Combinations of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital for farm innovation: How farmers configure different support networks

Diverse agricultural technologies are promoted to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women. Yet a gender gap in technology adoption remains for many agricultural technologies, even for those that are promoted for women. This paper complements the literature on gender and technology adoption, which largely focuses on reasons for low rates of female technology adoption, by shifting attention to what happens within a household after it adopts a technology. Understanding the expected benefits and costs of adoption, from the perspective of women users in households with adult males, can help explain observed technology adoption rates and why technology adoption is often not sustained in the longer term. Drawing on qualitative data from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, this paper develops a framework for examining the intrahousehold distribution of benefits from technology adoption, focusing on small-scale irrigation technologies. The framework contributes to the conceptual and empirical exploration of joint control over technology by men and women in the same household. Efforts to promote technology adoption for agricultural development and women’s empowerment would benefit from an understanding of intrahousehold control over technology to avoid interpreting technology adoption as an end in and of itself.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10460-018-9862-8.pdf

What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania

Understanding farmers’ intentions to follow a nutrient management plan using the theory of planned behaviour

To cluster or not to cluster farmers? Influences on network interactions, risk perceptions, and adoption of aquaculture practices

Influence of a new agricultural technology extension mode on farmers' technology adoption behavior in China

Understanding the role of social capital in adoption decisions: an application to irrigation technology.

Good leaders can greatly influence the effective governance of water resources, however, how their attributes relate to group cooperation in Water User Associations (WUAs) remains an open question. Using the case of Chile, we explore the factors of three non-cooperative behaviors in WUAs by performing a two-stage cluster analysis. The results describe four clusters that differ in structural and human characteristics, where highly cooperative WUAs are characterized by having presidents who dedicate more time to their duties, are more active in applying for governmental subsidies, are embedded in social organizations, have high levels of bridging social capital, and have a positive attitude toward the presidency. Our results add to the limited empirical knowledge about the role of leadership in fostering cooperation in the use of common-pool resources. This article sheds light on this matter as the results suggest that policy interventions should aim at strengthening social capital and providing incentives to increase the time dedication of presidents to the WUAs duties.

Claudia Hunecke

Papers

Understanding the role of social capital in adoption decisions: an application to irrigation technology.

Collective Actions and Leadership Attributes: A Cluster Analysis of Water User Associations in Chile

A systematic review highlights that there are multiple benefits of urban agriculture besides food