Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda
To achieve agricultural transformation in developing countries in the face of challenges such as climate change, the use of improved crop varieties needs a jumpstart. Using a randomized controlled trial in Uganda, we test how the nudge theory can be harnessed to deliver increased adoption of improve...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180647 |
| _version_ | 1855519004483911680 |
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| author | Okello, J.J. Just, D.R. Verschoor, A. Ojwang, S.O. Mutiso, J.M. Mulwa, C.K. Gong, C. Namanda, S. Rajendran, S. Ssali, R.T. Okim, M. Campos, Hugo |
| author_browse | Campos, Hugo Gong, C. Just, D.R. Mulwa, C.K. Mutiso, J.M. Namanda, S. Ojwang, S.O. Okello, J.J. Okim, M. Rajendran, S. Ssali, R.T. Verschoor, A. |
| author_facet | Okello, J.J. Just, D.R. Verschoor, A. Ojwang, S.O. Mutiso, J.M. Mulwa, C.K. Gong, C. Namanda, S. Rajendran, S. Ssali, R.T. Okim, M. Campos, Hugo |
| author_sort | Okello, J.J. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | To achieve agricultural transformation in developing countries in the face of challenges such as climate change, the use of improved crop varieties needs a jumpstart. Using a randomized controlled trial in Uganda, we test how the nudge theory can be harnessed to deliver increased adoption of improved sweet potato varieties. We find a 7% treatment effect, though the effect is not robust to alternative specifications. We find compelling evidence for heterogeneous treatment effects, with robust treatment effects among those who experienced a stronger emotional connection to the nudges that we deployed. A key concept to help explain this is nostalgia: farmers prone to nostalgia responded more strongly to the traditional farming imagery used to nudge the adoption of improved varieties. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace180647 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1806472026-01-26T15:10:38Z Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda Okello, J.J. Just, D.R. Verschoor, A. Ojwang, S.O. Mutiso, J.M. Mulwa, C.K. Gong, C. Namanda, S. Rajendran, S. Ssali, R.T. Okim, M. Campos, Hugo sweet potatoes technology adoption To achieve agricultural transformation in developing countries in the face of challenges such as climate change, the use of improved crop varieties needs a jumpstart. Using a randomized controlled trial in Uganda, we test how the nudge theory can be harnessed to deliver increased adoption of improved sweet potato varieties. We find a 7% treatment effect, though the effect is not robust to alternative specifications. We find compelling evidence for heterogeneous treatment effects, with robust treatment effects among those who experienced a stronger emotional connection to the nudges that we deployed. A key concept to help explain this is nostalgia: farmers prone to nostalgia responded more strongly to the traditional farming imagery used to nudge the adoption of improved varieties. 2025-12 2026-01-26T14:58:53Z 2026-01-26T14:58:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180647 Limited Access Okello, J.J.; Just, D.R.; Verschoor, A.; Ojwang, S.O.; Mutiso, J.M.; Mulwa, C.K.; Gong, C.; Namanda, S.; Rajendran, S.; Ssali, R.T.; Okim, M.; Campos, H. 2025. Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: Evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda. Food Security. ISSN 1876-4525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-025-XXXX-X |
| spellingShingle | sweet potatoes technology adoption Okello, J.J. Just, D.R. Verschoor, A. Ojwang, S.O. Mutiso, J.M. Mulwa, C.K. Gong, C. Namanda, S. Rajendran, S. Ssali, R.T. Okim, M. Campos, Hugo Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title | Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title_full | Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title_short | Nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties: evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in Uganda |
| title_sort | nudging the adoption of improved crop varieties evidence from a large randomized controlled sweetpotato trial in uganda |
| topic | sweet potatoes technology adoption |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180647 |
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