Adoption Of Agricultural Innovations Research Articles

Investigating the Impact of the Central Agricultural Research Institute's (CARI) Agricultural Extension Services on the Productivity and Livelihoods of Farmers in Bong County, Liberia, from 2013 to 2017

In Liberia, a country where agriculture plays a pivotal role in socio-economic development and food security, the effectiveness of agricultural extension services remains crucial yet underexplored, especially in the context of transitioning from subsistence to commercial agriculture. This study focuses on assessing the Central Agricultural Research Institute's (CARI) agricultural extension services' impact on the agricultural productivity and livelihoods of farmers in Suakoko, Jorquelleh, and Yealliquelleh districts of Bong County, from 2013 to 2017. The objectives were to evaluate the accessibility and adoption of agricultural innovations disseminated by CARI and analyze the effectiveness of its extension delivery methods. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research yielded significant findings: 54.1% of respondents were male, indicating a gender disparity in agricultural engagement. The adoption of new technologies and practices was varied, with 43.3% of farmers reporting access to new fertilizer application methods as the most prominent innovation provided by CARI. Despite the extension efforts, 68.8% of farmers did not receive visits from CARI agents, and a considerable 50% reported no access to new innovations or technologies. The study also highlighted a distinct preference for learning through demonstrations (73.7%) and meetings (25%), underscoring the demand for practical and interactive extension services.

Revitalization Potential of Marginal Areas for Sustainable Rural Development in the Puglia Region, Southern Italy: Part I: A Review

Feeding nine billion people by 2050 will be a challenge due to climate change. There is a significant portion of abandoned and unused marginal lands across the nation and in the Puglia region, in Southern Italy. Innovative techniques and practices in the frame of climate-smart agriculture can help rehabilitate marginal lands into productive and profitable areas. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on marginal areas in Puglia, responding to the lack of information in this context and evaluate their revitalization potential. We systematically reviewed the literature on unused/marginal areas and identified related studies dealing with different types of marginal areas and their potential for sustainable rural development. Marginal areas in Puglia represent a range of historical rural landscapes that support biodiversity, the economy, and ecological services. However, the analysis of the current situation in Puglia’s marginal areas indicates a lack of infrastructure and scarce resources, which led to land abandonment and the migration of local residents, resulting in the deterioration of the ecological system. Therefore, establishing a sustainable policy is crucial for preserving the local heritage and economy of the region. However, policymakers should carefully study the challenges and opportunities arising from local contexts before embarking on ambitious place-based innovation strategies. The analysis indicates that both biophysical and socio-economic factors are strategic elements for improving the revitalization potential of marginal areas for sustainable development. This review provides useful information regarding the revitalization potential of marginal areas for food, feed, and non-food production, which is crucial in the implementation of a sustainable development strategy for rural communities in Puglia but can also be applied to similar areas in other countries. However, the success of the sustainable development strategy in Puglia’s marginal areas should consider the vital function of farmers’ self-organization and social capital as key factors in the adoption of agricultural innovations for the revitalization of these areas.

Single-Spine Agricultural Extension System Governance Structures And Adoption Of Agricultural Technological Innovations

This study analyzed the governance structures of the single spine agricultural extension system and their effects on adoption of technological innovations by farmer groups in Kiryandongo and Rukungiri Districts of Uganda. This was premised on the view that despite introduction of the single spine agricultural extension service as a policy intervention to increase adoption of innovations for agricultural production and productivity in 2016, four years down the road, these aspirations have not been realized. The research adopted a cross sectional case study design underpinned by the constructivism paradigm. A none-mathematical sampling method was used for key informants and focus group discussions. Data from documents review was triangulated with that from interviews and formed the basis for analysis of findings and report writing. The findings indicated that the limited attention given to the governance structures was one of the fundamental factors that negatively impacted on adoption of agricultural innovations. Failure to provide sufficient resources for monitoring policy implementation undermined the very essence for which it was contrived. It is recommended that the same Ministry strengthens partnerships with the private sector and other non-state actors by taking the lead role in delivery of extension services. This is premised on the notion that District Local Governments have the institutional mandate and structures while the private sector and non-state actors wield the needed resources for enhancing the adoption of agricultural innovations.

