David J. Spielman

From "best practice" to "best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services worldwide

Abstract The article provides a conceptual framework and discusses research methods for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services. The framework can also assist policy-makers in identifying reform options. It addresses the following question: Which forms of providing and financing agricultural advisory services work best in which situation? The framework ‘disentangles’ agricultural advisory services by distinguishing between (1) governance structures, (2) capacity, (3) management, and (4) advisory methods. The framework suggests an impact chain approach to analyze the performance and impact of agricultural advisory services and discusses theoretical and empirical research methods that can be used when applying the framework. The framework shows that reforms of agricultural advisory services can combine different reform elements—such as decentralization, contracting out, using new advisory methods, and changing the management style—in different ways so as to best fit local circumstances. Using a New Institutional Economics approach (transaction costs approach), the article shows that the following sets of contextual factors need to be considered in this regard: the policy environment; the capacity of potential service providers; the type of production systems and market access of farm households; and the characteristics of local communities. The framework can be used to develop assessment tools for agricultural advisory services, to inform processes of reforming of agricultural advisory services and to guide inter-disciplinary research. The framework is unique in combining the insights from different disciplines, which have, so far, been treated separately in the literature. The framework can help policy-makers and analysts to move from ‘ideological’ discussions on reform models to an evidence-based ‘best fit’ approach.

Strengthening Agricultural Education and Training in sub-Saharan Africa from an Innovation Systems Perspective: A Case Study of Mozambique

Abstract This paper examines how post-secondary agricultural education and training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute to agricultural development by strengthening the capacity to innovate—to introduce new products and processes that are socially or economically relevant to smallholder farmers and other agents. Using the AET system in Mozambique as a case study, this paper examines the role of AET within the context of an agricultural innovation system. This innovation systems perspective offers an analytical framework to examine technological change in agriculture as a complex process of interactions among diverse actors who generate, exchange, and use knowledge, conditioned by complex social and economic institutions. The paper argues that while AET is conventionally viewed as key to the development of human capital, it also has a vital role to play in building the capacity of organizations and individuals to transmit and adapt information, products and processes, and new organizational cultures and behaviors. The paper emphasizes the importance of improving AET systems by strengthening the capabilities of organizations and professionals; changing organizational cultures, behaviors, and incentives; and building innovation networks and linkages. The paper offers several recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of AET for agricultural innovation and development. Key reforms include aligning the mandates of AET organizations with national development aspirations; inducing change in the cultures of AET organizations through the introduction of educational programs and linkages beyond the AET system; and enhancing innovative individual and organizational capacity by improving incentives to forge stronger links between AET and other stakeholders.

Leveling with Friends: Social Networks and Indian Farmers’ Demand for Agricultural Custom Hire Services

This research was undertaken to understand how information about a new agricultural technology is transmitted through social networks, and what effect information gained through social networks has on technology demand at the household level. The technology in question is laser land leveling (LLL)—a resource-conserving technology—which we introduced in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India as part of the study. [IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 01302].

An Empirical Examination of the Dynamics of Varietal Turnover in Indian Wheat

This paper addresses the challenge of increasing the rate of varietal turnover to prevent depreciation of improved cultivars over time. It examines the supply of and demand for improved cultivars of wheat in India to illustrate this challenge in a unique manner, combining national-level data on breeder seed production with primary data on cultivar adoption. The analyses show that the rate of varietal turnover for wheat has slowed in India from an average of 9-10 years a decade ago to 13-14 years in 2010. By focusing on a sample of farmers and villages in Haryana, where seed and information networks are relatively well developed, the study finds that wheat farmers still prefer cultivars that were released 9-10 years ago.

Information Networks Among Women and Men and the Demand for an Agricultural Technology in India

Although there is ample evidence of differences in how and where men and women acquire information, most research on learning household decision-making only considers access to information for a single, typically male, household head. This assumption is problematic in developing-country agriculture, where women play a fundamental role in farming. Using gender-disaggregated social network data from Uttar Pradesh, India, we analyze agricultural information networks among men and women.We test for gender-specific network effects on demand for laser land leveling—a resource-conserving technology—using data from a field experiment that combines a BDM auction with a lottery. We find that factors determining male and female links are similar, although there is little overlap between male and female networks. We also find evidence of female network effects on household technology demand, although male network effects are clearly stronger. Results indicate that extension services can better leverage female networks to promote new technologies.

