Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support
Agricultural technologies shown to be highly effective in research trials often have a lower impact when utilized by smallholder farmers. Both heterogeneous returns and suboptimal application are believed to play a role in this efficacy gap. We provide experimental evidence on the impact of a biocon...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2024
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192 |
| _version_ | 1855542599380631552 |
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| author | Kariuki, Sarah W. Mohamed, Asha B. Mutuku, Urbanus Mutegi, Charity Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit Hoffmann, Vivian |
| author_browse | Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit Hoffmann, Vivian Kariuki, Sarah W. Mohamed, Asha B. Mutegi, Charity Mutuku, Urbanus |
| author_facet | Kariuki, Sarah W. Mohamed, Asha B. Mutuku, Urbanus Mutegi, Charity Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit Hoffmann, Vivian |
| author_sort | Kariuki, Sarah W. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Agricultural technologies shown to be highly effective in research trials often have a lower impact when utilized by smallholder farmers. Both heterogeneous returns and suboptimal application are believed to play a role in this efficacy gap. We provide experimental evidence on the impact of a biocontrol product for the control of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungal byproduct, as applied by smallholder farmers in Kenya. By varying the level of external support across farmers, we investigate the role of misapplication in the effectiveness gap. We find that the provision of biocontrol together with a one-time training on application reduces aflatoxin contamination in maize relative to a control group by 34 percent. Additional training to the farmers in the form of a call to remind them of the correct time of application in the crop cycle increases the reduction to 52 percent. Our findings indicate that farmers can achieve meaningful improvements in food safety using biocontrol even with minimal training on its use and that additional support at the recommended time of application can strengthen its impact. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace168192 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1681922025-11-06T07:25:25Z Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support Kariuki, Sarah W. Mohamed, Asha B. Mutuku, Urbanus Mutegi, Charity Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit Hoffmann, Vivian food safety aflatoxins impact assessment agricultural technology smallholders training maize crops Agricultural technologies shown to be highly effective in research trials often have a lower impact when utilized by smallholder farmers. Both heterogeneous returns and suboptimal application are believed to play a role in this efficacy gap. We provide experimental evidence on the impact of a biocontrol product for the control of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungal byproduct, as applied by smallholder farmers in Kenya. By varying the level of external support across farmers, we investigate the role of misapplication in the effectiveness gap. We find that the provision of biocontrol together with a one-time training on application reduces aflatoxin contamination in maize relative to a control group by 34 percent. Additional training to the farmers in the form of a call to remind them of the correct time of application in the crop cycle increases the reduction to 52 percent. Our findings indicate that farmers can achieve meaningful improvements in food safety using biocontrol even with minimal training on its use and that additional support at the recommended time of application can strengthen its impact. 2024-12-20 2024-12-20T20:30:29Z 2024-12-20T20:30:29Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135798 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/124974 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102620 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138944 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Kariuki, Sarah W.; Mohamed, Asha B.; Mutuku, Urbanus; Mutegi, Charity; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; and Hoffmann, Vivian. 2024. Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2304. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192 |
| spellingShingle | food safety aflatoxins impact assessment agricultural technology smallholders training maize crops Kariuki, Sarah W. Mohamed, Asha B. Mutuku, Urbanus Mutegi, Charity Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit Hoffmann, Vivian Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title | Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title_full | Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title_short | Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| title_sort | effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol evidence from kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support |
| topic | food safety aflatoxins impact assessment agricultural technology smallholders training maize crops |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192 |
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