IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/restat/v104y2022i6p1273-1288.html

Can Agricultural Extension and Input Support Be Discontinued? Evidence from a Randomized Phaseout in Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Ram Fishman

    (Tel Aviv University)

  • Stephen C. Smith

    (George Washington University)

  • Vida Bobic

    (George Washington University and Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Munshi Sulaiman

    (BRAC University)

Abstract

Many development programs that attempt to disseminate improved technologies are limited in duration because of external funding constraints or an assumption of impact sustainability, but there is limited evidence on whether and when terminating such programs is efficient. We provide novel experimental evidence on the impacts of a randomized phaseout of an agricultural extension and subsidy program that promotes improved inputs and cultivation practices among smallholder women farmers in Uganda. We find that phaseout does not diminish the use of either practices or inputs as farmers shift purchases from NGO-sponsored village-based supply networks to market sources. These results indicate that short-term interventions can suffice to trigger persistent effects, consistent with models of technology adoption that emphasize learning from experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Ram Fishman & Stephen C. Smith & Vida Bobic & Munshi Sulaiman, 2022. "Can Agricultural Extension and Input Support Be Discontinued? Evidence from a Randomized Phaseout in Uganda," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1273-1288, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:104:y:2022:i:6:p:1273-1288
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01029
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01029
    Download Restriction: Access to PDF is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1162/rest_a_01029?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 look for a different version below or

    for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Deutschmann, Joshua W. & Duru, Maya & Siegal, Kim & Tjernström, Emilia, 2025. "Relaxing multiple agricultural productivity constraints at scale," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. Hossain, Marup & Songsermsawas, Tisorn, 2025. "Adapting to Thrive: Training and Access to Finance to Reduce Climate Vulnerability Among Smallholder Farmers in Nepal," 2025 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2025, Denver, CO 361170, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Donald, Aletheia Amalia & Islam, TM Tonmoy & Robakowski-Van Stralen, Anja, 2024. "Explaining Gender Differences in Economic Outcomes in Burkina Faso," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10809, The World Bank.
    4. Kouandou, Arouna, 2024. "Preferences for sustainable intensification: Do agricultural interventions matter? Plot-level evidence from Senegal," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

    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:tpr:restat:v:104:y:2022:i:6:p:1273-1288. 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: The MIT Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://direct.mit.edu/journals .

    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.