How effective are financial mechanisms, such as microinsurance, climate finance, and access to credit, in supporting women in vulnerable rural communities' efforts to adapt to climate change?
Short answer
Key finding
Through a case study on the adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries, this research reveals that financial empowerment can boost farmers' abilities to adapt to climate-resilient agriculture, which may involve the female gender as well. This emphasizes the fact that, when accompanied by targeted policies and education, financial mechanisms go a long way to improve the adaptive capacity of such communities. Findings on gender-sensitive policy support at a localized level combined with access to finance in microinsurance and climate finance are fundamental necessities for empowerment. This directly responds to the sub-question demonstrated within this paper on how such tools, backed up by support from policies as well as educational interventions, work to support and strengthen resilience within vulnerable communities at the local, rural scale.This study is a meta-analysis that is quantitative; it outlines factors influencing the adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries, particularly focusing on the salient socio-economic and policy-related factors affecting adoption levels and potentially guiding interventions with a focus on climate change adaptation.
Short summary
A meta-analysis was carried out on the adoption of agricultural technology in developing countries and on findings that pinpoint significant determinants of adoption such as education and land size, access to credit, among others. The review shows that policies and interventions that focus on education, extension services, and secure land tenure significantly improve adoption rates. However, it also calls for localized approaches that consider the socio-economic constraints of the smallholder farmer. The study thus recommends that combining financial mechanisms such as access to credit with education and policy will help strengthen the adaptive capacity of vulnerable rural communities, particularly women.
Long answer
Long summary
What is this summary about?
This summary analyzes how financial mechanisms and policies promote the adoption of agricultural technologies that increase the resilience of vulnerable communities, especially women, to climate change.
What evidence is this summary based on?
This summary is based on one systematic review:
Ruzzante, S., Labarta, R., & Bilton, A. (2021). Adoption of agricultural technology in the developing world: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. World Development, 146, 105599. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X2100214X
What are the main findings?
This summary addresses the sub-question of how effective financial mechanisms, such as microinsurance, climate finance, and access to credit, are in supporting women in vulnerable rural communities' efforts to adapt to climate change. The meta-analysis investigates the factors influencing the adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries, with a focus on the socio-economic and policy-related aspects that affect adoption rates. It examines the role of financial tools, education, and secure land tenure in enhancing the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities, especially women, in the context of climate change. The results indicate that financial empowerment, combined with appropriate policies and education, can greatly enhance resilience and adaptive capacity among rural populations.
Education is found to play an important role in the strengthening ability of farmers in response to climate risks, mainly through the implementation of improved agricultural technologies. Since education equips the farmer with the knowledge and skills to understand and implement these technologies, it enhances their decision-making capability to help them respond effectively to climate-related challenges. Furthermore, availability of credit enhances the ability of farmers to afford innovations.
A financially empowered farmer has a potential for adopting changes within all segments including crop, irrigation, and more importantly conservation. However, this does not change the situation on adoption with certain technologies; instead land tenure security mainly determines their use for example of certain erosion controlling practices. In the case of insecure ownership or long-term land rights, the farmers would less likely invest in long-term soil conservation measures. Localized policies are also pivotal according to the study wherein policies would reflect the socio-economic conditions peculiar to rural communities.
Adaptation strategies must be tailored to reflect the different challenges and opportunities farmers face in different regions; gender-sensitive interventions are required, because, for example, women in most rural areas are responsible for agriculture and usually are constrained by technology adoption and land access. The more adaptation strategies reduce gender disparities through specific policies and programs, the more effective they will be.
The study highlights the need for a combination of financial mechanisms, education, and policies that are specifically designed to support vulnerable rural communities in building their adaptive capacity. A holistic approach combining financial support, educational outreach, and localized, gender-sensitive policies can build resilience in the face of climate change.
The best way to develop long-term climate adaptation and sustain rural livelihoods is by providing farmers with tools, resources, and knowledge for their empowerment. Policies should also be inclusive, reflecting the reality of the areas.
Review summaries
Adoption of agricultural technology in the developing world: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature
Review
Geography
Year
Citation
Number of included studies
Review type
Critical appraisal of included studies
Assessment review
1. Key finding
Overall
The study provides a quantitative meta-analysis of factors that influence the adoption of several agricultural technologies.
2. Short summary
The results are largely consistent with past research, which documents significant effects on adoption but with large variation and sensitivity to contextual factors. Key drivers of adoption are education, size of land, access to credit, tenure, extension service, and membership in a farmer organization. Education promotes the adoption of technologies such as improved varieties and mechanization, while extension services complement education, particularly for natural resource management technologies. Larger farms tend to have easier adoption of technologies, and it is imperative that affordable solutions come onto the scene for smallholders. Land tenure is an essential factor for the adoption of erosion control technologies. Generally, credit access promotes adoption, though its effect is weaker for infrastructure and mechanization. It suggests that researchers should more effectively refine their models, account for unobserved contextual factors, and tailor recommendations to the local settings. In addition, it argues that understanding local cultural, policy, and contextual variables is critical for promoting technology adoption.
3. Long summary
3.1 PICOS
Population: Farmers in various developing countries
Intervention: Agricultural technologies, including improved varieties, chemical inputs, natural resource management (NRM) technologies, mechanization, and infrastructure
Comparison: Adopters vs. non-adopters of agricultural technologies
Outcome: Factors influencing adoption: Key variables such as education, land size, household size, access to credit, land tenure, extension services, and farmer organization membership.
