The Adoption of Agricultural Technology - Food Security Group

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Labor. Technologies have different labor characteristics; some reduce theamount of labor required for growing a crop, while others significantlyincrease it. Tn planning an adoption study, researchers need to identify thelabor implications of each technology being examined. Are changes in laborrequired, and if so, how great are they, and at what time of the crop seasondo they occur? How does the technology change the division of laborbetween men and women? Tf the new technology requires a Significantamount of extra labor, it may be necessary to develop a rough labor profilefor the farm household (see the next section, ''The Farming System"). Howmany laborers are available? When are the peak labor periods during theyear? Do some household members work off of the farm and, if so, duringwhat periods? In addition, the survey may need to obtain information onthe availability of hired labor during the period relevant to therecommended technology. An example of how labor availability affectstechnology adoption is shown in Box 16.Credit. Credit may be an important factor in determining adoption. If arecommendation implies a Significant cash investment for farmers, itsadoption may be facilitated by an efficient credit program. Tf the majority ofadopters use credit to acquire the technology, this is of course a strongindication of credit's role in diffusing the technology. Similarly, manyfarmers who do not adopt may complain of a lack of cash or credit as theprincipal factor limiting their adoption. But the interpretation of this data isaided by a knowledge of the sources of credit available to farmers. Whatare the rules and regulations associated with official credit programs in theresearch area? What pr?Cedures do farmers have to go through to obtain aloan? Is the cred!t provided in cash or as inputs? The workings of the localinformal credit market should also be investigated. Such informationshould be analyzed before the questionnaire is designed so that the surveycan distinguish accurately between farmers who mayor may not haveaccess to credit.Rather than facilitating access to new technology, credit programs aresometimes responsible for obligating farmers to use a particulartechnology. The credit may be offered as a package that provides a set ofinputs to farmers. Parts of the package may be "adopted" simply because ofthis obligation, although farmers may feel that they are inappropriate orunprofitable. If this is the case, the adoption study can proVide valuabledata for refining and making more efficient both the recommendedpackage and the credit program.-34Equipment and machinery. Farmers' ownership of equipment ormachinery may infiuence their ability to adopt technology. Farmers whoown draft animals or tractors can be more Ilexible in changing their tillagepractices than farmers who must rent or borrow equipment (Box 17). If arecommendation involves a new type of equipment or machinery, the
degree of adoption may depend on the number of farmers who are able toacquire the equipment and whether or not an effective rental marketdevelops. An adoption study that examines technology related toequipment and machinery may need to ask how and where farmers rentthe necessary equipment.Land tenure. An issue that is much debated in the adoption literature is thedegree to which land tenure affects a farmer's ability to adopt. This issue isof practical interest for an adoption study if it helps us understand thedegree to which all farmers are able to take advantage of a new technology,and whether different technologies are required for farmers without secureaccess to their land.Researchers will need to be acquainted with the specific details of rental orsharecropping arrangements. In the case of sharecropping, how areobligations divided between sharecropper and owner, and how is theharvest divided? Different arrangements may make a technology more orless attractive for the sharecropper.Another important element of the land tenure issue is the fact that in manycases renters or sharecroppers will be less interested in technologies thathave long-term effects, such as soil fertility maintenance or enhancement,because they have no guaranteed access to the land. Tn other cases, rental orsharecropping may go beyond a Simple economic contract between ownerand tenant and involve particular obligations that restrict the tenant fromusing a new technology, such as when a tenant is required to plant varietiesthat proVide crop residues for the owner's animals to graze after harvest.The Farming SystemOne of the basic principles of on-farm research is that technologies must becompatible with the farming system if they are to find acceptance. For thisreason, a good part of the diagnostic and planning phases of on-farm.research is devoted to examining the pOSSible interactions between aproposed technology and the management of the crops and animals thatconstitute the farming system. Experience has shown that many times atechnology that appears as a reasonable innovation is rejected by farmersnot because of any intrinsic quality of the technology itself, but because itconflicts with other elements of the farming system. An adoption studyshould examine the degree to· which that technology is consistent with therest of the farming system.The principal audience for this aspect of an adoption study is researchersthemselves. The idea is to take this opportunity to monitor the35
Page 9 and 10: I Chapter 1AdoptionStudiesWhy Study
Page 11 and 12: emphasis on participatory research
Page 13 and 14: of adoption study must be done with
Page 15 and 16: -7some idea of the degree to which
Page 17 and 18: 80 2. tudl Used to Assess Different
Page 19 and 20: Another issue in measuring adoption
Page 21 and 22: Yt and we can estimate K (the maxim
Page 23 and 24: Measuring ImpactEarlier sections di
Page 25 and 26: -17The Role of Adoption Studies in
Page 27 and 28: Bo 3. Variable and Criteria __'_."C
Page 29 and 30: Farmers in Bumbogo, Rwanda grow bea
Page 31 and 32: -23The following graph shows the ac
Page 33 and 34: -25One valuable contribution to ass
Page 35 and 36: 80 1A study of mechanical wheat har
Page 37 and 38: Chapter 3UnderstandingAdoptionThe F
Page 39 and 40: small test of farmers' skills (for
Page 41: Wealth. Wealthier farmers may be th
Page 45 and 46: conditions of the preceding or foll
Page 47 and 48: equired inputs, then the technology
Page 49 and 50: help in analyzing the degree to whi
Page 51 and 52: Checklist (cont'd.).....FactorBiolo
Page 53 and 54: Box 14. Gender Analysis and Adoptio
Page 55 and 56: Box 16. Labor Availability and Adop
Page 57 and 58: 80 1 te Trade-offsFarmers must ofte
Page 59 and 60: -51The adoption of technology is in
Page 61 and 62: -53Box 22. Source of Purchased Inpu
Page 63 and 64: Box 24. Knowledge of Recommendation
Page 65 and 66: services, or markets, it is importa
Page 67 and 68: - SamplingforcomparisonsTn many ins
Page 69 and 70: chosen for the survey will determin
Page 71 and 72: B. Measurements for input use may b
Page 73 and 74: 2. Where did you acquire the seed?1
Page 75 and 76: Cha ter 5MethodsforAnalyzingAdoptio
Page 77 and 78: One of the simplest and most useful
Page 79 and 80: For instance, a survey may show tha
Page 81 and 82: -73Revised[Oxen ownership (A) --.t~
Page 83 and 84: RevisedThe association is tested co
Page 85 and 86: The following example is a simple l
Page 87 and 88: where b o is the constant, b}' b 2,
Page 89 and 90: variables. And a high significance
Page 91 and 92: 1Decision trees are a method of rep
Page 93 and 94:
ReferencesAcharya, M., and L. Benne
Page 95 and 96:
Jha, D., B. Hojjati, and 5. Vosti.
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The Adoption of Agricultural Technology - Food Security Group

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