Adaptive Preference and Agricultural Technology Adoption

This study investigates whether adaptive preference significantly influence technology adoption and intensity of adoption. Also, we assess the effect of omitting adaptive preference from econometric adoption modelling and analyse the determinants of adaptive preference. Adaptive preference refers to preference acquired from downgrading superior goods or services while clinging onto inferior ones or adjusting to uncomfortable situations to claim satisfaction despite conditions presenting contrary evidence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating this research question. We used an extensive literature review to develop a theoretical framework describing the effect of adaptive preference on technology adoption. Based on this framework, we designed an empirical strategy identifying adaptive preference, measuring it impact on technology adoption, and describing it drivers. The empirical strategy was applied to a sample data from 450 cocoa farmers in Ghana obtained from a multi-stage sampling survey. We found evidence of adaptive preference in Ghana cocoa farmers, reducing the probability of adopting superior technology (hybrid seedlings) by 32.76% estimate. Extension services proved to be effective in countering this effect because they reduce the probability of farmers developing adaptive preference and increase the probability of technology adoption. Also, we found that omitting adaptive preference from econometric adoption modelling might lead to misleading conclusions about the role of psychological factors in agricultural technology adoption, overestimating the effect of risk aversion, in particular. Our findings have important implications. They support a multidisciplinary approach to agricultural technology adoption modelling, where Philosophy-Psychology-Economics issue is considered to fully describe the complexity of the decision process. Psychological factors, such as adaptive preference, must be considered when designing optimal extension services because ultimately these services are one of the most effective public tools to guide farmers decision process about technology adoption.