The impact of policies on the diffusion of agricultural innovations: Systematic review on evaluation approaches

The demand for sustainable agricultural technologies still lags behind the supply confirming the demand articulation failure of transformational innovation change agricultural policies. To understand the reasons for demand shortcomings, the evaluation of developed policies is required. In the literature, there is little evidence on this topic, henceforth, this paper conducts a systematic review of the primary methodological approaches used to assess the influence of policies on the dissemination of agricultural innovations. The results showed that there are two clusters of evaluation; the first investigates how policies affect agricultural innovation adoption, and the second studies how policies affect yields and profitability. For the first cluster, 70% of the studies analyzed adoption decisions using the Double-hurdle, Probit, or Tobit models or captured changes in adoption levels over time using the Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool and discrete-time duration models. This cluster is related to the assessment of the input and output additionalities of innovation policies. In 58% of the studies related to the second cluster, the focus was the assessment of economic and environmental implications using mathematical programming models, particularly agent-based modeling. The purpose of evaluation in this cluster is more focused on behavioral additionality. There were no experimental or quasi-experimental methods among the methods utilized in this cluster. The majority of studies do not incorporate the evaluation of economic, social, and environmental aspects together; therefore, evaluation outlooks suggest increasing interest in sustainability impact. It is suggested that models from both clusters be used in combination to explore input, output, and behavioral additionalities simultaneously. Furthermore, including white-box evaluation approaches to evaluate demand-oriented innovation policy in the agricultural sector, in addition to usual black-box approaches, is a necessity.

A contextual ICT model to explain adoption of mobile applications in developing countries: A case study of Tunisia.

In Tunisia, agriculture is the main source of livelihood for more than 75% of small and subsistence farmers with minimal use of technology. The use of information and communication technology (ICT),such as mobile applications, represents a pertinent opportunity for these smallholders to access agricultural innovation and market information and improve their farming technologies and farm management. Thus, ICT can act as a replacement to foster access to innovation for this category of farmers. Unfortunately, the underuse of mobile applications has contributed to low and slow adoption of agricultural innovation and consequently the benefits of this technology have not been attained. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the adoption of Short Message Service (SMS) through a contextual ICT model for livestock, olive crop, and beekeeping. Data were collected from 200 small-scale beekeepers, 225 olive growers, and 140 livestock breeders selected in Jendouba, Kairouan, and Zaghouan in Tunisia. The objective of this paper is to examine the factors that influence mobile applications using the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique, for livestock, olive crop, and beekeeping agricultural activities. The results showed that the final ICT-induced structural models were highly predictive of the use of SMS and its increased adoption. Factors affecting the use of SMS differed according to the farming system. The major perceived factor affecting the use of SMS was 'observability' for livestock farmers, 'compatibility' for olive growers, and 'information quality' for beekeepers. Understanding these factors by taking into account the specificity of the agricultural activity leads to a better understanding of the adoption of ICT tools by smallholder farmers in Tunisia.

Analyzing the Usefulness of Demonstration Plots as Perceived by the Farmers in District Faisalabad, Pakistan

Agricultural extension is the driver of motivation of farmers towards the adoption of agricultural innovations. Therefore, different extension methods are employed to enhance the effectiveness of extension services and bring change in farmers' behaviour. In this study, an attempt is made to explore the use of demonstration plots as perceived by the farmers in district Faisalabad. In this study, a total of 130 randomly selected farmers, five Agriculture Officers (AOs) and five Field Assistants (FAs) participated. From the farmers, data were collected through face-to-face interview techniques on a structured and validated interview schedule whereas from the extension field staff, the data were collected on an interview guide. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and qualitative data were analysed using a content analysis approach. Qualitative results indicated that the demonstration plots helped farmers to change their behaviour from a traditional farming approach to a modern approach of farming for more production and profits. Group discussion, method and result demonstration methods were focused areas while demonstrating technologies at the demonstration plot. Farmers found demonstration plots useful for the reasons of being active, cooperation from the extension staff, equal treatment to the farmers, participation of farmers in group meetings, enhanced learning and motivating farmers to adopt the latest technologies. Considering the usefulness, there is a need to enhance the number of demonstration plots. More research studies are also recommended to be conducted in other districts of the Punjab s well to investigate the further room for improvement and strengthen the extension services for farmers.

Indonesian rice farmers’ perceptions of different sources of information and their effect on farmer capability

Abstract The diverse sources of agricultural extension information do not guarantee increased farmers’ capabilities to adopt agricultural innovations. Consequently, efforts to accelerate the adoption of agricultural innovations should pay particular attention to farmers’ compatibility with different information sources. This study aims to analyze farmers’ perceptions of various information sources about rice commodity innovations and determine the information sources influencing farmers’ capabilities in adopting rice innovations. The study was conducted from June to December 2019 through a structured survey approach with 270 rice farmers in Subang, West Java and Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia, by using structural equation model analysis. The results showed that rice farmers had positive perceptions of government, private, and self-subsistent extension. The capability level of rice farmers showed that all indicators were significantly different. Farmers could improve their capabilities and sustainability of rice farming by adopting agricultural innovations. Information from government and private extension providers had a positive effect on the capacity and capability of rice farmers. The role of self-subsistent extension was more of a facilitator and did not directly affect the capacity and capability of farmers. Participatory extension activities are recommended as a form of intervention that can improve rice farmers’ capacity and capability in terms of technology adoption processes. The extension activities should be provided as a series, rather than one-off events, so that farmer knowledge accumulates over time through a style and pace to match their skills and level of education.

Assessing differential gains that outstanding and average performing farmers attain from climate-smart cassava innovations in Nyando climate-smart villages, Kenya

In adoption of agricultural innovations, a few farmers attain outstanding outcomes above their peer majority. This reveals a positive deviance behavior in successful deployment of technologies and innovations. Assessing this behavior in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can reveal the yield gap in triple wins of CSA (adaptation, farm productivity and mitigation). This study investigated differential gains in these CSA triple wins between outstanding (positive deviants) and average (typical) performing farmers who have adopted climate smart cassava innovations in Nyando Climate Smart Villages (CSV). In a household survey, a sample of 150 farmers were reached, which through snowballing approach, peers identified 30 to exhibit positive deviant behaviour. Presenting these in Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with stakeholders further isolated six farmers being those they consider positive deviants (PDs) in climate smart cassava innovations. Data were subjected to cross-tabulation to generate frequencies used to compute weighted index scores. This revealed increasing magnitude and was a preferred fair comparison of a sample of fewer positive deviants (n=6) with large number of typical (n=144) farmers. Results revealed substantial differences in the attained triple win gains from climate smart cassava innovations between typical and positive deviant farmers. The weighted index scores showed that positive deviant farmers had attained higher adaptability, production diversification, farm productivity and intensification, food security and were implementing more mitigation practices for climate change. This empirical evidence demonstrates potential gains from climate smart cassava innovations when deployed effectively. This is because innovative management practices distinguish positive deviant farmers from typical farmers. These typical farmers would benefit more by learning from positive deviant farmers about effective deployment of climate smart cassava innovations. The study recommends strengthening extension services linked to farmer platforms in order to grow capacity for more effective deployment of climate smart cassava innovations for realising the CSA triple wins. Key words: Adaptability, food security, productivity, production diversification, positive deviants, cassava innovation

Theoretical framework and methods for the analysis of the adoption-diffusion of innovations in agriculture: a bibliometric review

The adoption and diffusion of innovations are essential for both the development of production processes and the improvement of agricultural environmental sustainability, at any stage of the value chain. In recent years, social scientists have studied the diffusion and adoption of agricultural innovations from different approaches, such as innovation diffusion theory, behavioral models, econometric models, social capital and social network analysis, among others. In this study we analyze the scientific literature through a bibliometric analysis based on co-citation networks, to explore the theoretical pillars and bibliographic coupling, with which we explore the current methodological research trends of the last 50 years. The conclusions drawn from this analysis are that in recent years agricultural researchers on adoption and diffusion have designed multivariate methods that combine diverse study approaches. This review contributes to a better understanding of theory and practice in the study of the adoption and diffusion of agricultural innovations.

Identifying nutrition-sensitive development options in Madagascar through a positive deviance approach

