Show and Tell: Causal Impacts of Field Days on Farmer Learning for Organic Inputs in Kenya

Abstract

Farmer field days (FFDs) are a tool often used in developing countries to transfer knowledge about new environmental or agricultural technologies and methods from trained farmers to others in their communities. However, there has thus far been a lack of rigorous economic analysis of the effectiveness of FFDs for information diffusion. To fill this gap in the literature, we conducted experimental auctions for agricultural inputs with a random sample of individuals from villages that held FFDs for novel organic inputs in western Kenya. We identify the relationship between attendance at a FFD and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic inputs through a spatial instrument using homestead and FFD locations. Our causal results show significant impact of attendance at field days on WTP compared to non-attendees. The results suggest that FFDs can be effective in transmitting comprehensive information of new technologies and can be a useful tool to augment impacts of traditional agricultural extension programs in developing countries.