Adaptation and Adoption of Improved Seeds through Extension: Evidence from Farmer-Led Groundnut Multiplication in Uganda

In sub-Saharan Africa, reliance on subsistence-level farming is a significant source of risk since farmers face protracted periods of drought and the frequent incidence and expanding reach of diseases and pests. It is likely that such occurrences will be exacerbated by global climate change, given recent forecasts and scientific findings. One strategy to mitigate these effects is through the adoption of new technologies. Following the established literature on technology adoption and productivity, this work is a reassessment of a 2004 AT Uganda farmer-led seed multiplication and dissemination project for groundnut growers. The major objective of this research is to determine the lasting impact of the project with respect to the adoption of rosette resistant varieties of groundnuts (RRVs). Panel data for the 2004 and 2013 growing seasons are used and include a set of participating farm households (HHs) and non-participating (control) HHs. The control sample is composed of both a neighboring and a non-neighboring farm group, which makes it possible to account for spillover effects and selection bias. In order to further control for possible biases, our identification strategy employs propensity score matching and instrumental variables methods. In this way, we examine the sustainability and lasting impact of the original intervention a decade after the fact