Context-adapted interventions are needed to alleviate the burden of food and nutrition insecurity on resource-poor rural households in southeastern Madagascar. The Positive Deviance approach implies identifying locally viable development solutions by focusing on particularly successful, innovative individuals. To identify promising practices that could be promoted as part of food and nutrition security (FNS) interventions in the Atsimo Atsinanana region of southeastern Madagascar, positive deviance was searched among smallholder farmers. Positive deviants are defined as households with overall optimal performance across four aspects of FNS: household-level food security, women’s diet quality, child’s diet quality, and low diarrhea incidence. To identify positive deviants, a two-step procedure was followed. Based on quantitative survey data from 413 rural smallholder households (mother-child pairs) with a child aged between 6 and 23 months, each household’s four performance scores were adjusted by removing the average effects of household resources. Then, households with Pareto-optimal performance were identified regarding the four aspects. Subsequently, 16 positive deviants were revisited and positive deviant practices were identified through in-depth interviews. A set of practices were validated through focus group discussions with local nutrition and agriculture experts. Positive deviant practices include the adoption of agricultural innovation, such as new cash crops, as well as nutrition-sensitive market behaviors and reliance on off-farm activities. In addition, some ethno-cultural factors help to explain positive deviance. These diverse positive deviant practices may serve as examples and inspiration for locally grounded development interventions targeting FNS in southeastern Madagascar.

The Effects of Agricultural Socialized Services on Sustainable Agricultural Practice Adoption among Smallholder Farmers in China

In recent years, a growing body of literature has explored the determinants and impacts of sustainable agricultural technologies. However, little is known about the relationship between agricultural socialized services that have reshaped the smallholder agricultural system and promoted scale operation in rural China and environmentally friendly agricultural innovation adoption of the farm. Our study examines the effects of agricultural socialized services on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs). In this study, we capture the number of SAPs adopted, unlike most existing studies that analyze the dichotomous decision of agricultural technology adoption. We apply an endogenous-treatment Poisson regression model to analyze using a national representative farm-level survey data set with 1357 farm households from 132 villages in China. The results show that socialized service use has a significantly positive effect on the number of SAPs adopted. Our results suggest that agricultural socialized services can promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies among smallholders, and thus help transform conventional agriculture into sustainable agriculture.

Relative advantage and complexity: Predicting the rate of adoption of agricultural innovations

The adoption of new technologies and practices is fundamental to having the capacity to adapt to climate change and ameliorate resource degradation. Consequently, having the ability to predict the scale and rate of adoption by farmers of agricultural innovations is central to gauging their adaptive capacity. It is also crucial to assessing the likely compliance of farmers with change-seeking incentives and regulations. In this paper we describe a novel approach to predicting rates of adoption with respect to agricultural technologies and practices drawing on a dual-process model of consumer decision-making and a method for describing the complexity of innovations in farm systems. We tested the approach using data collected through a survey of dairy farmers in the Waikato and Waipa regions of New Zealand. In the survey we asked 200 farmers, chosen at random, about their perceptions of the complexity and relative advantage of various agricultural and resource management practices, and collected information as to how long it took them to try, and then adopt, the practices. Our results confirm that the process of forming an intention to try or adopt a technology or practice may take several months for relatively simple technologies and practices, and several years for more complex ones. Importantly, we found that novelty in terms of the originality in the components and architecture of a technology or practice does not necessarily correlate with its complexity in terms of integrating it into farm systems. This means that apparently simple technologies and practices that are promoted to reduce resource degradation can be quite difficult to integrate into farm systems and, as a consequence, the costs of integration may act as a strong deterrent to adopting them. A logical implication of our findings is that a deep understanding of the nature of the integration task is essential to anticipating how long it might take for adoption (or compliance) to occur in agriculture and, therefore, to appreciate limits on the adaptive capacity of farmers. Such an understanding requires an intimate knowledge of the, sometimes diverse, farm systems and sub-systems in which the technology or practice is to be integrated.

Cattle Ranching in Colombia: A Monolithic Industry?

This article analyzes literature on the history of cattle ranching and agricultural innovation adoption in Colombia to understand how livestock production systems have evolved from the 1950s until today. Departing from new scholarship that has questioned the idea that cattle ranching has been only a land-grabbing strategy dominated by few elites, this article focuses on the adoption of improved pastures and the role of key institutions such as the CIAT on the transformation of practices and the shortcomings of technification. It shows that Colombia has had big transformations with the introduction of improved pastures, particularly Brachiaria, but these transformations did not translate into a radical change in the dominant extensive livestock production systems. Instead of promoting intensification, the adoption of Brachiaria has allowed producers to expand more, often resulting in large deforestation. One of the main contributions of this article is the analysis of economic, developmentalist, and institutional reports that are not often used to construct historical analysis. It can also serve to scholars interested on adoption of agricultural techniques.

