IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v87y2019ic3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agricultural technology adoption and household welfare: Measurement and evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Wossen, Tesfamicheal
  • Alene, Arega
  • Abdoulaye, Tahirou
  • Feleke, Shiferaw
  • Manyong, Victor

Abstract

Previous studies on the adoption and impacts of improved crop varieties have relied on self-reported adoption status of the surveyed households. However, in the presence of weak variety maintenance and poorly functioning seed certification system, measurement errors in self-reported adoption status can be considerable. This paper investigates how such measurement errors can lead to biased welfare estimates. Using DNA-fingerprinting based varietal identification as a benchmark, we find that misclassification in self-reported adoption status is considerable, with significant false negative and positive response rates. We empirically show that such measurement errors lead to welfare estimates that are biased towards zero and substantially understate the poverty reduction effects of adoption. While the empirical evidence suggests attenuation bias, our theoretical exposition and simulations demonstrate that upward bias and sign reversal effects are also possible. The results point to the need for improved monitoring of the diffusion process of improved varieties through innovative adoption data collection approaches to generate robust evidence for prioritizing and justifying investments in agricultural research and extension.

Suggested Citation

  • Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Alene, Arega & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Feleke, Shiferaw & Manyong, Victor, 2019. "Agricultural technology adoption and household welfare: Measurement and evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:87:y:2019:i:c:3
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101742
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919219305597
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101742?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. Aigner, Dennis J., 1973. "Regression with a binary independent variable subject to errors of observation," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 49-59, March.
    2. Dercon, Stefan & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Consumption risk, technology adoption and poverty traps: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 159-173, November.
    3. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Arega Alene & Pierre Nguimkeu & Shiferaw Feleke & Ismail Y Rabbi & Mekbib G Haile & Victor Manyong, 2019. "Estimating the Productivity Impacts of Technology Adoption in the Presence of Misclassification," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(1), pages 1-16.
    4. Bound, John & Krueger, Alan B, 1991. "The Extent of Measurement Error in Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make a Right?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    5. Nguimkeu, Pierre & Denteh, Augustine & Tchernis, Rusty, 2019. "On the estimation of treatment effects with endogenous misreporting," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 208(2), pages 487-506.
    6. Arthur Lewbel, 2007. "Estimation of Average Treatment Effects with Misclassification," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(2), pages 537-551, March.
    7. Yingyao Hu & Susanne M. Schennach, 2008. "Instrumental Variable Treatment of Nonclassical Measurement Error Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(1), pages 195-216, January.
    8. Rusike, J. & Mahungu, N.M. & Jumbo, S. & Sandifolo, V.S. & Malindi, G., 2010. "Estimating impact of cassava research for development approach on productivity, uptake and food security in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 98-111, April.
    9. Carletto, Calogero & Savastano, Sara & Zezza, Alberto, 2013. "Fact or artifact: The impact of measurement errors on the farm size–productivity relationship," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 254-261.
    10. Bezu, Sosina & Kassie, Girma T. & Shiferaw, Bekele & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, 2014. "Impact of Improved Maize Adoption on Welfare of Farm Households in Malawi: A Panel Data Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 120-131.
    11. Abay, Kibrom A. & Abate, Gashaw T. & Barrett, Christopher B. & Bernard, Tanguy, 2019. "Correlated non-classical measurement errors, ‘Second best’ policy inference, and the inverse size-productivity relationship in agriculture," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 171-184.
    12. Martin Ravallion & Shaohua Chen & Prem Sangraula, 2009. "Dollar a Day Revisited," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 23(2), pages 163-184, June.
    13. Khonje, Makaiko & Manda, Julius & Alene, Arega D. & Kassie, Menale, 2015. "Analysis of Adoption and Impacts of Improved Maize Varieties in Eastern Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 695-706.
    14. Thirtle, Colin & Lin, Lin & Piesse, Jenifer, 2003. "The Impact of Research-Led Agricultural Productivity Growth on Poverty Reduction in Africa, Asia and Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1959-1975, December.
    15. Di Zeng & Jeffrey Alwang & George W. Norton & Bekele Shiferaw & Moti Jaleta & Chilot Yirga, 2015. "Ex post impacts of improved maize varieties on poverty in rural Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(4), pages 515-526, July.
    16. Melinda Smale & Nicole Mason, 2014. "Hybrid Seed and the Economic Well-Being of Smallholder Maize Farmers in Zambia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 680-695, May.
    17. Christiaensen, Luc & Demery, Lionel & Kuhl, Jesper, 2011. "The (evolving) role of agriculture in poverty reduction--An empirical perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 239-254, November.
    18. Arthur Lewbel, 2012. "Using Heteroscedasticity to Identify and Estimate Mismeasured and Endogenous Regressor Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 67-80.
