultural technologies on smallholder welfare: Evidence from Tanzania and Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 283-295.
    24. Hiroyuki Takeshima, 2017. "Custom-hired tractor services and returns to scale in smallholder agriculture: a production function approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(3), pages 363-372, May.
    25. Mariano, Marc Jim & Villano, Renato & Fleming, Euan, 2012. "Factors influencing farmers’ adoption of modern rice technologies and good management practices in the Philippines," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 41-53.
    26. Foster, Andrew D & Rosenzweig, Mark R, 1995. "Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1176-1209, December.
    27. Oostendorp, Remco H. & Zaal, Fred, 2012. "Land Acquisition and the Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Techniques: A Duration Analysis for Kenya and The Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1240-1254.
    28. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2007. "Inverse probability weighted estimation for general missing data problems," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 1281-1301, December.
    29. Ramírez, Octavio A. & Shultz, Steven D., 2000. "Poisson Count Models to Explain the Adoption of Agricultural and Natural Resource Management Technologies by Small Farmers in Central American Countries," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 21-33, April.
    30. Timothy G. Conley & Christopher R. Udry, 2010. "Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 35-69, March.
    31. Affholder, François & Jourdain, Damien & Quang, Dang Dinh & Tuong, To Phuc & Morize, Marion & Ricome, Aymeric, 2010. "Constraints to farmers' adoption of direct-seeding mulch-based cropping systems: A farm scale modeling approach applied to the mountainous slopes of Vietnam," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 51-62, January.
    32. Maria Mutuc & Roderick M. Rejesus & Jose M. Yorobe, Jr., 2013. "Which farmers benefit the most from Bt corn adoption? Estimating heterogeneity effects in the Philippines," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(2), pages 231-239, March.
    33. Polson, Rudulph A. & Spencer, Dunstan S. C., 1991. "The technology adoption process in subsistence agriculture: The case of cassava in Southwestern Nigeria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 65-78.
    34. Muhammad Kabir & Ruslan Rainis, 2015. "Adoption and intensity of integrated pest management (IPM) vegetable farming in Bangladesh: an approach to sustainable agricultural development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 1413-1429, December.
    35. Rejesus, Roderick M. & Palis, Florencia G. & Rodriguez, Divina Gracia P. & Lampayan, Ruben M. & Bouman, Bas A.M., 2011. "Impact of the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) water-saving irrigation technique: Evidence from rice producers in the Philippines," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 280-288, April.
    36. Maraseni, T.N. & Cockfield, G., 2011. "Does the adoption of zero tillage reduce greenhouse gas emissions? An assessment for the grains industry in Australia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(6), pages 451-458, July.
    37. Raju Ghimire & Wen-Chi Huang, 2015. "Household wealth and adoption of improved maize varieties in Nepal: a double-hurdle approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1321-1335, December.
    38. Pamuk, Haki & Bulte, Erwin & Adekunle, Adewale A., 2014. "Do decentralized innovation systems promote agricultural technology adoption? Experimental evidence from Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 227-236.
    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. Raju Ghimire & Wen-Chi Huang, 2015. "Household wealth and adoption of improved maize varieties in Nepal: a double-hurdle approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1321-1335, December.
    2. Nazziwa-Nviiri, L. & Van Campenhout, Bjorn & Amwonya, D., 2017. "Stimulating agricultural technology adoption lessons from fertilizer use among Ugandan potato farmers," IFPRI discussion papers 1608, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Kazushi Takahashi & Rie Muraoka & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Technology adoption, impact, and extension in developing countries’ agriculture: A review of the recent literature," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 31-45, January.
    4. Yoko Kijima, 2022. "Long-term and spillover effects of rice production training in Uganda," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 395-415, October.
    5. Christina Handschuch & Meike Wollni, 2016. "Improved production systems for traditional food crops: the case of finger millet in western Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(4), pages 783-797, August.
    6. Abebayehu Girma Geffersa & Frank W. Agbola & Amir Mahmood, 2022. "Improved maize adoption and impacts on farm household welfare: Evidence from rural Ethiopia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 860-886, October.
    7. Garbero, A. & Marion, P., 2018. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 28 - Understanding the dynamics of adoption decisions and their poverty impacts: the case of improved maize seeds in Uganda," IFAD Research Series 280077, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    8. Faruque As Sunny & Linlin Fu & Md Sadique Rahman & Zuhui Huang, 2022. "Determinants and Impact of Solar Irrigation Facility (SIF) Adoption: A Case Study in Northern Bangladesh," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Lim, Krisha & Wichmann, Bruno & Luckert, Martin, 2021. "Adaptation, spatial effects, and targeting: Evidence from Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    10. Monge, Mario & Hartwich, Frank & Halgin, Daniel, 2008. "How Change Agents and Social Capital Influence the Adoption of Innovations among Small Farmers: Evidence from Social Networks in Rural Bolivia," IFPRI Discussion Papers 42330, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Arslan, Aslihan & Belotti, Federico & Lipper, Leslie, 2017. "Smallholder productivity and weather shocks: Adoption and impact of widely promoted agricultural practices in Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 68-81.
    12. Frank Mmbando & Emmanuel Mbeyagala & Papias Binagwa & Rael Karimi & Hellen Opie & Justus Ochieng & Tarcisius Mutuoki & Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair, 2021. "Adoption of Improved Mungbean Production Technologies in Selected East African Countries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    13. Khushbu Mishra & Abdoul G. Sam & Gracious M. Diiro & Mario J. Miranda, 2020. "Gender and the dynamics of technology adoption: Empirical evidence from a household‐level panel data," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 857-870, November.
    14. Paudel, G. & Krishna, V. & McDonald, A., 2018. "Why some inferior technologies succeed? Examining the diffusion and impacts of rotavator tillage in Nepal Terai," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277149, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Bairagi, Subir & Bhandari, Humnath & Kumar Das, Subrata & Mohanty, Samarendu, 2021. "Flood-tolerant rice improves climate resilience, profitability, and household consumption in Bangladesh," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    16. Dsouza, Alwin & Mishra, Ashok. K., 2016. "Adoption and Abandonment of Conservation Technologies in Developing Economies: The Case of South Asia," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235243, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Abebayehu Girma Geffersa, 2024. "Does cooperative membership enhance inorganic fertilizer use intensity? Panel data evidence from maize farmers in Ethiopia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 327-361, June.
    18. Adjognon,Guigonan Serge & Nguyen Huy,Tung & Guthoff,Jonas Christoph & van Soest,Daan, 2022. "Incentivizing Social Learning for the Diffusion of Climate-Smart Agricultural Techniques," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10041, The World Bank.
    19. Hörner, Denise & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Integrated soil fertility management and household welfare in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    20. Arslan, Cansın & Wollni, Meike & Oduol, Judith & Hughes, Karl, 2022. "Who communicates the information matters for technology adoption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services

    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:eee:lauspo:v:95:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719318587. 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: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    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.