Download This PaperShow and Tell: Farmer Field Days and Learning about Inputs with Heterogeneous Yield Effects
Murphy, D.M.A., Roobroeck, D., and Lee, D.R. (2024), “Show and Tell: Farmer Field Days and Learning about Inputs with Heterogeneous Yield Effects.” European Review of Agricultural Economics 51(1), 91-127. doi:10.1093/erae/jbad042
47 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2020 Last revised: 13 Jan 2024
Date Written: November 25, 2019
Abstract
Organic inputs can be effective in reversing soil degradation and improving crop yields, but are often underused in a developing country context. This study seeks to determine whether farmer field days (FFDs) are effective in disseminating information about novel organic inputs, and the extend to which they increase demand for these products. Using experimental auctions to measure willingness to pay (WTP) among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya, we find that those farmers exposed to information from FFDs related to biochar and vermicompost, novel organic inputs, have lower WTP for the products. We present evidence that this is likely driven by two factors in particular: changes in perceptions of input profitability and heterogeneity in yields across demonstration plots within field day sites.
Keywords: information transfers, agricultural extension, farmer field days, Kenya, agriculture, technology adoption
JEL Classification: Q12, O13, Q24, D83, C93
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation