Date of Graduation
9-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (MS)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
Advisor/Mentor
Durand-Morat, Alvaro
Committee Member
Hans De Steur
Third Committee Member
Lawson Connor
Fourth Committee Member
Robert Andrade
Keywords
adoption; certified seeds; Colombia; Latin America; rice producers; rice technology
Abstract
As the population rises, there is a growing need to increase agricultural productivity to keep up with food demands. However, agricultural land expansion to increase production is not a sustainable solution long-term. The Global South particularly faces greater needs for rice as a staple food, yet countries in Latin America like Colombia have faced declining rice yields. Technologies that boost agricultural productivity using existing land, such as certified seeds, are considered a tool to address this problem in the face of land scarcity and climate change. Certified seeds have high genetic purity and are free from disease. Despite the quality of these seeds, adoption rates in Colombia have been low (36% in 2021), although it is Latin America’s third largest rice producer. Colombia has high per capita rice consumption compared to neighboring countries at 43 kg annually, and the Colombian rice sector is seeking to increase its competitiveness as it opens its rice market through trade integration. One of the ways the rice sector is seeking to increase yields is through the promotion of certified seeds. Reasons for low adoption have not been widely studied in the region in spite of evidence of low adoption rates. Using a producer survey, this study assesses factors that positively or negatively influence certified seed adoption in the Tolima department of Colombia to understand how to enhance technology usage. A total of 353 responses provide information about rice production practices and yields in 2023, as well as socioeconomic information about farming households. Assessment is conducted at the plot level to improve the accuracy of analysis by accounting for any plot-level differences influencing adoption. An OLS model serves as a baseline, while three methods that control for endogeneity provide a more nuanced understanding of adoption effects: a control function approach, endogenous switching regression, and a copula switching regression. A control function regression is used to understand adoption interactions, and an endogenous switching regression model is used to assess drivers of adoption, as well as yield outcomes among adopters and non-adopters. Yield impacts are quantified to understand the outcomes of the adoption decision, which could be useful in promoting adoption. Results indicate that the combination of adoption with other variables has a significant impact on yields. Crop rotation, farm size, area harvested, negative weather events, and extension significantly influence yields, depending on adoption status. The drivers of adoption are farm size, seed cost, and the involvement of women in decision-making, while credit is negatively associated with adoption. Treatment effects indicate that adoption leads to a 1.5 tons/ha yield gain for adopters, and if non-adopters were to use certified seeds, their yields gains would be 0.6 tons/ha. Insights have implications for technology adoption in Colombia and other rice-producing countries to enhance the global rice supply and keep up with food demands.
Citation
Hazelbaker, J. (2025). Estimating Drivers of Certified Seed Adoption Among Colombian Rice Producers and Assessing Yield Impacts at the Plot Level. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5838
