{"title":"Revitalising smallholder agriculture: the impact of technical training in rural Lebanon","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s40888-024-00329-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>This paper provides new evidence about the impact of an agricultural development initiative focused on the cherry sector and implemented in rural areas of the Bekaa Valley (Lebanon). The initiative aims to enhance economic opportunities of smallholder farmers by strengthening technical skills, fostering sustainable productions and developing market linkages. Using original micro data from a sample of 118 smallholder cherry farmers, we explore, through a Difference-in-Differences approach, whether the development initiative, based on the provision of extension services and accompaniment through technical training, impacts on a broad set of alternative agricultural outcomes—namely, total cherry production, average market price, management competency and the adoption of improved agricultural practices. The results show that beneficiary small-scale farmers achieve better performances in three outcomes out of the four considered, with the adoption of improved and sustainable agricultural practices as the most remarkable result. Conversely, the management of the agricultural economic activity does not experience any statistically significant variation connected to the initiative implementation. The analysis of a limited source of treatment heterogeneity discloses the primary role of technical training, rather than other kinds of material support, to explain the main results.</p>","PeriodicalId":44858,"journal":{"name":"Economia Politica","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Economia Politica","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-024-00329-y","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper provides new evidence about the impact of an agricultural development initiative focused on the cherry sector and implemented in rural areas of the Bekaa Valley (Lebanon). The initiative aims to enhance economic opportunities of smallholder farmers by strengthening technical skills, fostering sustainable productions and developing market linkages. Using original micro data from a sample of 118 smallholder cherry farmers, we explore, through a Difference-in-Differences approach, whether the development initiative, based on the provision of extension services and accompaniment through technical training, impacts on a broad set of alternative agricultural outcomes—namely, total cherry production, average market price, management competency and the adoption of improved agricultural practices. The results show that beneficiary small-scale farmers achieve better performances in three outcomes out of the four considered, with the adoption of improved and sustainable agricultural practices as the most remarkable result. Conversely, the management of the agricultural economic activity does not experience any statistically significant variation connected to the initiative implementation. The analysis of a limited source of treatment heterogeneity discloses the primary role of technical training, rather than other kinds of material support, to explain the main results.
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This journal publishes peer-reviewed articles that link theory and analysis in political economy, promoting a deeper understanding of economic realities and more effective courses of policy action. Established in 1984, the journal has kept pace with the times in disseminating high-quality and influential research aimed at establishing fruitful links between theories, approaches and institutions. With this relaunch (which combines Springer’s worldwide scientific scope with the Italian cultural roots of il Mulino and Fondazione Edison, whose research has been published by the two mentioned publishers for many years), the journal further reinforces its position in the European and international economic debate and scientific community. Furthermore, this move increases its pluralistic attention to the role that – at the micro, sectoral, and macro level – institutions and innovation play in the unfolding of economic change at different stages of development.
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