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Heterogeneous effects of agricultural technical assistance in Colombia

Author

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  • Nicolás Arturo Torres Franco
  • Eleonora Dávalos
  • Leonardo Fabio Morales

Abstract

Small family farms account for 72 percent of the farms in the world. Most of these farms, in developing countries, face labor productivity gaps. One of the strategies to increase agricultural productivity focuses on implementing technical assistance programs. Using agriculture microdata, we estimate the marginal treatment effect of receiving technical assistance services. We find that technical assistance generates heterogeneous effects. On average, agricultural units receiving technical assistance increased their agricultural production by 50.4 percent. However, there is important heterogeneity of technical assistance’s effects across the production units’ unobserved and observed characteristics. **** RESUMEN: Las unidades familiares agrícolas representan el 72 por ciento de las unidades productoras agrícolas del mundo. La mayoría de estas unidades familiares, en países en desarrollo, enfrentan brechas de productividad laboral. Una de las estrategias para incrementar la productividad agrícola se centra en la implementación de programas de asistencia técnica. Utilizando microdatos agrícolas, estimamos el efecto marginal del tratamiento de recibir servicios de asistencia técnica. Encontramos que la asistencia técnica genera efectos heterogéneos. En promedio, las unidades agrícolas que recibieron asistencia técnica aumentaron su producción agrícola en un 50,4 por ciento. Sin embargo, existe una importante heterogeneidad de los efectos de la asistencia técnica en las características no observadas y observadas de las unidades de producción.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolás Arturo Torres Franco & Eleonora Dávalos & Leonardo Fabio Morales, 2021. "Heterogeneous effects of agricultural technical assistance in Colombia," Borradores de Economia 1164, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdr:borrec:1164
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.32468/be.1164
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    family farms; technical assistance; heterogeneous effects; Unidades agrícolas familiares; asistencia técnica; MTE;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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