Why we should rethink ‘adoption’ in agricultural innovation: Empirical insights from Malawi

Thirze Hermans, Stephen Whitfield, Andrew J. Dougill, Christian Thierfelder · 2020 · Land Degradation and Development

Summary. This study challenges the standard adoption framework for measuring agricultural innovation in Malawi. Using participatory research, the authors show that farmer decision-making around conservation agriculture is dynamic, multidimensional, and contextual—not the linear process assumed by typical technology transfer models. They identify four key factors shaping adoption: social dynamics, contextual costs and benefits, risk aversion, and practice adaptation. Effective scaling requires building on existing farming systems and knowledge.

Read the original

@article{hermans-2020-why-we-should-rethink-adoption,
  title   = {Why we should rethink ‘adoption’ in agricultural innovation: Empirical insights from Malawi},
  author  = {Thirze Hermans and Stephen Whitfield and Andrew J. Dougill and Christian Thierfelder},
  journal = {Land Degradation and Development},
  year    = {2020},
  doi     = {10.1002/ldr.3833},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3833}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Why we should rethink ‘adoption’ in agricultural innovation: Empirical insights from Malawi
AU  - Thirze Hermans
AU  - Stephen Whitfield
AU  - Andrew J. Dougill
AU  - Christian Thierfelder
JO  - Land Degradation and Development
PY  - 2020
DO  - 10.1002/ldr.3833
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3833
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1002/ldr.3833

Countries

Malawi

Categories

agtech, innovation-theory, climate-and-environment

Added

2026-04-28