Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Rotterdamen
cg.contributor.crpPolicies, Institutions, and Markets
cg.contributor.donorNetherlands Organisation for Scientific Researchen
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.initiativeMarket Intelligence
cg.contributor.initiativeSeed Equal
cg.coverage.countryUganda
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2UG
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierBjorn Van Campenhout: 0000-0003-2404-7826
cg.creator.identifierLeocardia Nabwire: 0000-0002-6877-5748
cg.creator.identifierDavid J. Spielman: 0000-0002-6889-7358
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700en
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Development Strategies and Governance Unit
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Systems Transformation - Transformation Strategies
cg.identifier.publicationRankNot ranked
cg.number2183en
cg.placeWashington, DCen
cg.reviewStatusInternal Reviewen
cg.subject.actionAreaSystems Transformation
cg.subject.impactAreaPoverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs
dc.contributor.authorMiehe, Carolineen
dc.contributor.authorVan Campenhout, Bjornen
dc.contributor.authorNabwire, Leocardiaen
dc.contributor.authorSparrow, Roberten
dc.contributor.authorSpielman, David J.en
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-09T20:27:51Zen
dc.date.available2023-05-09T20:27:51Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/130294
dc.titleMiracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoptionen
dcterms.abstractTo fully benefit from new agricultural technologies like improved seed varieties, significant investment in complementary inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and practices such as systematic planting, irrigation, and weeding are also required. Farmers may fail to recognize the importance of these complements, leading to unsatisfactory crop yields and outputs and, eventually, dis-adoption of the variety. We provide a simple model of biased expectations, complementary input use and technology adoption and test its predictions using a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in eastern Uganda. We find that pointing out the importance of complementary investments using a short, engaging video effectively deters some farmers from using commercial improved varieties. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find some evidence that this behavior change emanates from increased knowledge and expectations that are more in line with realized outcomes.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.available2023
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMiehe, Caroline; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; and Spielman, David J. 2023. Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2183. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700.en
dcterms.isPartOfIFPRI Discussion Paperen
dcterms.issued2023-05-08
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseOther
dcterms.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen
dcterms.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134158en
dcterms.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134925en
dcterms.relationhttps://www.ifpri.org/blog/%E2%80%98miracle-seeds%E2%80%99-informational-curses-risk-high-expectations-new-agricultural-technologiesen
dcterms.replaceshttps://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll2/id/136700en
dcterms.subjectagricultural technologiesen
dcterms.subjectseedsen
dcterms.subjectinvestmentsen
dcterms.subjectfertilizersen
dcterms.subjectpesticidesen
dcterms.subjectplantingen
dcterms.subjectirrigationen
dcterms.subjectweedingen
dcterms.subjectfarmersen
dcterms.subjectcrop yielden
dcterms.subjectoutputsen
dcterms.subjectinnovation adoptionen
dcterms.subjectsmallholdersen
dcterms.subjectmaizeen
dcterms.subjectbehaviouren
dcterms.subjectknowledgeen
dcterms.typeWorking Paper

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