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Agricultural value chains around the world are changing rapidly, not only in terms of scale and scope, but also when it comes to the technologies used and in their relationship with traditional (religious) practices. Yet, agricultural productivity remains low for different crops and in different countries. This PhD thesis investigates reasons for low agricultural productivity and explores simple solutions using ICT in two distinct contexts: potato farming in Southwestern Uganda and dairy farming in central Ethiopia. In Uganda, simple agricultural extension video messages are tested to determine if they increase farmers' knowledge and adoption of recommended practices related to the selection and handling of seed potatoes using an individually-randomized field experiment with ex ante matching in a factorial design. First, the results show that the agricultural extension videos significantly increase farmers' knowledge, even beyond the agricultural practices shown in the videos. Second, accounting for spillovers between treatment and control farmers using a randomization-based framework, those increases in knowledge translate into increased adoption of recommended practices, increased probability of using improved inputs, as well as higher consumption. In Ethiopia, the impact of food taboos in the form of religious fasting by Orthodox Christians on the dairy value chain is pervasive, both when it comes to production and to consumption. Analysis of unique data shows that fasting reduces annual dairy consumption by approximately 12 percent nationally, forcing farmers to increase processing of milk into storable products during fasting periods and contributing to larger price swings for these products. Because of excess milk availability in dairy producing households during fasting periods, milk consumption by children in those households is higher. The studies in this PhD thesis demonstrate, in two different contexts, how agricultural practices (such as poor seed recycling) and societal habits (such as fasting) are inhibiting factors to the successful development of agricultural value chains. While cost-effective technologies like agricultural extension videos can offer part of the solution, only increased investment in processing, storage and infrastructure can truly and sustainably transform agricultural value chains. status: published |