Adoption of agricultural innovations among rice farmers in federal capital territory, Nigeria

The study accessed rice farmers’ adoption of innovations in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. The FCT has six area council; Abaji, kuje, Municipal, Kwali, Bwari and Gwagwalada. The study area covers a land mass of 8,000 kilometer (km2). It is bordered by four states Kaduna, Nassarawa, Kogi and Niger, it lies between latitude 80 251 and 90 251 North of the equator and longitudes 60 451 and 70 451 east of the Greenwich meridian. Abuja is located in the middle belt of Nigeria, its size is equivalent to 0.8% of Nigeria. There exist expansive fertile marshy plains good for rice production. The multistage sampling method was used to sample a total of 120 rice farmer using structured questionnaires as instruments in Gwagwalada council, 20 farm cells were selected, 6 farmers were then randomly selected from each cell. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Most of the farmers (87.5%) were male. 6-11 persons (33.3%) per house-hold constituted the largest household size of the total farmers sampled. Majority of the farmers (26.76%) earned only between N21, 000 and N60, 000 annually. Adoption rate of some agricultural innovation in rice were rated as Fertilizer (60.2%), herbicides (60.2%), improved seed (30.8%), use of agricultural extension services (3.3%) use of farm machinery (2.1%) and silos (1.1%). Constraints faced by farmers in the study area were inadequate capital (80%), inadequate extension services (85.8%) poor market price (30.8%), high cost of agro chemicals (98.3%), inadequate storage and processing facilities (92.5%), No access to loans and credits (95.0%). The research recommended public private partnership (PPP) to sensitize and educate farmers to enable them benefit from the new innovations and technology that abound in rice farming.

Factors Affecting Mobile Phone Usage by Farmers As A Source of Agricultural Information In Sharqia Governorate, Egypt

Mobile phones are one of the most important ICTs that contribute to farmers’ adoption of agricultural innovations around the world, this study was conducted to identify the factors influencing mobile phone usage as a source of agricultural information for farmers in Sharqia Governorate, Egypt. A random sample of 355 respondents was interviewed during the period from January to April 2021. The results showed the diversity of sources that farmers depend on to obtain agricultural information such as fertilizer and supplies dealers, experienced farmers, relatives, and neighbors which were the main sources of agricultural information for respondents. Results indicated that only 9.9% of the respondents had a high mobile phone usage as a source of agricultural information, while 69.3% of them had a low degree of usage. A negative statistically significant relationship was found between the total degree of respondents' use of mobile phones as a source of agricultural information and their age at a 0.01 level of significance. while the relationship was positive with variables such as educational level, farm size, possession of a smartphone, and membership in social organizations. The mobile network's weak coverage in the village, lack of knowledge about agricultural applications, lack of knowledge about mobile phone operation, and the high cost of internet services were at the forefront of these problems facing the surveyed farmers who use mobile phones for agricultural purposes. Therefore, this study recommends the agricultural extension to make greater efforts to spread the use of ICT tools, including mobile phones technology among farmers.

A Framework to Study Farmers Decisions on Adoption of Agromet Advisories Services for Risk Management: Insights from Theory of Planned Behavior

Background: Climate change is emerging as a major threat on agriculture, food security and livelihood of millions of people in many places of the world. Agromet advisories services is such a climate resilient technology which provides the valuable information about all agricultural operations from land preparation sowing to harvest based on weather forecasting. There have been plenty of studies investigating farmers’ decision to adopt an innovation but a lot of more segregated studies exist, highlighting the importance of individual factors affecting adoption. Most of the theoretical models on adoption of innovation have tended to present discipline guided explanations to the adoption decision, although adoption is subject to a combination of social, economic, psychological, as well as cultural factors. Methods: The aim of the paper is to present a framework to study farmer’s decision with respect to adoption of AAS. Under aegis of NICRA, Agromet Advisories are provided to the farmers through its 121 Krishi Vigyan Kendra located in India. The agromet advsiories along with weather data gives crop specific recommendations. Generally, these advisories ae given to farmers two times in a week. The developed framework will be used to study their intention to adopt these AAS. Extensive review of literature on the adoption of innovation in agriculture that was based on TPB or theory of reasoned change (TRA) was carried out. Result: Various factors were taken into consideration like the demographic variables, socio- psychological constructs for explaining the adoption decisions. The framework developed for the study is an extended version of ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). In addition to the traditional construct i.e intention, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms, perceived usefulness was added to the extended version of TPB to study the adoption of Agromet Advisories Services (AAS). The framework will help the academician, policy makers and other stakeholder to develop different perspectives of farmer’s decision making in adoption of AAS.

