Authors : R.A. Balgah and G. Buchenrieder
Abstract: In sub-Saharan Africa where populations grow faster than the economy, new and improved agricultural technology can potentially reduce consumption and income-risks of smallholder farmers. This position is generally accepted within scholarly literature and experts often conclude that risk exposed farmers, who are better-off and less risk averse, adopt new technology faster than the very poor. This contribution discloses a comparative case study, analyzing a random sample of Cameroonian smallholder farmers who were offered to adopt fish farming by a non-profit non-government organization. Results indicate deficiencies in targeting risk-exposed farmers. Also, the needs and measures for the adoption of technology and to adapt innovative technologies to the specific needs and farming systems for optimizing risk reduction is explained. The need for impact assessments as a prerequisite for avoiding poor households to be pushed deeper into poverty due to technology adoption is also discussed.
R.A. Balgah and G. Buchenrieder, 2011. Does Technology Adoption Reduce Risks for Smallholder Farmers in Cameroon?. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 8: 13-22.