Workshop: Innovative methods for measuring adoption of agricultural technologies

WORKSHOP: INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR MEASURING ADOPTION OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES

by Evgeniya Anisimova | July 29, 2016

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Photo: Neil Palmer (CIAT), Flickr

A workshop on "Innovative methods for measuring adoption of agricultural technologies: Establishing proof of concept and thinking about scaling up" will take place on August 3-4 in Boston, USA following the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economic Association (AAEA). The event is jointly organized by Michigan State University, the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) of the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC), and the CGIAR Research Program on Policy, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). 

The workshop objectives are:

  • Take a stock of current and innovative methods for measuring adoption of agricultural technologies
  • Share and discuss results and insights from pilot studies and experiments conducted to establish proof of concepts to harness the potential of new methods for tracking adoption of agricultural practices and other types of technologies
  • Further the discussion on scaling up proven methods for measuring technology adoption

Dr. Jawoo Koo from IFPRI will represent PIM at the event.

Agenda of the workshop includes the following topics:

1. Tracking and estimating adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries: Importance, challenges and need for innovative methods.

2. Current practice for large-scale varietal adoption studies: The expert opinion elicitation method

3.DNA fingerprinting for estimating varietal adoption: Taking stock of recent work

  • Cassava: Ghana, Malawi, Vietnam, Nigeria
  • Rice: India, Indonesia
  • Beans: Zambia
  • Maize: Uganda
  • Potato: China
  • Sweet potato: Ethiopia
  • Lentil: Bangladesh
  • Wheat and lentil: India
  • Discussion: Scaling up and implications for impact assessment

4. Remote sensing for tracking adoption of NRM practices and other types of technologies

  • Harnessing the potential of remote sensing for tracking adoption of agricultural practices
  • Bangladesh study on hyperspectral signature analysis for estimating AWD adoption
  • Vietnam study on Soil Moisture Oceanic Salinity (SMOS) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) for estimating AWD adoption
  • Ethiopia study on landsat 8 satellite imagery and drones for estimating crop residue retention on soils (for conservation agriculture)
  • Discussion on: Scope and scale of this method in tracking adoption of agricultural technology; Types of technologies best suited; Lessons learned from pilot experiments, Cost, limitations

5. Using appropriate information and communications technologies (ICT) for surveys

  • Potential of ICT tools for collecting data and tracking adoption of agric ultural practices
  • India study on cell-phone based IVRS method for collecting data on farmer practices
  • Tanzania SMS-based mobile phone surveys
  • Tablet-based CAPI methods: lessons for technology adoption surveys
    • Experience of using TechTraker
    • Experience of Survey Solutions
  • Discussion on pros and cons of using this method for technology adoption data; Challenges of sampling; Cost; Potential for scaling up.

6. Adoption data from markets: Surveys of input or output market participants to estimate adoption of technologies

  • Agro-dealer survery at informal markets in Rwanda
  • Bihar agro-dealer surveys

7. Outsourcing to the private sector

  • Perspectives from service providers, clients (CGIAR centers, donors) and researchers
  • Can data collection be outsourced?
  • Cost vs. benefits
  • Is there enough demand to sustain and institutionalize private sector led data collection to track technology adoption in developing countries?

8. Institutionalizing collection of adoption data through household surveys How can we institutionalize the routine use of these new methods?

  • Partnerships with national statistical agencies on specific surveys: Cases of Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda and India

9. Wrap-up

  • PIM future plans on these issues
  • Plans for a future SPIA program to institutionalize these methods
  • Output plans from this workshop