Sowing Knowledge, Reaping Adoption: The Role of Information and Social Interactions in Zinc Rice Seed Valuation

Zinc biofortified rice presents a promising solution for addressing zinc deficiencies in developing countries, but its adoption is still very limited. Interventions that provide information on both demand and supply, along with social interactions, have the potential to increase farmers' adoption of biofortified crops such as zinc rice, though their combined effects are not well explored. Our study examines how information-based interventions and social interactions impact smallholder farmers' valuations of zinc and non-zinc rice seeds. Results reveal that demand-side information about zinc rice alone significantly raises farmers’ willingness to pay for zinc rice seeds and that additional supply-side information further raises this premium. Our findings also indicate that combining information-based interventions with social interactions among farmers had a synergistic effect, promoting greater adoption of zinc rice. The results provide a key policy implication that combining information-based interventions with social interactions can effectively promote biofortified crops and other agricultural innovations.