Technology Adoption in West Africa: Adoption and Disadoption of Soybeans on the Togo-Benin Border

Abstract

New agricultural technologies are promoted in developing countries to bring about some combination of economic, environmental, and or health benefit. All of these benefits are considered to improve the livelihoods of the households that adopt them. However, the adoption of these new innovations by farm households is never uniform but is based on each household's evaluation of the utility of the new technology with relation to that household's attributes. This study looks at the adoption of a new agricultural crop—soybeans—that has been promoted for its nutritional effects in the Tamberma region of Benin and Togo. Variables affecting adoption and disadoption are based on five broad categories of adoption determinants found in the literature: household preferences, resource endowments, economic incentives, risk and uncertainty, and biophysical characteristics. A sixth category of farmer's perceptions is added to this model to determine current perceptions of soybean utility in the study area. A Probit model is employed to determine factors affecting adoption and disadoption rates in the study area. Variables statistically correlated with the adoption decision include: education, extension, membership, health, cash cropping, and soil quality. Variables statistically correlated with the disadoption decision include: education, experience, expected price, and type of soil.