Technology adoption, land rental contracts and agricultural productivity

Abstract

This dissertation explores the potential for adoption of agricultural technologies and how alternative land rental contracts and kinship influence agricultural productivity and input use. It contains an introduction and four independent papers. In Paper I, we examine conservation impact on land productivity and factors contributing to yield gap between conserved and non-conserved plots. The empirical results show that conservation results in lower yield for the samples considered, and plots with and without conservation barely differ in their endowments of soil fertility and depth although the return to these endowments is higher for plots without conservation. In paper II, we distinguished between sharecropping contracts among kin and non-kin partners and found that non-kin sharecrop plots are more productive and received significantly more fertilizer than other plots. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the threat of eviction is stronger among non-kin than among kin partners. Paper III examines the economic potential of forage legumescereals intercropping adoption on household income and soil conservation. The results indicate that forage legumes increase household income significantly while at the same time reducing pressure on the land resources. Paper IV investigates socio-economic and institutional factors influencing forage legume-cereal intercropping adoption. The empirical results suggest that facilitating information flow with introduction of crossbred cows would play a key role for the adoption of legumes.