Agricultural Extension and Technology Adoption for Food Security: Evidence from Uganda

Yao Pan (), Stephen Smith and Munshi Sulaiman ()
Additional contact information
Munshi Sulaiman: BRAC University

No 9206, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper evaluates causal impacts of a large-scale agricultural extension program for smallholder women farmers on food security in Uganda through a regression discontinuity design that exploits an arbitrary distance-to-branch threshold for village program eligibility. We find eligible farmers experienced significant increases in agricultural production, savings and wage income, which lead to improved food security. Given minimal changes in the adoption of relatively expensive inputs including HYV seeds, these gains are mainly attributed to increased usage of improved cultivation methods that are relatively costless. These results highlight the role of improved basic methods in boosting agricultural productivity among poor farmers.

Keywords: agriculture; extension; agricultural technology adoption; food security; regression discontinuity; Uganda; labor markets in developing economies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 O13 Q12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2015-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-eff
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2018, 100 (4), 1012–1031

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Related works:
Journal Article: Agricultural Extension and Technology Adoption for Food Security: Evidence from Uganda (2018)
Working Paper: Agricultural Extension and Technology Adoption for Food Security: Evidence from Uganda (2015)
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