Role of education and extension in the adoption of technology: A study of upland rice and soybean farmers in Central-West Brazil
研究了巴西南部高原地区水稻和大豆农户的教育水平与公共推广服务对技术采纳的影响，发现农户教育和推广人员经验均能促进改良耕作方式的采用。
This paper explores reduced forrn determinanis ot lhe adoption of certain technologies by upland rice and soybean farmers in the Center-West region of Brazil, We merge community level data on lhe availability and quality o( publiciy provided infrastructure, principally extension, to tbe farm levei data containing information on farmer human capital as well as land quantity and quaiity. By using community leveI measures of availability and quality of extension, we avoid problems of endogeneity of farm levei measures of extension use. We (ind positive impacts of farmer education on the dif(usion process, in accordance with other studies. We also isolate effects of the quality in regional extension investruenc as measured by the average experience o( technical extension staff. These results indicate thac iflvestmeflts ifl human capital of extension ?workers does have a payoff in terms of farmer adoption of improved cultivation practices.