Show and Tell: Farmer Field Days and Learning about Inputs with Heterogeneous Yield Effects

Abstract

Farmer field days (FFDs) are a tool used to transfer knowledge about new technologies from trained farmers to others in their communities. However, studies show mixed results for the effectiveness of FFDs for information diffusion. We conducted experimental auctions for agricultural inputs with a random sample of individuals from villages that held farmer-led FFDs for organic inputs. Our model and empirical results show soil heterogeneity causes uncertainty of the appropriateness of organic inputs on farmers’ own land. This leads to negative impacts of attendance at FFD on willingness to pay compared to non-attendees, and suggests limitations of farmer-led FFD in some contexts.