Intellectual Property Rights, Technology Diffusion, and Agricultural Development: Cross-Country Evidence

The role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has been extensively debated in the literature on technology transfers and agricultural production in developing countries. However, few studies offer cross-country evidence on how IPRs affect yield growth, for example, by incentivizing private-sector investment in cultivar improvement. We address this knowledge gap by testing technology diffusion patterns for six major crops using a unique dataset for the period 1961–2010 and an Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel-data estimation approach. Findings indicate that both biological and legal forms of IPRs tend to promote yield gap convergence between developed and developing countries, although effects vary between crops.

Targeting Technology to Reduce Poverty and Conserve Resources: Experimental Delivery of Laser Land Leveling to Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India

Demand heterogeneity often makes it profitable for firms to price and promote goods and services differently in different market segments. When private consumption brings public benefits, this same heterogeneity can be used to target public subsidies. We explore the design of public–private targeting and segmentation strategies in the case of a resource-conserving agricultural technology in India. To understand farmers’ heterogeneous demand for laser land leveling (LLL), we conducted an experimental auction for LLL services with an integrated randomized controlled trial to estimate the private benefits of the technology. We use graphical and econometric approaches to characterize farmer demand for LLL. We then add detailed cost data from LLL providers to simulate and evaluate several potential targeted delivery strategies based on measures of (1) the cost-effectiveness of expanding LLL dissemination, (2) water savings, and (3) market surplus in a welfare framework. These simulations demonstrate inherent tradeoffs between increasing the amount of land that is leveled and expanding the number of farmers who adopt the technology, and between adoption and water savings. While segmenting and targeting are popular elements of many public–private partnerships to develop and disseminate agricultural technologies, formulating and implementing effective delivery strategies requires a rich understanding of costs, benefits, and demand. Our experimental approach generates such an understanding and may be relevant in other contexts.

Public Expenditures, Private Incentives, and Farmer Adoption: The Economics of Hybrid Rice in South Asia

The rapid expansion of hybrid rice cultivation in China has contributed significantly to improving food security in the country since the 1980s. However, few other Asian countries have seen similar expansions in hybrid rice cultivation or the associated yield and output gains. This paper examines the technical challenges, market opportunities, and policy constraints related to hybrid rice in South Asia, with specific emphasis on India and Bangladesh. The paper sets the discussion within a novel analytical approach to agricultural science, technology, and innovation that focuses on improving the efficiency with which new technologies are transformed into economically relevant products and services.

Demand for Complementary Financial and Technological Tools for Managing Drought Risk

Financial and technological innovations that mitigate weather-related production risks have the potential to greatly benefit farmers in many risk-prone areas. In this study we examine farmers’ preferences for two distinct tools that allow them to manage drought risk: weather index insurance and a recently released drought-tolerant rice variety. We illustrate how these tools can independently address drought risk and demonstrate the additional benefits gained by combining them into a complementary risk management product. Findings indicate that farmers are generally unwilling to adopt the drought-tolerant variety independent of insurance, largely due to a yield penalty under non-drought conditions. When bundled with insurance, however, farmers’ valuation of the variety increases. Farmers value insurance on its own, but even more so when bundled with the drought-tolerant variety. The results provide evidence that farmers value the complementarities inherent in a well-calibrated bundle of risk management tools.

Farmer Preferences for Drought Tolerance in Hybrid versus Inbred Rice: Evidence from Bihar, India

This paper addresses the previously unanswered question of whether the private sector might play a future role in developing similar strains through applications of advanced biotechnology, and whether their research and development efforts would benefit poor and vulnerable farmers in hazard-prone ecosystems. We employ discrete choice experiments to examine farmers’ preferences for DT traits and explore heterogeneity in these preferences using primary data collected in rural Bihar, India. Using different modeling approaches to capture preference heterogeneity, our results show that farmers value the reduction in yield variability offered by DT cultivars but are willing to pay even more for rice seed that offers yield advantages even under normal conditions.