Exploring the adoption of technologies among beginning farmers in the specialty crops industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of two categories of agricultural technologies among beginning farmers (10 years or less of experience) operating in the specialty crops industry. A secondary goal is to characterize the beginning farmers' population in the specialty crops industry and compare them to more experienced farmers (more than 10 years of farming experience).Design/methodology/approachUsing a series of regressions, this paper tests the hypothesis that beginning farmers are more likely to adopt agricultural technologies such as growing technologies (i.e. hydroponics and hoop houses) and value-added (VA) technologies (drying and cutting produce into customer-ready portions) relative to counterparts. Using a unique primary collected dataset of specialty crops farmers, the dependent variable for each model is the binary decision to adopt each agricultural technology, while the main variables of interest are the dummy variables beginning farmers and the interaction terms created between beginning farmers and land farmed, percent of land rented, crop diversification, local sales, and part-time farming.FindingsFarmers' characterization suggests that, on average, beginning farmers are more likely to adopt growing technologies than more experienced farmers. However, after controlling for other determinants of adoption, there is no significantly difference between the two groups. Lastly, results suggest that beginning farmers are more likely to adopt VA technologies relative to experienced farmers.Originality/valueWhile the adoption of agricultural innovations can lead to increases in economic and environmental resilience, little is known about beginning farmers adopting agricultural technologies, and studies are even less common for specialty crops operations. As the world population continues to grow rapidly, the demand for agricultural food products is expected to increase up to 100% between 2010 and 2050. This growth places additional stress on the limited access to land and water for agricultural production. Farm profitability can be boosted by increasing economies of scope through the use of growing technologies that increase yield or by adding value to specialty crops. The increasing global demand for food makes it imperative to understand what influences the adoption of agricultural technologies among beginning farmers growing food crops.

Adoption of Agricultural Innovations: Does the Awareness Raising through Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is Functional

Adoption of Agricultural Innovations: Does the Awareness Raising through Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is Functional

Complex innovations in agriculture, environment, and health – the perceptions of rice farmers in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru

The increased use of water in irrigated rice monocultures in the Jequetepeque Valley, on the northern coast of Peru, has exacerbated environmental, socioeconomic and health problems. The Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation technique aims to increase water management efficiency in rice cultivation. The objective of the present article is to understand farmers’ perceptions about the benefits and risks of implementing AWD. Data from interviews with 319 farmers showed that they recognise nine interactions between AWD's economic, environmental and health aspects but prioritise economic factors when assessing its benefits. We also identified the main channels and spaces of communication and debate on issues related to agriculture and health that are likely to be effective in promoting the diffusion of AWD. The study demonstrated the relevance of integrated actions to encourage the adoption of agricultural innovations which consider the interactions between environmental sustainability, health issues, and producers' economic priorities.

Participation in farmer organizations and adoption of farming technologies among rice farmers in Ghana

PurposeThe authors examine the factors influencing membership in farmer organizations (FO) and their effects on the decision to adopt farm technologies by rice farmers in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a farm survey of 900 households from Northern Ghana and a recursive bivariate probit (RBP) model that accounts for selection bias and endogeneity.FindingsThe results indicate that the household head’s decision to adopt machinery and row planting increases by 38.4 and 25.3%, respectively, upon joining a farmer organization. Membership in farmer organization is positively influenced by off-farm income, asset value, farmer organization location and farmer location in Upper West region but negatively by males, age and total livestock units owned. Machinery adoption is positively influenced by membership in farmer organizations and respondent being male but negatively influenced by the years of schooling, farm size, farm distance and location of a farmer in Ghana's Upper East and West regions. Similarly, row planting adoption is positively influenced by membership in farmers' organization but adversely by farm size, farm distance and a farmer's location in Upper East region of Ghana.Research limitations/implicationsIt can be concluded that membership in farmers' organizations significantly impacts farm household head’s decision to adopt machinery and row planting in rice production, which potentially enhance crop productivity.Practical implicationsThese results show the importance of agricultural stakeholders in encouraging the formation and strengthening of farmer organizations to support the adoption of modern farming technologies.Originality/valueDeveloping literature has demonstrated that farmer organizations promote the adoption of agricultural innovations. However, most of these studies have concentrated on conventional agricultural innovations and have used methods that fail to account for potential selection bias. This paper fills this important gap.