Knowledge Diffusion and the Adoption of Fertilizer Microdosing in Northwest Benin
David Natcher, Erika Bachmann, Jeremy Pittman, Suren Kulshreshtha, Mohamed Nasser Baco, P. B. I. Akponikpe, Derek Peak
Sustainable Agriculture Research May 3, 2016 DOI: 10.5539/sar.v5n3p1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Social network analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Demonstration Farmers in Koumagou B, northwest Benin, plus other Village Farmers in the same village |
| Intervention | Fertilizer microdosing |
| Duration | Two years of field trials |
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Key points | Adoption and project awareness of fertilizer microdosing remained low after two years of field trials. Only 3 of 20 Demonstration Farmers diffused knowledge to a significant degree (out-degree greater than 5), and the authors conclude that the efforts of the project research team and Demonstration Farmers were insufficient to mobilize the network to adopt microdosing. |
Abstract
Soil degradation and low crop productivity negatively affect the food security of smallholder farmers in West Africa. Various agricultural techniques have been developed as components of food security interventions, but their effectiveness in addressing food insecurity in part depends upon farmers’ abilities to adopt these techniques. In this paper we present the results of a social network analysis that tracked the flow of information on fertilizer microdosing from our Project Research team (PRs) to Demonstration Farmers (DFs), and from DFs to other Village Farmers (VF) in the village of Koumagou B in northwest Benin. Our findings indicate that both adoption and project awareness of microdosing were low following two years of field trails. Overall, the DFs failed to spread information or promote learning over the trial period, with only 3 of 20 DFs diffusing knowledge to a significant degree (i.e., out-degree >5). After 2 years of trials, the efforts of PRs and DFs were insufficient to mobilize the network to adopt the microdosing technique.