As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks
Extension services have a history of being relatively expensive and not always effective. At the same time, studies show that informal social networks can be very beneficial in helping increase productivity. In Uganda, the authors tested the value...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603951468197954484/As-good-as-the-company-they-keep-improving-farmers-social-networks http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25449 |
| Summary: | Extension services have a history of
being relatively expensive and not always effective. At the
same time, studies show that informal social networks can be
very beneficial in helping increase productivity. In Uganda,
the authors tested the value of informal social networks for
women farmers by connecting the least-productive 30 percent
to some of the most productive women farmers in their own
villages. Results show significant gains in productivity
indicating that the path to better outcomes is contained
within their own community. Women learned the agricultural
information at least as well in a network setting as in a
more intensive, formal extension setting. On average, the
social network intervention was less costly and more
effectively targeted women and the least productive farmers
than traditional extension services. By exploiting the power
of social ties, social network interventions offer a
lower-cost alternative to traditional agricultural training
programs and can be particularly effective at improving the
productivity of women. The results of the study featured in
this brief are particularly relevant to policymakers in
Sub-Saharan Africa, where productivity differentials still
exist between males and females, and women are less
frequently targeted for training. |
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