TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved rice technology adoption
T2 - The role of spatially-dependent risk preference
AU - Ambali, Omotuyole Isiaka
AU - Areal, Francisco Jose
AU - Georgantzis, Nikolaos
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) of Nigeria while the APC was funded by NG through a voucher.
PY - 2021/7/22
Y1 - 2021/7/22
N2 - This study analyses farmers’ adoption of improved rice technology, taking into account farmers’ risk preferences; the unobserved spatial heterogeneity associated with farmers’ risk preferences; farmers’ household and farm characteristics; farm locations, farmers’ access to information, and their perceptions on the rice improved varieties (i.e., high yield varieties, HYV). The study used data obtained from field experiments and a survey conducted in 2016 in Nigeria. An instrumental-variable probit model was estimated to account for potential endogenous farmers’ risk preference in the adoption decision model. Results show that risk averse (risk avoidant) farmers are less likely to adopt HYV, with the spatial lags of farmers’ risk attitudes found to be a good instrument for spatially unobserved variables (e.g., environmental and climatic factors). We conclude that studies supporting policy action aiming at the diffusion of improved rice varieties need to collect information, if possible, on farmers’ risk attitudes, local environmental and climatic conditions (e.g., climatic, topographic, soil quality, pest incidence) in order to ease the design and evaluation of policy actions on the adoption of improved agricultural technology.
AB - This study analyses farmers’ adoption of improved rice technology, taking into account farmers’ risk preferences; the unobserved spatial heterogeneity associated with farmers’ risk preferences; farmers’ household and farm characteristics; farm locations, farmers’ access to information, and their perceptions on the rice improved varieties (i.e., high yield varieties, HYV). The study used data obtained from field experiments and a survey conducted in 2016 in Nigeria. An instrumental-variable probit model was estimated to account for potential endogenous farmers’ risk preference in the adoption decision model. Results show that risk averse (risk avoidant) farmers are less likely to adopt HYV, with the spatial lags of farmers’ risk attitudes found to be a good instrument for spatially unobserved variables (e.g., environmental and climatic factors). We conclude that studies supporting policy action aiming at the diffusion of improved rice varieties need to collect information, if possible, on farmers’ risk attitudes, local environmental and climatic conditions (e.g., climatic, topographic, soil quality, pest incidence) in order to ease the design and evaluation of policy actions on the adoption of improved agricultural technology.
KW - Agricultural technology
KW - Endogenous variable
KW - Farmer’s technology adoption
KW - Risk attitudes
KW - Risk panel lottery
KW - Spatial dependence
KW - Unobserved heterogeneity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112639105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/agriculture11080691
DO - 10.3390/agriculture11080691
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112639105
SN - 2077-0472
VL - 11
JO - Agriculture (Switzerland)
JF - Agriculture (Switzerland)
IS - 8
M1 - 691
ER -