Targeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing‐country agriculture: evidence from Malawi

Beliyou Haile, Carlo Azzarri, Cleo Roberts, David J. Spielman · 2016 · Agricultural Economics

Summary. A participatory action research program in Malawi tested agricultural technologies with smallholder farmers to reduce poverty and improve food security. The study found that better-off farmers were systematically selected to test innovations, creating bias. After accounting for observable differences, early results showed positive effects on maize yield and harvest value, but selection bias from unobservable factors remained a concern. The authors recommend improving program design and targeting criteria to enhance external validity.

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@article{haile-2016-targeting-bias-expected-impact-complex,
  title   = {Targeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing‐country agriculture: evidence from Malawi},
  author  = {Beliyou Haile and Carlo Azzarri and Cleo Roberts and David J. Spielman},
  journal = {Agricultural Economics},
  year    = {2016},
  doi     = {10.1111/agec.12336},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12336}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Targeting, bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing‐country agriculture: evidence from Malawi
AU  - Beliyou Haile
AU  - Carlo Azzarri
AU  - Cleo Roberts
AU  - David J. Spielman
JO  - Agricultural Economics
PY  - 2016
DO  - 10.1111/agec.12336
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12336
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1111/agec.12336

Countries

Malawi

Categories

agtech, food-systems, policy

Added

2026-04-28