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How do Agricultural Programmes Alter Crop Production? Evidence from Ecuador
Author(s) -
Cavatassi Romina,
Salazar Lina,
GonzálezFlores Mario,
Winters Paul
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.157
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1477-9552
pISSN - 0021-857X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-9552.2010.00279.x
Subject(s) - counterfactual thinking , production (economics) , agriculture , matching (statistics) , propensity score matching , impact evaluation , production function , function (biology) , agricultural productivity , economics , impact assessment , estimation , crop production , agricultural economics , business , mathematics , geography , microeconomics , political science , statistics , philosophy , management , archaeology , epistemology , public administration , evolutionary biology , biology
Evaluating agricultural programmes requires considering not only the programmes’ influence on input and output indicators, but also considering the relationship between these indicators as embodied in the production technology. This article examines the impact on production of an intervention in the Ecuadorian Sierra designed to improve returns to potato production through training and through linking smallholders to high‐value markets. Critical to identifying the impact of the programme is the careful construction of a counterfactual and meticulous data collection. To assess the impact of the programme on production, a weighted estimation, where weights are constructed through propensity score matching, is employed to estimate a production function within a damage abatement framework. The function incorporates a series of interaction terms to assess the impact of the programme on the production technology. The findings provide evidence that the programme enhances yields both through a general shift in technology as well as increased input use. The results suggest that the use of effective farming techniques that are learned through the programme induce this technological shift.