Study design: Meta-analysis of 367 regression models from the published literature on technology adoption
3.2 Risk of bias
large amount of unexplained heterogeneity was removed by evaluating factors such as study design, sample size, and methodology, duplicate extraction to remove selection bias
3.3 Publication bias Not assessed
3.4 Findings
This report analyses factors influencing the adoption of agricultural technologies and their impact on farm productivity and poverty reduction using a meta-analysis of 367 regression models based on published literature. Despite being recognized as holding potential for improving productivity of farms and alleviating poverty, many of these agricultural technologies enjoy low adoption rates in many contexts. The study aims at identifying key variables that consistently explain adoption decisions across different technologies and regions.
The analysis shows that several factors have a fairly consistent correlation with higher adoption rates across different technologies. These include education at the farmer level, household size, land size, access to credit, land tenure, access to extension services, and membership in farmer organizations. Education is the only factor consistently having positive influence on farmers' ability to adopt various technologies, especially improved varieties and chemical inputs. Similarly, larger land size correlates with greater adoption, especially for technologies like improved varieties and chemical inputs, which raises questions about the presumed scale-neutrality of these technologies. This finding suggests that large farms may be more capable of absorbing the fixed costs associated with adopting new technologies, while smallholder farmers may face barriers that hinder their adoption.
It is also the access to credit, which is vital in determining adoption, as access to credit can help adopters by giving them the financial input needed. However, rather than simple availability, this study places greater stress on understanding credit constraints. In particular, credit-constrained farmers may still face the challenge of accessing finance for technological adoption even though credit may technically be available. Therefore, the study recommends that researchers move beyond measuring "access to credit" and focus more on credit constraints to better understand their role in adoption.
Extension services, which provide farmers with valuable information and technical support, are found to be particularly important in combination with education. For example, extension services appear to substitute for formal education in the case of improved varieties. However, in this case, for more technologically intensive technologies, like NRM technologies, education and extension services are supplementary. This establishes the importance of integrated strategies that combine education and extension to effectively promote the adoption of these technologies, especially in regions where historically the adoption of NRM technologies has been low.
The other factor identified in the study is land tenure security. The study indicates that secure land tenure is pivotal in the adoption of NRM technologies like those requiring long-term investment, for instance, some form of erosion control. In areas of insecure land tenure, farmers will be least likely to take up expensive technologies with benefits reaped much later. Therefore, this study recommends that policies should heavily focus on the security of land tenure for farmers, particularly in resource environments where land degradation is a problem. Efforts toward land title formalisation or tenure security improvements may also imply greater implications for society and the environment.
The conclusion drawn from this study presents some important recommendations for researchers and policymakers. First, researchers are encouraged to adopt more nuanced approaches to understanding adoption by moving away from simple binary measures of technology use and, instead, investigating specific constraints and enabling factors influencing their adoption in distinct environments. Policymakers are also advised to incorporate a more detailed understanding of the local agricultural practices, cultural norms, and socio-economic conditions in designing and implementing their agricultural development programs. Promoting agricultural technologies in diverse, complex rural environments will hardly benefit from a one-size-fits-all approach.
From this study, while a number of key determinants of agricultural technology adoption have been identified, it is against the backdrop of caution that context plays a role in shaping adoption patterns. To increase adoption and maximize the impact of agricultural innovations on productivity and poverty reduction, strategies must be flexible, locally informed, and responsive to the specific needs and constraints of farmers in each region. Efforts to promote technological adoption should consider a combination of education, extension services, land tenure security, and access to credit, all while adapting to the unique circumstances of the target population.
The study concludes with recommendations for researchers and policymakers to consider the specific cultural, agricultural, and socio-economic conditions in each region when designing strategies to increase technology adoption. A one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be effective, and a deeper understanding of local factors is crucial for success.
3.5 Sensitivity analysis Not assessed
4. AMSTAR 2 assessment of the review
| 1. | Did the the review state clearly the components of PICOS (or appropriate equivalent)? | Yes | |
| 2. | Did the report of the review contain an explicit statement that the review methods were established prior to the conduct of the review and did the report justify any significant deviations from the protocol? (i.e. was there a protocol) | Yes | |
| 3. | Did the review authors use a comprehensive literature search strategy? | Yes | |
| 4. | Did the review authors perform study selection in duplicate? | Yes | |
| 5. | Did the review authors perform data extraction in duplicate? | Yes | |
| 6. | Did the review authors provide a list of excluded studies and justify the exclusions? | Yes | |
| 7. | Did the review authors describe the included studies in adequate detail? (Yes if table of included studies, partially if other descriptive overview) | Yes | |
| 8. | Did the review authors use a satisfactory technique for assessing the risk of bias (RoB) in individual studies that were included in the review? | Yes | |
| 9. | Did the review authors report on the sources of funding for the studies included in the review? | Yes | |
| 10. | If meta-analysis was performed did the review authors use appropriate methods for statistical combination of results? | Yes | |
| 11. | Did the review authors provide a satisfactory explanation for, and discussion of, any heterogeneity observed in the results of the review? | Yes | |
| 12. | If they performed quantitative synthesis did the review authors carry out an adequate investigation of publication bias (small study bias) and discuss its likely impact on the results of the review? | Yes | |
| 13. | Did the review authors report any potential sources of conflict of interest, including any funding they received for conducting the review? | Yes | |
| Overall (lowest rating on any critical item) | High |
5. Count of references to the following words
| Sex | 0 |
| Gender | 7 |
| Women | 1 |
| Intra-household | 0 |