Neighbors follow early adopters under stress: panel data analysis of submergence‐tolerant rice in northern Bangladesh

Abstract

The benefits of a stress-tolerant crop become visible under the stresses that the crop is tolerant against. We investigate the adoption of submergence-tolerant rice in northern Bangladesh by using panel data of 461 households, interviewed in 2013 and 2015. The sample households were randomly selected in 31 villages where submergence-tolerant rice seeds were given to a small number of farmers in each village. The results from the household fixed-effects model indicate that submergence in the previous year increased the adoption of submergence-tolerant rice. The adoption impact was larger among farmers who were neighbors of early seed recipients. Our results suggest that being neighbors of early seed recipients may have helped the neighboring farmers observe the benefits of the submergence-tolerant rice under submergence. The results indicate the importance of the information flow from early recipients to neighboring farmers. JEL classifications:

Technology adoption, impact, and extension in developing countries’ agriculture: A review of the recent literature

“…They find that the use of this risk-reducing variety leads to higher adoption of other improved agricultural inputs and practices, such as adoption of a more labor-intensive planting, inorganic fertilizer application, and credit utilization. One issue of abiotic stress-tolerant varieties is that the benefits of adoption become visible only when the specific stress, which they are tolerant to, appears (Yamano, Luz, Habib, & Kumar, 2018;Yorobe et al, 2016). The study of submergence-tolerant rice variety adoption in Bangladesh shows that experience of submergence in the previous year increases adoption (Yamano et al, 2018).…”

“…One issue of abiotic stress-tolerant varieties is that the benefits of adoption become visible only when the specific stress, which they are tolerant to, appears (Yamano, Luz, Habib, & Kumar, 2018;Yorobe et al, 2016). The study of submergence-tolerant rice variety adoption in Bangladesh shows that experience of submergence in the previous year increases adoption (Yamano et al, 2018). In addition, the study of drought-tolerant maize adoption in Malawi demonstrates that previous early season dry spells and access to seed subsidy increase adoption (Katengeza, Holden, & Lunduka, 2019).…”

“…Thus, if normal seasons continued, we could predict that farmers tend to switch to other varieties. Therefore, Yamano et al (2018) stress the importance of education for farmers about the benefits of stress-tolerant crop varieties through extension activities.…”

“…Therefore, the use of the average community-level adoption rate as a proxy for an opportunity to learn would be misleading. In particular, having a benefiting adopter in a network is proven to be important in increasing adoption through productivity spillovers, especially for new and knowledge-intensive technologies (Conley & Udry, 2010;Magnan, Spielman, Lybbert, & Gulati, 2015; Van den Broeck & Dercon, 2011;Yamano et al, 2018). This finding is important in view of the argument that new desirable technologies in SSA, such as integrated farm management systems, are likely to be knowledgeintensive, and hence complex.…”

Asian Development Outlook 2021 Update: Transforming Agriculture in Asia

“…Under normal conditions, farmers observe no additional benefit from submergence-tolerant rice varieties over other popular varieties, these benefits become apparent only after plants are submerged for longer than most varieties can tolerate. A recent study in Bangladesh by Yamano et al (2018) found that the adoption of submergencetolerant rice varieties increased among neighbors of early adopters only after flooding occurred in their area. To encourage farmers to adopt submergencetolerant or other crops with hidden benefits, including nutrition-enhanced crops, campaigns are needed to disseminate this information to farmers.…”