Color-Blind to the Obvious: Salience, Misperception, and Varietal Adoption in Uganda
Published:
Agricultural technology adoption decisions require farmers to understand the characteristics of the varieties they are growing, yet farmers often misidentify their varieties and their traits. In Uganda, we study how variety misidentification affects farmers’ adoption decisions by using DNA fingerprinting to objectively measure sweet potato varieties and traits, then randomly providing either general information about nutrition and disease resistance or general information plus DNA-based feedback on farmers’ specific varieties. As a response to DNA feedback, adoption of advantageous varieties increases substantially while general information alone has no effect on behavior despite increasing salience. The findings are consistent with a framework where farmers hold systematic beliefs that advantageous traits are negatively correlated. The resulting varietal choices lead to meaningful gains in nutrition and child health.
AEA RCT Registry: AEARCTR-0010070
Recommended citation: Mallia, P. "Color-Blind to the Obvious: Salience, Misperception, and Varietal Adoption in Uganda."