Farmer Education and Agricultural Efficiency: Evidence from Lao PDR

Phanhpakit Onphanhdala

No 20, GSICS Working Paper Series from Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University

Abstract: We focus our study on the agrarian transition in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a country overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture. Close to 80% of a population lives in rural areas and most are near-subsistence farmers engaged in rice-based agriculture. The large role agriculture plays can hardly be overlooked. Given the paucity of evidence, this paper provides a research on the determinants of agricultural efficiency and rural development by analyzing the marked differences between the upland and the lowland farming of the country. Our original contribution is to explore the association between farmer education and the adoption of modern agricultural practices in Lao PDR. We find that the returns to farmer education are strongly positive, particular for a completion of primary cycle. Moreover, a better educated farmer is more likely to use new technology, and to have market access and off-farm activities. Despite the large public investment in irrigation, its role is very limited. The research suggests that the support policy on farmer education will be decisive not only for the success of the agrarian transition process but also the long term development of the country.

Keywords: Returns to Education; Farm Efficiency; Agrarian Transition; Lao PDR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 O15 Q12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2009-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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