As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks
Extension services have a history of being relatively expensive and not always effective. At the same time, studies show that informal social networks can be very beneficial in helping increase productivity. In Uganda, the authors tested the value...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603951468197954484/As-good-as-the-company-they-keep-improving-farmers-social-networks http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25449 |
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okr-10986-254492021-05-25T10:54:37Z As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks Leonard, Kenneth Vasilaky, Kathryn COTTON TRAINED FARMERS KNOWLEDGE CROP YIELDS AGRICULTURAL TRAINING GROWING SEASON GENDER GAP NETWORK CROP TRAINING RESULTS MATERIALS FARMER EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER CULTIVATION AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION INNOVATION PRODUCTIVITY PESTICIDE NETWORKS TRAINING MATERIALS INFORMATION PROTOCOL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY YIELDS MARKETING LIMITED ACCESS INTERVENTIONS PLANTING LEARNING FORMAL TRAINING WOMEN AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMS FARMING PRIVATE SECTOR PHOTOS EXTENSION HISTORY FARMERS TRAINING PROGRAMS HARVESTING TARGET COTTON GROWING INNOVATIONS GENDER EQUALITY GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND AGRICULTURE Extension services have a history of being relatively expensive and not always effective. At the same time, studies show that informal social networks can be very beneficial in helping increase productivity. In Uganda, the authors tested the value of informal social networks for women farmers by connecting the least-productive 30 percent to some of the most productive women farmers in their own villages. Results show significant gains in productivity indicating that the path to better outcomes is contained within their own community. Women learned the agricultural information at least as well in a network setting as in a more intensive, formal extension setting. On average, the social network intervention was less costly and more effectively targeted women and the least productive farmers than traditional extension services. By exploiting the power of social ties, social network interventions offer a lower-cost alternative to traditional agricultural training programs and can be particularly effective at improving the productivity of women. The results of the study featured in this brief are particularly relevant to policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa, where productivity differentials still exist between males and females, and women are less frequently targeted for training. 2016-11-28T19:46:17Z 2016-11-28T19:46:17Z 2016-03 Brief http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603951468197954484/As-good-as-the-company-they-keep-improving-farmers-social-networks http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25449 English en_US Gender Innovation Lab Policy Brief;No. 15 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Brief Africa Uganda |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
COTTON TRAINED FARMERS KNOWLEDGE CROP YIELDS AGRICULTURAL TRAINING GROWING SEASON GENDER GAP NETWORK CROP TRAINING RESULTS MATERIALS FARMER EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER CULTIVATION AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION INNOVATION PRODUCTIVITY PESTICIDE NETWORKS TRAINING MATERIALS INFORMATION PROTOCOL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY YIELDS MARKETING LIMITED ACCESS INTERVENTIONS PLANTING LEARNING FORMAL TRAINING WOMEN AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMS FARMING PRIVATE SECTOR PHOTOS EXTENSION HISTORY FARMERS TRAINING PROGRAMS HARVESTING TARGET COTTON GROWING INNOVATIONS GENDER EQUALITY GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND AGRICULTURE |
| spellingShingle |
COTTON TRAINED FARMERS KNOWLEDGE CROP YIELDS AGRICULTURAL TRAINING GROWING SEASON GENDER GAP NETWORK CROP TRAINING RESULTS MATERIALS FARMER EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER CULTIVATION AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION INNOVATION PRODUCTIVITY PESTICIDE NETWORKS TRAINING MATERIALS INFORMATION PROTOCOL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY YIELDS MARKETING LIMITED ACCESS INTERVENTIONS PLANTING LEARNING FORMAL TRAINING WOMEN AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMS FARMING PRIVATE SECTOR PHOTOS EXTENSION HISTORY FARMERS TRAINING PROGRAMS HARVESTING TARGET COTTON GROWING INNOVATIONS GENDER EQUALITY GENDER INNOVATION LAB AFRICA GENDER POLICY WOMEN AND AGRICULTURE Leonard, Kenneth Vasilaky, Kathryn As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Uganda |
| relation |
Gender Innovation Lab Policy Brief;No. 15 |
| description |
Extension services have a history of
being relatively expensive and not always effective. At the
same time, studies show that informal social networks can be
very beneficial in helping increase productivity. In Uganda,
the authors tested the value of informal social networks for
women farmers by connecting the least-productive 30 percent
to some of the most productive women farmers in their own
villages. Results show significant gains in productivity
indicating that the path to better outcomes is contained
within their own community. Women learned the agricultural
information at least as well in a network setting as in a
more intensive, formal extension setting. On average, the
social network intervention was less costly and more
effectively targeted women and the least productive farmers
than traditional extension services. By exploiting the power
of social ties, social network interventions offer a
lower-cost alternative to traditional agricultural training
programs and can be particularly effective at improving the
productivity of women. The results of the study featured in
this brief are particularly relevant to policymakers in
Sub-Saharan Africa, where productivity differentials still
exist between males and females, and women are less
frequently targeted for training. |
| format |
Brief |
| author |
Leonard, Kenneth Vasilaky, Kathryn |
| author_facet |
Leonard, Kenneth Vasilaky, Kathryn |
| author_sort |
Leonard, Kenneth |
| title |
As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| title_short |
As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| title_full |
As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| title_fullStr |
As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| title_full_unstemmed |
As Good as the Company They Keep? : Improving Farmers’ Social Networks |
| title_sort |
as good as the company they keep? : improving farmers’ social networks |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603951468197954484/As-good-as-the-company-they-keep-improving-farmers-social-networks http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25449 |
| _version_ |
1764459755209752576 |