This workshop will bring together results/learning from SIAC Objectives 1 and 2, and other private and public sector partners involved in finding innovative ways to collect technology adoption in developing countries. The main objectives of this workshop are to:

  • Take a stock of current and innovative methods for measuring adoption of agricultural technologies 
  • Share and discuss results and insights from pilot studies and experiments conducted to establish proof of concepts to harness the potential of new methods for tracking adoption of agricultural practices and other types of technologies 
  • Further the discussion on scaling up proven methods for measuring technology adoption

This is a joint workshop organized by SPIA, Michigan State University (MSU), and CRP PIM. See announcement on the PIM page here.

IFPRI blog (external link)

Workshop Agenda and List of Participants (PDF)

Presentations (all PDF files - links against each session below)

Workshop summary (DRAFT)

Summary case studies (1-2 page notes) for the DNA fingerprinting session (PDF)

DAY 1

8.30 am: Welcome, introductions, workshop objectives (Doug Gollin, Jawoo Koo)

8.45 am: Tracking and estimating adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries: Importance, challenges and need for innovative methods. Brief overview presentation (Mywish Maredia)

9.00 am: Current practice for large-scale varietal adoption studies: The expert opinion elicitation method (Chair: Mywish Maredia)

10.30 am: DNA fingerprinting for estimating varietal adoption: Taking stock of recent work (Chair: Richard Caldwell)

1.45 pm: Remote sensing for tracking adoption of NRM practices and other types of technologies (Chair: James Stevenson)

  • Harnessing the potential of remote sensing for tracking adoption of agricultural practices (Glenn Hyman)
  • Bangladesh study on hyperspectral signature analysis for estimating AWD adoption (Parvesh Chanda - no presentation)
  • Vietnam study on Soil Moisture Oceanic Salinity (SMOS) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) for estimating AWD adoption (Jenny Lovell)
  • Ethiopia study on landsat 8 satellite imagery and drones for estimating crop residue retention on soils for conservation agriculture (Frederic Kosmowski)
  • Discussion on: Scope and scale of this method in tracking adoption of agricultural technology; Types of technologies best suited; Lessons learned from pilot experiments, Cost, limitations (no presentation)

4.00 pm: Using appropriate ICT for surveys (Chair: Jawoo Koo)

  • Potential of ICT tools for collecting data and tracking adoption of agric ultural practices (Katy Money)
  • India study on cell-phone based IVRS method for collecting data on farmer practices (Mywish Maredia on behalf of Surabhi Mittal)
  • Tanzania SMS-based mobile phone surveys (Beliyou Haile)
  • Tablet-based CAPI methods: lessons for technology adoption surveys - Experience of using TechTraker (Moses Odeke)
  • Tablet-based CAPI methods: lessons for technology adoption surveys - Experience of using Survey Solutions (James Stevenson)
  • Discussion on pros and cons of using this method for technology adoption data; Challenges of sampling; Cost; Potential for scaling up (no presentation)

DAY 2

9.00 am: Adoption data from markets: Surveys of input or output market participants to estimate adoption of technologies (Chair: Doug Gollin)

  • Introduction (Moses Odeke)
  • Agro-dealer survey at informal markets in Rwanda (Jawoo Koo)
  • Bihar agro-dealer survey (Takashi Yamano)
  • Discussion on reliability of methods in estimating farm-level adoption, challenges of sample (representativeness), potential for scaling up, and applicable situations/conditions (From the floor) 

10.50 am: Institutionalizing collection of adoption data through household surveys (Chair: James Stevenson)

  • Partnerships with national statistical agency: Zambia (Dingiswayo Banda)
  • Partnerships with national statistical agency: Ethiopia (Frederic Kosmowski)
  • Partnerships with national statistical agency: Uganda (Talip Kilic - WebEx)
  • Partnerships with national statistical agency: India (Mywish Maredia)

1.15 pm: Outsourcing to the private sector (Chair: Lakshmi Krishnan)

15.20 pm: Wrap up (MSU, IFPRI and SPIA)

  • PIM future plans (Jawoo Koo)
  • Plans for a future SPIA work program to institutionalize methods and data collection (Doug Gollin)
  • Output plans from the workshop (Mywish Maredia and James Stevenson)