Farmers’ Demand and the Traits and Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries

Karen Macours

PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) from HAL

Abstract: International agricultural research is often motivated by the potential benefits it could bring to smallholder farmers in developing countries. A recent experimental literature has emerged on why innovations resulting from such research, which often focuses on yield enhancement, fail to be adopted due to either external or internal constraints. This article reviews this literature, focusing on the traits of the different technologies and their complexity and distinguishing between yield-enhancing, variance-reducing, and water- or labor-reducing technologies. It also discusses how farmers' reallocation of inputs and investments when external constraints are lifted suggests that they often do not seek to increase yield or input intensity. The article further reviews evidence indicating that a technology's potential as observed in agronomical trials is not necessarily a good predictor for smallholder farmers' demands for the technology in real-life conditions. The last section derives conclusions for the research and policy agenda.

Keywords: international agricultural research; diffusion; innovations; demand; JEL O12; JEL O13; JEL O32; JEL O33; agronomical trails (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2019, Annual Review of Resource Economics, 11 (1), pp.483-499. ⟨10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094045⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Farmers’ Demand and the Traits and Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries (2019)
Working Paper: Farmers’ Demand and the Traits and Diffusion of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-02489596

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094045

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