| Article ID: | iaor2017785 |
| Volume: | 48 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Start Page Number: | 241 |
| End Page Number: | 259 |
| Publication Date: | Mar 2017 |
| Journal: | Agricultural Economics |
| Authors: | Vanlauwe Bernard, Ainembabazi John Herbert, van Asten Piet, Ouma Emily, Blomme Guy, Birachi Eliud Abucheli, Nguezet Paul Martin Dontsop, Mignouna Djana Babatima, Manyong Victor M |
| Keywords: | economics, behaviour, developing countries, performance, simulation, stochastic processes, decision |
The article examines the effect of membership in farmer groups (MFG) on adoption lag of agricultural technologies and farm performance in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. We use duration and stochastic production frontier models on farm household data. We find that the longer the duration of MFG, the shorter the adoption lag and much more so if combined with extension service delivery. Farmer groups function as an important mechanism for improving farm productivity through reduced technical inefficiency in input use. We discuss policy implications under which farmer groups are a useful channel to reduce adoption lag, and the means through which improved farm performance can be achieved.