Incentives and the Diffusion of Agricultural Knowledge: Experimental Evidence from Northern Uganda. (14th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia; Pieters, Janneke; Bulte, Erwin; Läderach, Peter
• Is Part Of: American journal of agricultural economics. Volume 101:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 1164
• Page End: 1180
• Publication Date: 2019-05-14
• Subjects: Incentives -- pro-social behavior -- social learning -- technology transfer -- climate smart agriculture; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Periodicals; 338.105
• DOI: 10.1093/ajae/aaz010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9092

Abstract

Abstract: 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.