Publication: Agricultural Technology Choice and Transport
Date
2015-05
ISSN
Published
2015-05
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper addresses an old and
recurring theme in development economics: the slow adoption
of new technologies by farmers in many developing countries.
The paper explores a somewhat novel link to explain this
puzzle -- the link between market access and the incentives
to adopt a new technology when there are non-convexities.
The paper develops a theoretical model to guide the
empirical analysis, which uses spatially disaggregated
agricultural production data from Spatial Production
Allocation Model and Living Standards Measurement Study
survey data for Nigeria. The model is used to estimate the
impact of transport costs on crop production, the adoption
of modern technologies, and the differential impact on
returns of modern versus traditional farmers. To overcome
the limitation of data availability on travel costs for much
of Africa, road survey data are combined with geographic
information road network data to generate the most thorough
and accurate road network available. With these data and the
Highway Development Management Model, minimum travel costs
from each location to the market are computed. Consistent
with the theory, analysis finds that transportation costs
are critical in determining technology choices, with a
greater responsiveness among farmers who adopt modern
technologies, and at times a perverse (negative) response to
lower transport costs among those who employ more
traditional techniques. In sum, the paper presents
compelling evidence that the constraints to the adoption of
modern technologies and access to markets are
interconnected, and so should be targeted jointly.
Citation
“Ali, Rubaba; Barra, A. Federico; Berg, Claudia N.; Damania, Richard; Nash, John D.; Russ, Jason. 2015. Agricultural Technology Choice and Transport. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7272. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22003 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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