Analyzing the drivers of agricultural technology adoption among smallholder farmers in Uganda

Thesis

This thesis contributes to the rich literature on agricultural technology adoption in developing countries, which seeks to understand the barriers to greater use of technologies such as fertilizer and improved seed. I focus on two types of risk that are under-researched in this area: the risk of purchasing counterfeit products, and the risk of experiencing an idiosyncratic shock. My case country is Uganda, which is appropriate given the relatively low use of agricultural technologies. I use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, applied to both existing data and novel information collected during fieldwork. My first paper interrogates whether the knowledge that there are counterfeit products on the market acts as a deterrent for input purchases; I find a positive relationship between knowledge of counterfeits and purchase of agricultural chemicals, which suggests that farmers have strategies for identifying or avoiding fake products. My second paper analyzes whether the incidence of idiosyncratic shocks such as illness and death impact a households’ ability to invest in inputs; I find no impact of the shocks on input purchase at the extensive margin, and a limited, negative impact at the intensive margin. Finally, my third paper is a qualitative deep-dive into the impact of shocks on investment in agricultural inputs; I find further evidence that shocks do not impact the decision to invest but do reduce the amount that is ultimately purchased. Overall, I find high levels of resilience among the households profiled in the data, and risk-management strategies that serve to limit households’ exposure to the risk of counterfeits and idiosyncratic shocks. The results from my second and third papers also hint at full insurance, though this is notoriously difficult to prove.

Authors: Blair, C

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-r8egmdndv
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: agricultural economics; smallholder farmers; technology adoption; development economics; Uganda
• Subjects: Agriculture--Economic aspects; Development economics