    19. Beegle, Kathleen & De Weerdt, Joachim & Friedman, Jed & Gibson, John, 2012. "Methods of household consumption measurement through surveys: Experimental results from Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 3-18.
    20. Tavneet Suri, 2011. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(1), pages 159-209, January.
    21. Alene, Arega D. & Coulibaly, Ousmane, 2009. "The impact of agricultural research on productivity and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 198-209, April.
    22. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Report 2011 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2011 : Conflits, sécurité et développement - Abrégé]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 4389, December.
    23. Gourlay,Sydney & Kilic,Talip & Lobell,David & Gourlay,Sydney & Kilic,Talip & Lobell,David, 2017. "Could the debate be over ? errors in farmer-reported production and their implications for the inverse scale-productivity relationship in Uganda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8192, The World Bank.
    24. Shiferaw, Bekele & Kassie, Menale & Jaleta, Moti & Yirga, Chilot, 2014. "Adoption of improved wheat varieties and impacts on household food security in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 272-284.
    25. Alwang, Jeffrey & Gotor, Elisabetta & Thiele, Graham & Hareau, Guy & Jaleta, Moti & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2019. "Pathways from research on improved staple crop germplasm to poverty reduction for smallholder farmers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 16-27.
    26. Desiere, Sam & Jolliffe, Dean, 2018. "Land productivity and plot size: Is measurement error driving the inverse relationship?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 84-98.
    27. Maredia, Mywish K. & Reyes, Byron A. & Manu-Aduening, Joseph & Dankyi, Awere & Hamazakaza, Petan & Muimui, Kennedy & Rabbi, Ismail & Kulakow, Peter & Parkes, Elizabeth & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Katungi, , 2016. "Testing Alternative Methods of Varietal Identification Using DNA Fingerprinting: Results of Pilot Studies in Ghana and Zambia," Food Security International Development Working Papers 246950, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    28. Bollinger, Christopher R, 1998. "Measurement Error in the Current Population Survey: A Nonparametric Look," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(3), pages 576-594, July.
    29. AIGNER, Dennis J., 1973. "Regression with a binary independent variable subject to errors of observation," LIDAM Reprints CORE 130, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    30. Aprajit Mahajan, 2006. "Identification and Estimation of Regression Models with Misclassification," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(3), pages 631-665, May.
    31. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Arega Alene & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Shiferaw Feleke & Ismail Y. Rabbi & Victor Manyong, 2019. "Poverty Reduction Effects of Agricultural Technology Adoption: The Case of Improved Cassava Varieties in Nigeria," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(2), pages 392-407, June.
    32. Minten, Bart & Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Agricultural Technology, Productivity, and Poverty in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 797-822, May.
    33. Mathenge, Mary K. & Smale, Melinda & Olwande, John, 2014. "The impacts of hybrid maize seed on the welfare of farming households in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 262-271.
    34. Verkaart, Simone & Munyua, Bernard G. & Mausch, Kai & Michler, Jeffrey D., 2017. "Welfare impacts of improved chickpea adoption: A pathway for rural development in Ethiopia?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 50-61.
    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. Yuxuan Xu & Hongbin Liu & Jie Lyu & Ying Xue, 2022. "What Influences Farmers’ Adoption of Soil Testing and Formulated Fertilization Technology in Black Soil Areas? An Empirical Analysis Based on Logistic-ISM Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Muricho, Geoffrey & Odhiambo, Collins & Ojiewo, Chris, 2021. "Groundnut Variety Identification Among Smallholder Farmers in Northern Nigeria: DNA Fingerprinting and Farmers Self-Reported Adoption Status," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315132, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Kosmowski, Frederic & Chamberlin, Jordan & Ayalew, Hailemariam & Sida, Tesfaye & Abay, Kibrom & Craufurd, Peter, 2021. "How accurate are yield estimates from crop cuts? Evidence from smallholder maize farms in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    4. Foyuan Kuang & Jiatong Li & Jianjun Jin & Xin Qiu, 2023. "Do Green Production Technologies Improve Household Income? Evidence from Rice Farmers in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Nguyen Duc Kien & Truong Quang Dung & Dinh Thi Kim Oanh & Le Thanh An & Nguyen Cong Dinh & Nguyen Thai Phan & Le Thi Thanh Nga, 2023. "Climate‐resilient practices and welfare impacts on rice‐cultivating households in Vietnam: Does joint adoption of multiple practices matter?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(2), pages 263-284, April.
    6. Christopher Mutungi & Julius Manda & Shiferaw Feleke & Adebayo Abass & Mateete Bekunda & Irmgard Hoschle-Zeledon & Gundula Fischer, 2023. "Adoption and impacts of improved post-harvest technologies on food security and welfare of maize-farming households in Tanzania: a comparative assessment," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(4), pages 1007-1023, August.
