Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Innovations for Poverty Action

Titre : What Role Do Social Networks Play In The Adoption Of Agricultural Technologies in Burkina Faso ?

Région /Pays : Burkina Faso

Date : 2014-2018

Résumé
Despite the availability of new agricultural technologies, which may increase yields and household income, few farmers in the Sahel region are using improved seeds and fertilizers. In Burkina Faso, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of social network targeting on the introduction of micro-dosing– a technique that applied small amounts of fertilizer at the time of planting improved seeds. Results revealed that social networks were valuable in encouraging sustained adoption of micro-dosing in the long term

Présentation _ The Sahel, the region of North Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Sudanian savanna, is facing a major food and nutrition crisis. Factors such as the region’s arid climate, widespread poverty and high population growth, combined with ongoing violent conflicts, climate-related shocks such as drought and flooding, and the COVID-19 pandemic, had hampered living conditions. The World Bank estimates 14.4 million people needed food assistance in 2020. This number rose to 23.7 million by 2021.[1]

Despite the availability of new agricultural technologies, which may increase yields and household income, few farmers in the Sahel region are using improved seeds and fertilizer. Research has shown that farmers face a myriad of constraints that affect the adoption of agricultural technology, and relaxing these constraints can lead to more efficient practices. This evaluation contributes to this literature by estimating the impact of social network targeting on the introduction of micro-dosing, an agricultural technique that has the potential to increase sorghum yields.

Taille de l’échantillon  : 100 villages

Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA)