Peer Effects in Agricultural Extension : Evidence from Community Knowledge Workers in Rural Uganda

Peer effects are increasingly important in agricultural development through social learning and technology adoption among smallholder farmers in rural communities. In sub-Saharan Africa, peer effects can enhance rural development by improving the performance of rural extension workers, and thereby facilitate the diffusion of innovations among smallholder farmers. Yet, analyses of peer effects in the performance of extension agents remain limited. We respond to this knowledge gap by estimating peer effects in the performance of community knowledge workers (CKWs) who utilize smartphones to provide extension services in rural Uganda. We apply spatial econometric analysis to administrative data on the performance of 650 CKWs across 13 Ugandan districts in 2011 (performance being measured by the amount of information provided in response to farmers’ request). Results show positive and statistically significant peer effects on CKW performance by 49%. The result suggests that policy makers and practitioners can utilize peer effects among rural extension agents to spur their performance and thereby agricultural and rural development in Uganda and similar contexts elsewhere