Social Learning and Farm Technology in Ethiopia: Impacts by Technology, Network Type, and Poverty Status

Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Alex Winter-Nelson

2012

Improved farm technologies in Ethiopia display high levels of promise and low rates of adoption. This article studies the impact of social networks on technology adoption focusing on social learning through networks based on physical proximity and those based on intentional relationships. Impacts by network type, technology, and asset poverty status are explored. Social learning is more evident for households not in persistent poverty, for more complex technologies, and within networks based on intentional relationships rather than proximity. Results indicate that technology diffusion in Ethiopia is likely to be enhanced if extension can target intentional networks, rather than spatial clusters.

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Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics