Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach

Sweet potato, with its nutritional benefits, high yield, and fast maturity, holds great potential for addressing food scarcity in arid areas. However, smallholder farmers in these regions face challenges in preserving sweet potato seed, particularly after prolonged dry spells. Lack of effective stor...

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Main Authors: Mayanja, Sarah, Kwikiriza, Norman, Mwende, Janet, Okello, Julius, Jagwe, John, Ssekandi, Joseph
Format: Ponencia
Language:Inglés
Published: International Potato Center 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/136983
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author Mayanja, Sarah
Kwikiriza, Norman
Mwende, Janet
Okello, Julius
Jagwe, John
Ssekandi, Joseph
author_browse Jagwe, John
Kwikiriza, Norman
Mayanja, Sarah
Mwende, Janet
Okello, Julius
Ssekandi, Joseph
author_facet Mayanja, Sarah
Kwikiriza, Norman
Mwende, Janet
Okello, Julius
Jagwe, John
Ssekandi, Joseph
author_sort Mayanja, Sarah
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sweet potato, with its nutritional benefits, high yield, and fast maturity, holds great potential for addressing food scarcity in arid areas. However, smallholder farmers in these regions face challenges in preserving sweet potato seed, particularly after prolonged dry spells. Lack of effective storage methods and difficulty in maintaining quality seed impede farmers from fully harnessing the crop’s potential to enhance their food and income security. To address this issue, the Triple S (Sand, Storage, Sprouting) approach was introduced as a root-based technology for preserving sweet potato seed. Despite its availability, farmers have shown inconsistent adoption of this technology. To gain insights into the motivators for adopting or dis-adopting the Triple S, this study employed the laddering technique and interviewed 60 randomly selected male and female youth farmers, categorized as users and non-users of the technology. Interviews revealed the attributes, consequences, and values associated with the technology, uncovering the underlying mental constructs that influence the adoption decisions of young farmers and the values that shape those choices. The findings highlight that personal values such as a healthy life, happiness, social security, achievement of personal goals, and peace of mind drive the adoption of the Triple S. Specifically, only female users mentioned peace of mind as a significant motivator. On the other hand, non-use of the technology was associated with negative values, including perceptions of being unhealthy, unhappy, and ashamed. The study underscores the importance of understanding mental constructs in designing effective strategies for technology uptake and provides policy recommendations to address this matter.
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spelling CGSpace1369832025-11-06T14:14:04Z Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach Mayanja, Sarah Kwikiriza, Norman Mwende, Janet Okello, Julius Jagwe, John Ssekandi, Joseph youth agriculture research innovation adoption sweet potatoes Sweet potato, with its nutritional benefits, high yield, and fast maturity, holds great potential for addressing food scarcity in arid areas. However, smallholder farmers in these regions face challenges in preserving sweet potato seed, particularly after prolonged dry spells. Lack of effective storage methods and difficulty in maintaining quality seed impede farmers from fully harnessing the crop’s potential to enhance their food and income security. To address this issue, the Triple S (Sand, Storage, Sprouting) approach was introduced as a root-based technology for preserving sweet potato seed. Despite its availability, farmers have shown inconsistent adoption of this technology. To gain insights into the motivators for adopting or dis-adopting the Triple S, this study employed the laddering technique and interviewed 60 randomly selected male and female youth farmers, categorized as users and non-users of the technology. Interviews revealed the attributes, consequences, and values associated with the technology, uncovering the underlying mental constructs that influence the adoption decisions of young farmers and the values that shape those choices. The findings highlight that personal values such as a healthy life, happiness, social security, achievement of personal goals, and peace of mind drive the adoption of the Triple S. Specifically, only female users mentioned peace of mind as a significant motivator. On the other hand, non-use of the technology was associated with negative values, including perceptions of being unhealthy, unhappy, and ashamed. The study underscores the importance of understanding mental constructs in designing effective strategies for technology uptake and provides policy recommendations to address this matter. 2023-10-11 2024-01-04T12:46:39Z 2024-01-04T12:46:39Z Presentation https://hdl.handle.net/10568/136983 en Open Access application/pdf International Potato Center Mayanja, Sarah; Kwikiriza, Norman; Mwende, Janet; Okello, Julius; Jagwe, John; Ssekandi, Joseph. 2023. Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach. Presentation. Presented at the CGIAR GENDER Conference 'From Research to Impact: Towards just and resilient agri-food systems', New Delhi, India, 9-12 October 2023. International Potato Center
spellingShingle youth
agriculture
research
innovation adoption
sweet potatoes
Mayanja, Sarah
Kwikiriza, Norman
Mwende, Janet
Okello, Julius
Jagwe, John
Ssekandi, Joseph
Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title_full Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title_fullStr Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title_full_unstemmed Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title_short Motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology: A means-end chain approach
title_sort motivating factors influencing youth smallholder farmers to adopt sweet potato seed technology a means end chain approach
topic youth
agriculture
research
innovation adoption
sweet potatoes
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/136983
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