M.Sc. Anatole Goundan

http://www.ifpri.org/profile/anatole-goundan

Project

Social networks and technology adoption: A field experiment from rural Senegal

Agricultural technology is intended to increase significantly yields or agricultural output. Therefore, its adoption should be obvious for farmers. However, evidence shows that technology adoption is very low in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The reasons for that situation cannot fully be explained by imperfect markets (input and output markets, land markets, labor markets, credit markets, risk markets, etc.) implying high transaction costs. On the contrary, beyond transaction costs, the low adoption rate of farmers seems to be driven by a lack of information and technological knowledge. Considering the importance of agriculture in Africa’s context, it is crucial to find ways to increase technology adoption. This research is an attempt to assess quantitatively the importance of the main barriers to agricultural technology adoption, i.e. credit and risk constraints as well as lack of adequate technological knowledge. It will specially take advantage of the network (diffusion) theories to study the impact of knowledge diffusion among farmers on technology adoption in the context of rural Senegal. At methodological level, a randomized controlled experiment will be conducted and appropriate methodologies will be used to assess the impact.

Education

Work Experience

Research Interests

Agricultural Economics, Network Analysis, CGE Modeling, International Trade, Economic Modelling.