Agricultural Extension and Technology Adoption for Food Security: Evidence from Uganda

47 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2015

See all articles by Yao Pan

Yao Pan

Aalto University - Department of Economics

Stephen C. Smith

George Washington University - Department of Economics

Munshi Sulaiman

BRAC-Africa

Abstract

This paper evaluates causal impacts of a large-scale agricultural extension program for smallholder women farmers on food security in Uganda through a regression discontinuity design that exploits an arbitrary distance-to-branch threshold for village program eligibility. We find eligible farmers experienced significant increases in agricultural production, savings and wage income, which lead to improved food security. Given minimal changes in the adoption of relatively expensive inputs including HYV seeds, these gains are mainly attributed to increased usage of improved cultivation methods that are relatively costless. These results highlight the role of improved basic methods in boosting agricultural productivity among poor farmers.

Keywords: agriculture, extension, agricultural technology adoption, food security, regression discontinuity, Uganda, labor markets in developing economies

JEL Classification: O13, Q12, I30

Suggested Citation

Pan, Yao and Smith, Stephen C. and Sulaiman, Munshi, Agricultural Extension and Technology Adoption for Food Security: Evidence from Uganda. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9206, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2655155 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2655155

Yao Pan (Contact Author)

Aalto University - Department of Economics ( email )

PO Box 1210
FI-00101 Helsinki
Finland

Stephen C. Smith

George Washington University - Department of Economics ( email )

2115 G Street NW
306 Monroe Hall
Washington, DC 20052
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www2.gwu.edu/~iiep/about/faculty/ssmith/

Munshi Sulaiman

BRAC-Africa ( email )

Liberia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
189
Abstract Views
828
Rank
289,210
PlumX Metrics