IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v136y2025ics0306919225001575.html

Hybrid agricultural extension and the adoption of climate-resilient varieties: Evidence from oil palm in the Amazon

Author

Listed:
  • Estefan, Alejandro
  • Ordoñez, Romina
  • Parilli, Cristina
  • Winters, Paul

Abstract

Climate change is forcing farmers worldwide to adopt more resilient crop varieties, but optimizing the yields of these varieties often requires new farming practices. We study whether hybrid agricultural extension can increase farmers’ knowledge and adoption of key practices needed to maximize the productivity of a pathogen-resistant hybrid oil palm variety in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Using a randomized field experiment involving palm farmers in two provinces, we test the separate and joint effects of in-person field days and personalized digital nudges. We find that field days and digital nudges are substitutes for improving farmers’ knowledge but affect digital engagement differently: In-person training raises engagement with sequential learning content, while digital nudges increase attention to specific, actionable information. Crucially, only in-person training leads to significant adoption of pollination practices and increased hybrid palm area. Our findings highlight both the promise and limits of digital-only extension models for supporting the adoption of resilient crops and associated yield-enhancing practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Estefan, Alejandro & Ordoñez, Romina & Parilli, Cristina & Winters, Paul, 2025. "Hybrid agricultural extension and the adoption of climate-resilient varieties: Evidence from oil palm in the Amazon," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:136:y:2025:i:c:s0306919225001575
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102952
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919225001575
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102952?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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M53 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Training
    • N56 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • 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:jfpoli:v:136:y:2025:i:c:s0306919225001575. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    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.