Agricultural extension, trust, and learning: results from economic experiments in Ecuador (original) (raw)
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Farmers' Willingness to Cooperate in Ecosystem Service Provision: Does Trust Matter?
Ecosystem service provision in agriculture may require cooperation between farmers. Trust fosters cooperation in many economic and social interactions and is important to the success of traditional agricultural cooperatives. Little is known about how trust affects farmers' willingness to cooperate to provide an ecosystem service, what types of trust are most important, and under what conditions trust may matter. In this study, we present results of a survey of Missouri crop farmers exploring the role trust plays in farmers' stated willingness to cooperate to control pests. We find that most farmers say they are willing to cooperate, and most farmers are willing to trust others. However, we find little evidence that trust positively influences farmers' willingness to cooperate to control pests. Instead, we find that trust may only matter under certain conditions, such as when participants' farms are dissimilar, and that other determinants, such as the perceived benefit of cooperation and environmental concern, are more important than trust to farmers who are contemplating cooperation to control pests.
Incentives and the Diffusion of Agricultural Knowledge: Experimental Evidence from Northern Uganda
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2019
We present results of a randomized evaluation that assesses the effects of different incentives for diffusion of agricultural knowledge by smallholders in northern Uganda. Randomly‐selected disseminating farmers (DFs) from a large sample of villages are assigned to one of three experimental arms: (a) training about climate smart agriculture, (b) training plus a material reward for knowledge diffusion, and (c) training plus a reputational gain for knowledge diffusion. We find that leveraging somebody's reputation (or social recognition) has a positive impact on DFs' experimentation and diffusion effort. This impact is stronger than that measured in the private material rewards treatment.
The Role of Trust in Access to Bank Loans: Results from Field Experiments in the Ecuadorian Amazon
2006
In this paper, we distinguish between horizontal and vertical trust. We investigate how these measures of trust, as well as measures of trustworthiness and risk aversion are related to the probability of rural farmers of having had a loan from a bank. Using experimental and survey data from 191 farmers of the Amazon region of Ecuador, we find that: (1) controlling for risk aversion, women do not trust differently than men in each trust game, however, women compared to men do trust outside professionals more than community members, and (2) isolated rural farmers with stronger preferences for trusting outside professionals experience higher levels of bank loan uptake.
Trust networks and agroclimatic risk in agricultural technical assistance, Colombia
2021
The objective of this research was to analyze the changes in the networks of technical trust of agricultural technical assistants (ATA), after a process of management and diffusion of a culture of agroclimatic risk over a period of two years in the departments of Cundinamarca, La Guajira and Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Interviews with ATAs were conducted in two moments of observation: at the beginning (2015) and at the end of the intervention of the agroclimatic adaptation and prevention models project (2017). The social network analysis was used as an analysis and an intervention tool, this permitted to identify the structure of the network and the actors with greatest coverage of information diffusion in the departments. The intervention of the MAPA project led to structural changes in the networks of technical trust of the ATAs and their perception of the importance of the agroclimatic risk issue in the provision of extension services. In Cundinamarca and La Guajira, the ATAs decr...
Extension services are a keystone of information diffusion in agriculture. This paper exploits a large randomized controlled trial to track diffusion of a new technique in the classic Training and Visit (T&V) extension model, relative to a more direct training model. In both control and treatment communities, contact farmers (CFs) serve as points-of-contacts between agents and other farmers. The intervention (Treatment) aims to address two pitfalls of the T&V model: i) infrequent extension agent visits, and ii) poor quality information. Treatment CFs receive a direct, centralized training. Control communities are exposed to the classic T&V model. Information diffusion was tracked through two nodes: from agents to CFs, and from CFs to others. Directly training CFs leads to large gains in information diffusion and adoption, and CFs learn by doing. Diffusion to others is limited: other males adopt the technique perceived as labor saving, with an effect size of 75 percent.
Agricultural Extension Agents' Use of Learning-Based Extension Methods in Trinidad and Tobago
2020
Agricultural extension agents are highly credited for their roles of providing advice to farmers and supporting their learning and decision-making to improve livelihoods. The use of appropriate methods to promote learning in developing countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, has often been highlighted as a development priority. Nevertheless, agricultural extension agents encounter difficulties in applying new competencies. Understanding and utilising appropriate methods based on farmers’ learning needs is critical. This study sought to investigate extension agents’ use of learning-based extension methods. A survey was conducted with 106 extension agents. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse data. The findings show that male agents prefer Plant Clinics and Farmer Field School learning methods. Social influence and networking among organisations had a significant influence on the use of Discovery Based Learning methods. The positive influence ...
Trust, trustworthiness, and risk in rural Paraguay
Exp Econ, 2006
This dissertation looks at the relationship between trust, trustworthiness, and risk aversion in a rural Paraguayan setting. The first chapter of this dissertation looks at theft between farmers. Rural areas of developing countries often lack effective legal enforcement. However, villagers who know each other well and interact repeatedly may use implicit contracts to minimize crime. I construct a dynamic limited-commitment model in which a thief cannot credibly commit to forego stealing from his fellow villagers but may be induced to limit his stealing by the promise of future gifts from his potential victim. Using a unique survey from rural Paraguay which combines traditional data on production with information on theft, gifts, and trust, as well as with experiments measuring trust and trustworthiness, I test whether the data is consistent with predictions from the dynamic model. The results provide evidence that, in contrast with predictions from a one-period model with an anonymous thief, farmers do implicitly contract with one another to limit theft. Farmers who have more close family members in their village give fewer gifts, and farmers with plots which are more difficult to steal from give fewer gifts, experience less theft, and trust more. Gift-giving increases when trust is lower and the threat of theft is greater, turning the social capital literature on its head. The second chapter of this dissertation looks at a different linkage between trust, trustworthiness, and risk. Trusting behavior in general and play in the traditional trust experiment specifically depend both on trust beliefs and on levels of risk aversion. I ran two experiments with a diverse set of subjects in fifteen villages of rural Paraguay, the traditional trust experiment and a new experiment measuring only risk aversion. I find that risk attitudes are highly predictive of play in the trust game. In addition, omitting risk aversion as a regressor in trust regressions significantly changes the coefficients of important explanatory variables such as gender and wealth. The chair of this dissertation committee was Ethan Ligon and the other committee members were George Akerlof and Elisabeth Sadoulet.
Trust and livelihood adaptation: evidence from rural Mexico
Agriculture and Human Values, 2013
This paper explores the relationship between trust and household adaptation strategies for a sample of respondents in a Mexican agrarian community. In particular, we analyze how levels of personalized, generalized, and institutionalized trust shape the adaptation strategies of smallholders, and find that households characterized by low levels of generalized and institutionalized trust are less likely to be involved in a diversified livelihood strategy. Instead, they tend to continue with the traditional activity of maize production. In contrast, high levels of personalized trust are associated with a livelihood strategy that focuses on cattle breeding and pasture growing. We argue that trust explains why some people more readily 'catch up' with opportunities created by an expanding market, while others lag behind in poverty. This paper thus seeks to contribute to the debate on the role of trust in economic actions and decision-making processes of smallholders.
Farmer, Agent, and Specialist Perspectives on Preferences for Learning Among Today's Farmers
The Journal of Extension, 2010
Few studies have examined the types of educational delivery methods preferred by farmers (Eckert & Bell, 2005; Eckert & Bell, 2006). The research project reported here explored the preferred learning methods of farmers in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia. Data on learning methods collected directly from farmers were compared with preferred teaching methods of Extension agents and specialists. The findings should shape agent and specialist perspectives on appropriate educational delivery methods when educating farmers and working towards farmer adoption of new practices.