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Assessing the Impact of Financial Incentives in Extension Programmes: Evidence From Ireland

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  • Doris Läpple
  • Thia Hennessy

Abstract

We evaluate whether the effectiveness of a participatory extension programme changes when an incentive is introduced that financially rewards farmers for participation. Using data from a dairy farm extension programme operated in Ireland, the evaluation assesses whether farmers who joined before the financial incentive was introduced receive larger benefits from the extension programme than farmers who joined after the financial incentive. The results from a propensity score matching analysis reveal that farmers who joined before the incentive significantly improved their farm performance, as measured in gross margins and yields, while farmers who joined after the incentive did not significantly benefit from the extension programme. This implies that the incentive to participate is a windfall gain to these later participants.

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  • Doris Läpple & Thia Hennessy, 2015. "Assessing the Impact of Financial Incentives in Extension Programmes: Evidence From Ireland," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 781-795, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:66:y:2015:i:3:p:781-795
    DOI: 10.1111/1477-9552.12108
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    Cited by:

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    3. Lorraine Balaine & Doris Läpple & Emma J Dillon & Cathal Buckley, 2023. "Extension and management pathways for enhanced farm sustainability: evidence from Irish dairy farms," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(2), pages 810-850.
    4. Sylvester Ochieng Ogutu & Andrea Fongar & Theda Gödecke & Lisa Jäckering & Henry Mwololo & Michael Njuguna & Meike Wollni & Matin Qaim, 2020. "How to make farming and agricultural extension more nutrition-sensitive: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Kenya [Agricultural extension: good intentions and hard realities]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(1), pages 95-118.
    5. Claire Jack & Adewale H. Adenuga & Austen Ashfield & Michael Wallace, 2020. "Investigating the Drivers of Farmers’ Engagement in a Participatory Extension Programme: The Case of Northern Ireland Business Development Groups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Yiorgos Gadanakis & Jorge Campos-González & Philip Jones, 2024. "Linking Entrepreneurship to Productivity: Using a Composite Indicator for Farm-Level Innovation in UK Agriculture with Secondary Data," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Laepple, Doris, 2022. "Framing of Agricultural Climate Change Information," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322173, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Anthony Cawley & Cathal O’Donoghue & Kevin Heanue & Rachel Hilliard & Maura Sheehan, 2018. "The Impact of Extension Services on Farm‐level Income: An Instrumental Variable Approach to Combat Endogeneity Concerns," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 585-612, December.
    9. O’Callaghan, Daniel & Hennessy, Thia & Breen, James, 2017. "An Investigation of Conditional Cash Payments in Agricultural Extension: Evidence from Beef Discussion Groups in Ireland," 91st Annual Conference, April 24-26, 2017, Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland 258651, Agricultural Economics Society.
    10. O'Callaghan, Daniel & Hennessy, Thia & Breen, James, 2016. "Factors Associated with Extension Programme Participation: The case of discussion groups for Irish cattle farmers," 90th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2016, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 236329, Agricultural Economics Society.
    11. Adenuga, Adewale H. & Jack, Claire & Ashfield, Austen & Wallace, Michael, 2021. "Estimating the impact of membership of participatory extension programme across different enterprise groups: a conditional difference-in-differences approach," 95th Annual Conference, March 29-30, 2021, Warwick, UK (Hybrid) 311082, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.
    12. Wei Yang & Jorie Knook, 2021. "Spatial evaluation of the impact of a climate change participatory extension programme on the uptake of soil management practices," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(3), pages 539-565, July.
    13. Wei Yang & Le Wang, 2023. "Impact of farmer group participation on the adoption of sustainable farming practices—spatial analysis of New Zealand dairy farmers," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 701-717, September.
    14. Adewale H. Adenuga & Claire Jack & Austen Ashfield & Michael Wallace, 2021. "Assessing the Impact of Participatory Extension Programme Membership on Farm Business Performance in Northern Ireland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-12, September.

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