Sequential Adoption of Site-Specific Technologies and Its Implications for Nitrogen Productivity: A Double Selectivity Model

This paper analyzes the sequential decision to adopt two site-specific technologies, soil testing and variable rate technology, and the impact of adoption on nitrogen productivity. The results indicate that while farm location was a key variable influencing adoption of soil testing, farm size, human capital, and innovativeness of farmers had a significant impact on adoption of variable rate technology in four Midwestern states. A double selectivity model applied to correct for sample selection bias shows that adoption leads to significant gains in nitrogen productivity for farms with below average soil quality but statistically insignificant gains for farms with above average soil quality.     

Technology Adoption under Production Uncertainty: Theory and Application to Irrigation Technology

We propose a theoretical framework to analyze the conditions under which a farmer facing production uncertainty (due to a possible water shortage) and incomplete information will adopt a more efficient irrigation technology. A reduced form of this model is empirically estimated using a sample of 265 farms located in Crete, Greece. The empirical results suggest that farmers choose to adopt the new technology in order to hedge against production risk. In addition, we show that the farmer's human capital also plays a significant role in the decision to adopt modern, more efficient irrigation equipment.     

Stochastic Production and Heterogeneous Risk Preferences: Commercial Fishers' Gear Choices

We present a model of fishers' gear choice, which allows for heterogeneity both in production technology and risk preferences and apply it on a panel of Swedish trawlers. Stochastic revenue functions are estimated and used to predict the mean and standard deviation of revenue for each trip. In a random-parameters logit model, we test if these predicted values explain gear choice. A majority of fishers respond positively to increased mean and negatively to increased variability of expected landing values, indicating risk aversion, but also show a strong tendency to choose the same gear used on the previous trip.     

Joint Estimation of Risk Preferences and Technology: Flexible Utility or Futility?

A thought experiment is designed to investigate whether the structure of risk aversion (i.e., the changes in absolute or relative risk aversion associated with changes in wealth) can be estimated with reasonable precision from agricultural production data. Findings strongly suggest that typical production data are unlikely to allow identification of the structure of risk aversion. A flexible-utility parameterization is found to slightly worsen technology parameter estimates. Results also indicate that even under a restricted-utility specification, utility parameter estimates are biased. Further, their quality is much worse when shocks are not large or samples are small.     

Incentive-Compatible Pollution Control Policies under Asymmetric Information on Both Risk Preferences and Technology

This article proposes a method to accommodate asymmetric information on farmers' risk preferences in designing voluntary environmental policies. By incorporating stochastic efficiency rules in a mechanism design problem, the government can find incentive-compatible policies by knowing only the general class of risk preferences among farmers. The model also accounts for hidden information on technology types and input use. The method is applied empirically to simulate a pollution control program in New York. Results suggest that participation incentives would be inadequate for many risk-averse producers if the government does not account for the diversity in risk preferences.     

Insurance for Technology Adoption: An Experimental Evaluation of Schemes and Subsidies with Maize Farmers in Mexico

For farmers in developing countries, the combination of both risk aversion and the lack of insurance is often a major impediment to adoption of productivity‐enhancing technologies, such as higher yielding hybrid seed. In a framed field experiment with Mexican maize farmers, we investigate whether bundling hybrid seed with an insurance scheme can increase its adoption, while also controlling for risk aversion. We test insurance schemes with different levels of risk coverage and premium subsidies and find that (1) all schemes significantly increase the degree of adoption of the higher yielding seed, (2) partial insurance schemes perform worse than full insurance, (3) weather index insurance with geographical basis risk performs no worse than indemnity insurance, and (4) premium subsidies significantly increase the adoption effect of indemnity insurance, but not that of index insurance.     

Productivity and Land Enhancing Technologies in Northern Ethiopia: Health, Public Investments, and Sequential Adoption

The adoption of more efficient farming practices and technologies that enhance agricultural productivity and improve environmental sustainability is instrumental for achieving economic growth, food security, and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa. Our research examines the interaction between public investments, community health, and adoption of productivity and land enhancing technologies by households in the northern Ethiopian state of Tigray. Agricultural technology adoption decisions are modeled as a sequential process where the timing of choices can matter. We find that time spent sick and opportunity costs of caring for sick family members are significant factors in adoption. Sickness, through its impact on household income and labor allocation decisions for healthcare and other activities, significantly reduces the likelihood of technology adoption. Our findings suggest that agencies working to improve agricultural productivity and land resource conservation should consider not only the financial status of potential adopters, but also their related health situation.     

