Identifying the Potential Adopters of an Agricultural Innovation

Identifying the Potential Adopters of an Agricultural Innovation Geoff Kaine Department of Primary Industries, Victoria Dr V Wright and Prof R Cooksey University of New England, Armidale, NSW Presentation to National Symposium on Understanding Practice Change by Farmers Melbourne, Victoria, 2008

Key Messages
The adoption of many agricultural innovations has not met expectations.
We have developed a method for identifying the potential adopters of agricultural innovations.
The method has shown that the number of potential adopters is often much smaller than we think. This means extension has often been more successful than we thought.
The method can be used to help set priorities for research, extension and policy.

Outline
Why is it important to identify the number of potential adopters of agricultural innovations.
Summarise the theory.
Describe a method for identifying the number of potential adopters of agricultural innovations.
Present an example.
Discuss some implications for policy, research and extension.

Why it is Important
Research
Knowing how many producers might adopt helps in allocating funds to research projects.
Extension
Knowing how many have adopted, and how many may adopt, helps in planning extension programs.
Policy
Knowing how many producers might adopt, and why, helps in setting policies.

Potential Adopters
Those producers for whom the innovation a potentially offers a net benefit.
Those producers for whom the innovation will create a net benefit by assisting them to better meet their utilitarian, social and hedonic goals as managers of agricultural enterprises given sufficient knowledge of the consequences of adopting the innovation.
The number of potential adopters is the market for an innovation.

The Theory - Involvement
Involvement is a measure of motivation to invest time and energy.
Sources are utilitarian, social and hedonic.
Involvement is intensified when there is uncertainty about the consequences for achieving goals.

Involvement

Involvement and Farming
The adoption of an innovation is a highly involving decision for producers.
Producers devote time and effort to reasoning about the consequences of adopting.
This requires they identify the elements in their farm system that interact with the innovation to influence the benefits and costs of adoption.

The Theory – Farm Context
The elements in a farm system that interact with an innovation to influence the benefits and costs of adoption is the farm context for that innovation.
The farm context can include physical, technological and lifestyle characteristics, and perceptions of risks.
The number of potential adopters is the set of producers with farm contexts that suit an innovation.
Differences in farm context equate with different benefit segments.

The Method
Face-to-face interviewing to identify farm context.
Large scale survey to statistically validate interview results and to quantify population and benefit segments.
Face-to-face interviews to validate membership of benefit segments and implications.

Example
Micro-irrigation in Fruit Growing
Promoted to increase efficiency of water use.
Apparently limited adoption.
Surprisingly few fruit growers attending extension events.

Micro-irrigation in fruit growing
Benefits sought by fruit growers
Reduced use of water and labour
Greater control over volume delivered
Flexibility in timing of activities

Micro-irrigation in fruit growing
Farm Context
Limited labour
Limited water supplies
Problems with high water tables or salinity
Problems with supply of irrigation water at volume
Hilly or sandy country
High density planting
Irrigation water on demand

Farm Context and Benefit Segments 23% 24% 17% 15% 22% Yes No Yes No No Yes No Segment 1 Control and time saving redevelopers Segment 2 Time-saving converters Segment 3 Water-saving micro-irrigators Segment 5 Flood irrigators Segment 4 Control redevelopers High density planting Limited labour High density planting Limited water supplies, watertable or salinity problems Yes

Implications - Research
Typically, the number of potential adopters is only a fraction of producers in an industry or region.
Knowing the benefit segments for an innovation would support the tailoring of research products for different segments.
Individual producers probably cannot represent all benefit segments. This should be considered in the recruitment of producers as participants in research programs.

Implications - Extension
The spread of innovations among potential adopters is usually under-estimated. This means extension has often been more successful than was thought.
Extension messages can be tailored to appeal to different benefit segments to accelerate adoption.
Declining attendance by producers may signal success rather than failure.

Implications - Policy
Extension is a policy instrument. It accelerates adoption by reducing the time and effort producers must invest in learning.
Other policy instruments are needed to expand the population of potential adopters.
The method described here could be used to help predict producers responses to policy instruments like infrastructure change and regulation.

Conclusion
The adoption of many agricultural innovations has not met expectations.
We have developed a method for identifying the potential adopters of agricultural innovations.
The method has shown that the number of potential adopters is often much smaller than we think. This means extension has often been more successful than we thought.
The method can be used to help set priorities for research, extension and policy.

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Identifying the Potential Adopters of an Agricultural Innovation

by Dave Pannell on Nov 13, 2008

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Identifying the Potential Adopters of an Agricultural Innovation — Presentation Transcript