%S JICA RI Working Paper
%D 2015
%L icrisat9092
%I JICA Research Institute
%T An Empirical Analysis of Expanding Rice Production in Sub-Sahara Africa, The Impact of Training on Technology Adoption and Productivity of Rice Farming in Tanzania: Is Farmer-to-Farmer Extension Effective
%A Y Nakano
%A T W Tsusaka
%A T Aida
%A V O Pede
%R No. 90
%C Tokyo
%X How far can new technologies taught to a small number of selected farmers diffuse to other farmers in a village? In order to answer this question, this paper investigates the impact of JICA training on the adoption of rice cultivation technologies and productivity in an irrigation scheme in Tanzania. By using a unique five-year panel data set and spatial econometric techniques, we found that non-trained farmers learned new technologies from trained farmers through social networks and by observing their plots. As a result, the paddy yield of directly trained farmers increased from 3.1 tons per hectare in 2008 to 4.7 tons per hectare in 2012, while that of non-trained farmers increased from around 2.6 tons per hectare in 2008 to 3.7 tons per hectare in 2012.
%K Technology adoption, Agricultural training, Social learning, Rice, Sub-Saharan Africa