Spatial Modeling in Technology Adoption Decisions: The Case of Shuttle Train Elevators

This article empirically models a strategic game of technology adoption of shuttle train grain elevators with information on location of the firm and its competitors. A spatial econometric model illustrates the role of spatial interdependence of rivals' decisions as well as agronomic and competitive variables on discrete adoption decisions. The analysis assesses equilibria conditions that characterize technology adoption, in this case of shuttle train adoption, and the results provide an explanation of shuttle train adoption decisions in the grain handling industry in which spatial competition is critical.     

Irrigation Technology Adoption and Gains from Water Trading under Asymmetric Information

We develop a water allocation and irrigation technology adoption model under the prior appropriation doctrine with asymmetric information among heterogeneous farmers and between farmers and water authorities. We find that adverse selection reduces the adoption of modern irrigation technology. We also show that even with asymmetric information, incentives for water trade exist and lead to additional technology adoption with gains to all parties. This suggests that under asymmetric information, a thin secondary market improves the allocation of water resources and induces additional adoption of modern irrigation technologies.     

Dynamics of Agricultural Technology Adoption: Age Structure, Reversibility, and Uncertainty

We develop a dynamic model of technology adoption that generalizes previous literature by incorporating technology age, reversible investment, variable inputs and outputs, and stochastic prices. The model is calibrated for irrigated cotton production in California. Optimal investment exhibits a significant vintage capital effect which provides a new candidate explanation for delayed technology diffusion. We show that the hurdle rate derived by option value models can be partially explained by the assumption of irreversible investment, and simulations demonstrate this assumption has regional policy relevance. Uncertainty affects optimal investment but has a declining effect with technology age.     

人格特质对茶农有机茶技术采纳的影响

根据福建省安溪县656份的问卷调查数据,基于大五人格特质理论,运用结构方程模型分析人格特质对茶农的有机茶技术采纳行为的影响。结果表明:安溪县茶农的经营特征与其所处的技术环境对有机茶技术采纳行为不存在显著直接效应,但都通过技术采纳态度对技术采纳的行为产生正向影响作用,其中有机茶技术采纳态度起完全中介作用;人格特质对有机茶技术采纳行为既存在直接正向预测作用,又通过有机茶技术采纳态度对技术采纳行为产生间接正向预测作用,并且间接效应大于直接效应,起中介变量的作用。因此,运用人格测评工具来发挥技术采纳者的性格优势在技术采纳过程中的作用,释放有机茶技术的生态溢出效应,将为有机茶技术推广研究提供新思路。     

Using Consumption and Asset Return Data to Estimate Farmers' Time Preferences and Risk Attitudes

The generalized expected utility model is fitted to U.S. farm data to estimate farm operator's time preferences and risk attitudes. The estimated farmer's utility parameters are quite 'reasonable' and exhibit high accuracy. The forward-looking expected utility model is soundly rejected in favor of the generalized expected utility paradigm. Importantly, the generalized expected utility model is also found to fit the data better than the myopic model typically used to study agricultural production under risk. Finally, U.S. farmers' relative aversion to risk appears to have diminished significantly over time.     

Specification and Estimation of Production Risk, Risk Preferences and Technical Efficiency

This article deals with specification and estimation of risk preferences, production risk, and technical inefficiency. It makes contribution in three separate areas of production economics. First, we model producers' attitude toward risk and derive risk preference functions (without assuming any parametric form of the utility function and any distribution of the error term representing production risk) when risk arises from production uncertainty and technical inefficiency. Second, the standard production risk model is extended to accommodate technical inefficiency and producers' attitude toward risk. Finally, the technical efficiency model is generalized to accommodate production risk and producers' attitude toward risk.     

Integrating Technology Traits and Producer Heterogeneity: A Mixed-Multinomial Model of Genetically Modified Corn Adoption

This article proposes a model of technology adoption that integrates demand for individual traits of new technologies with the potential for heterogeneity based on farm and farmer characteristics. The model is applied to recent genetically modified corn adoption data from Minnesota and Wisconsin farmers, using a mixed-multinomial logit (MMNL) model to estimate the effects of traits and farm and farmer characteristics on adoption outcomes. This approach allows explicit recovery of estimates of farmers' shadow prices for individual technology traits. Results show the importance of producer and regional heterogeneity in preferences for seed traits.     

The Impact of Migration,Remittances and Public Transfers on Technology Adoption: The Case of Cereal Producers in Rural Kenya

Risk and liquidity constraints are major obstacles to the adoption of modern technologies in many rural African countries. Migration and remittances can help rural households overcome these constraints and increase the adoption of modern technologies. We analyse the impact of migration, remittances and government transfers on the adoption of improved seeds in rural Kenya. Using data from the World Bank, two stage least‐squares estimates show that both migration and remittances positively affect the adoption of improved seeds. However, three stage least‐squares estimates reveal that the adoption of new technologies is more related to migration than remittances.     

Better Technology, Better Plots, or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes in Productivity and Risk among Malagasy Rice Farmers

We introduce a method for properly attributing observed productivity and risk changes among new production methods, farmers, and plots by controlling for farmer and plot heterogeneity. Results from Madagascar show that the new system of rice intensification (SRI) is indeed a superior technology. Although about half of the observed productivity gains appear due to farmer characteristics rather than SRI itself, the technology generates the estimated average output gains of more than 84%. The increased estimated yield risk associated with SRI would nonetheless make it unattractive to many farmers within the standard range of relative risk aversion.     

Climate Risk and Technology Adoption in the Midstream of Crop Value Chains: Evidence from Nigerian Maize Traders

Climate induced events exacerbate food production and distribution risks, posing a threat to global food security. Though many studies focus on farmer adaptation to climate change, there are few studies of actors in the middle of agricultural value chains such as traders, logistics providers, and processors. The activities of these actors, referred to as the ‘hidden middle’, are key determinants of the prices received by farmers and the price and quality of food products for consumers. We explore how climate events and risk perceptions affect the adoption of value‐adding and damage control strategies among maize traders in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country. We find consistent evidence that climate events and climate risk perception discourage the adoption of value‐adding practices including storage. This potentially affects the availability and price of maize for consumers (household and industry) in the lean season. However, once traders store maize, climate risk does not affect the adoption of damage control, but training and social networks do. These findings suggest that actors in the midstream of food value chains are responding to climate change and more attention needs to be paid to these actors to maintain the availability of affordable and safe maize products throughout the year. There is also a need for strategies to reduce the risks of trading activities due to climate change.     

The Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) and farm households’ adoption of technology: evidence from China*

The diffusion of new technology is an important driver of agricultural development, especially in the developing world. In this research, we follow the persistence of major historical events, employing a difference-in-differences method to carefully examine the long-term effect of China’s 1959–1961 famine on farm households’ current decisions to adopt technology. Further, we combine a mediating regression procedure with a bootstrap method to explore the mechanism of impact in this relationship. Overall, this study provides strong empirical evidence that the Great Famine attenuated technology adoption; moreover, a 1% increase in exposure to famine in childhood and adolescence resulted in a 0.137% decrease in the probability of technology adoption when controlling for village dummies. An analysis of mediating effects reveals that risk preferences account for the channel of famine persistence.     

Information Barriers to Adoption of Agricultural Technologies: Willingness to Pay for Certified Seed of an Open Pollinated Maize Variety in Northern Uganda

We examine smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for agricultural technology and whether information is a constraint to adoption of certified maize seed in Northern Uganda. The uptake of improved maize varieties by smallholder farmers in Uganda remains persistently low, despite the higher yield potential compared to traditional varieties. A recently growing body of literature identifies information constraints as a potential barrier to adoption of agricultural technologies. We used incentive compatible Becker‐DeGroot‐Marschak auctions to elicit willingness to pay for quality assured improved maize seed by 1,009 smallholder farmers, and conducted a randomised evaluation to test the effect of an information intervention on farmers’ knowledge of seed certification. Our results show that the randomised information treatment enhanced farmers’ knowledge of certified seed. However, using the information treatment as an instrumental variable for knowledge, we find no evidence of a causal effect of knowledge on willingness to pay, suggesting that even though farmers are information constrained, this constraint does not affect adoption of certified seed directly. Nevertheless, only 14% of sampled farmers were willing to pay the market price, which corresponds closely with actual observed demand for certified seed in the previous season. This suggests that there are other barriers to adoption than information and awareness.     

The Diffusion of New Agricultural Technologies: The Case of Crossbred-Cow Technology in Tanzania

The recent literature on agricultural technology adoption shows that diffusion of new technologies varies significantly across space and time. Furthermore, puzzles exist about why some seemingly profitable technologies are not adopted, especially in livestock production. We employ a hazard or duration function to explain diffusion of crossbred-cow technology in a unique sample of Tanzania farmers. A farmer's adoption of crossbred technology depends positively on the proximity of his farm to other users, on his schooling, and on his access to credit and contact with extension agents.