Many proven technologies and improved farming practices hold great promise for boosting agricultural production and reducing poverty in developing countries, but the adoption of such technologies by smallholder farmers, in particular in Sub Saharan Africa, has been slow, at best. Among the various barriers to technology adoption, up-front costs, absence of effective and reliable supply chains, and information gaps are prominent; and they often work in tandem: a farmer may be reluctant to make what she would consider risky and large investments (inputs and capital) needed to apply an unfamiliar technology. Combining an initial subsidization and easy supply of inputs and/or capital with training and demonstrations can, in theory, help address this obstacle: once farmers have been convinced of the technology’s benefits, and had a successful (and affordable) initial experience in applying it, it may be hoped that they re-invest (some of) the profits in the inputs and maintenance required for continuing to apply the technology effectively, making its usage financially self sustaining. How effective are such programs in actually achieving a sustained use of new technologies? Can they improve productivity, introduce effective production diversification? Can they reduce under-employment which is the most worrying problem in rural areas, not unemployment? Can they improve significantly the living conditions of farmers in terms of increasing revenue, poverty reduction through better nutrition? Can they be designed to be more effective in focusing on the role of women farmers, who are often marginalized in access to information and opportunities to participate in extension, in countries such as Senegal (Opio2003). Despite its importance, empirical evidence on these issues is sparse. We propose to address this knowledge gap by studying an agricultural development program that targets some of the poorest smallholder farmers, particularly women, in Senegal. The program promotes the use of drip irrigation systems and a complementary package of improved inputs, intensive extension, and marketing services. The program attempts to ease constraints to adoption for a limited period by combining time-limited investments in human capital (through extension and training) and physical capital (equipped irrigation system, building operation, evacuation paths, etc.); and for achieving sustainable impacts. Using non experimental methods, our research will evaluate the program’ impacts on productivity, underemployment, income and poverty reduction and to what extent ANIDA makes a significant difference with the traditional agricultural system.
Project leader: Abdoulaye Diagne
Project researchers: Abdoulaye Diagne | Francois Joseph Cabral
No journal publications.
| Title | Modified | Size | Comments | Recommendations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Transformation in Senegal: Impacts of an integrated program | 2017-02-21 | 2295.36KB | 0 | 0 |
No policy briefs.
No final reports.
No proposals.
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