    7. Sinyolo, Sikhulumile, 2020. "Technology adoption and household food security among rural households in South Africa: The role of improved maize varieties," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Deb, Anurag & Kazianga, Harounan, 2022. "Exposure to agricultural technologies and adoption: The West Africa agricultural productivity program in Ghana, Senegal and Mali," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    9. Amadu, Festus O. & McNamara, Paul E. & Miller, Daniel C., 2020. "Yield effects of climate-smart agriculture aid investment in southern Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    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. Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Abay, Kibrom A. & Abdoulaye, Tahirou, 2022. "Misperceiving and misreporting input quality: Implications for input use and productivity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Ayala Wineman & Timothy Njagi & C. Leigh Anderson & Travis W. Reynolds & Didier Yélognissè Alia & Priscilla Wainaina & Eric Njue & Pierre Biscaye & Miltone W. Ayieko, 2020. "A Case of Mistaken Identity? Measuring Rates of Improved Seed Adoption in Tanzania Using DNA Fingerprinting," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(3), pages 719-741, September.
    3. Jourdain C. Lokossou & Hippolyte D. Affognon & Alphonse Singbo & Michel B. Vabi & Ayoni Ogunbayo & Paul Tanzubil & Alcade C. Segnon & Geoffrey Muricho & Haile Desmae & Hakeem Ajeigbe, 2022. "Welfare impacts of improved groundnut varieties adoption and food security implications in the semi-arid areas of West Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 709-728, June.
    4. 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.
    5. Alwang, Jeffrey & Gotor, Elisabetta & Thiele, Graham & Hareau, Guy & Jaleta, Moti & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2019. "Pathways from research on improved staple crop germplasm to poverty reduction for smallholder farmers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 16-27.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. Felister Y. Tibamanya & Mursali A. Milanzi & Arne Henningsen, 2021. "Drivers of and Barriers to Adoption of Improved Sun- flower Varieties amongst Smallholder Farmers in Singida, Tanzania: the Double-Hurdle Approach," IFRO Working Paper 2021/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    9. Larson,Donald F. & Muraoka,Rie & Otsuka,Keijiro, 2016. "On the central role of small farms in African rural development strategies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7710, The World Bank.
    10. Acerenza, Santiago & Ban, Kyunghoon & Kedagni, Desire, 2021. "Marginal Treatment Effects with Misclassified Treatment," ISU General Staff Papers 202106180700001132, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Sinyolo, Sikhulumile, 2020. "Technology adoption and household food security among rural households in South Africa: The role of improved maize varieties," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    12. Paola Mallia, 2022. "You reap what (you think) you sow? Evidence on farmers’behavioral adjustments in the case of correct crop varietal identification," Working Papers hal-03597332, HAL.
    13. Francis DiTraglia & Camilo Garcia-Jimeno, 2015. "On Mis-measured Binary Regressors: New Results And Some Comments on the Literature, Third Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-040, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 24 Nov 2015.
    14. Tahirou Abdoulaye & Tesfamicheal Wossen & Bola Awotide, 2018. "Impacts of improved maize varieties in Nigeria: ex-post assessment of productivity and welfare outcomes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 369-379, April.
    15. Francis J. DiTraglia & Camilo Garcia-Jimeno, 2020. "Identifying the effect of a mis-classified, binary, endogenous regressor," Papers 2011.07272, arXiv.org.
    16. DiTraglia, Francis J. & García-Jimeno, Camilo, 2019. "Identifying the effect of a mis-classified, binary, endogenous regressor," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 209(2), pages 376-390.
    17. Manda, Julius & Alene, Arega D. & Tufa, Adane H. & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Chikoye, David & Manyong, Victor, 2019. "The poverty impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria: A counterfactual analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 261-271.
    18. Francis DiTraglia & Camilo Garcia-Jimeno, 2015. "On Mis-measured Binary Regressors: New Results And Some Comments on the Literature, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-039, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 11 Nov 2015.
    19. Ainembabazi, John Herbert & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Feleke, Shiferaw & Alene, Arega & Dontsop-Nguezet, Paul M. & Ndayisaba, Pierre Celestin & Hicintuka, Cyrille & Mapatano, Sylvain & Manyong, Victor, 2018. "Who benefits from which agricultural research-for-development technologies? Evidence from farm household poverty analysis in Central Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 28-46.
    20. Wollburg, Philip & Tiberti, Marco & Zezza, Alberto, 2021. "Recall length and measurement error in agricultural surveys," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Adoption; Bias; DNA; Misclassification; Nigeria; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    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:87:y:2019:i:c:3. 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: 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.