This article provides evidence from a randomised control trial conducted among potato farmers in Ecuador about the impact of mobile phone text messages on farmer knowledge about and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) practices. Using psychological constructs, we examine competing explanations for non-standard decision-making leading to low adoption of beneficial agricultural technologies. Farmers who received text messages have significantly higher knowledge and are more likely to adopt most IPM practices than those in the control group. Findings provide evidence that text messages lead to behavioural changes by reducing inattention and sub-optimal heuristics in the face of complex decisions.

• About 29% of households in Rwanda have grown an iron-biofortified bean variety. • Formal delivery approaches of iron-biofortified beans increase adoption speed. • Diffusion via social networks is a major driver of rapid adoption of iron-biofortified beans. • Women farmers disadopt iron-biofortified bean varieties more slowly than do male farmers.

• We estimate the impact of adoption of RWR2245, a popular iron-biofortified bean released in Rwanda. • Adoption provides a yield gain of 20%-49% over that of local bush bean varieties. • Adoption increases household consumption of beans from own production and reduces bean purchases. • Adoption increases the probability that households sell beans by 12%. • RWR2245 increases iron intake among adopting households and availability of iron-rich food sources in the market.

In the last decade, the economy of Zimbabwe underwent unprecedented stress and change. Starting in 2000, land reform began with farm invasions. This process eventually evolved into a government-guided fast-track reform. During this process, the international community imposed sanctions, and these factors, together with a severe drought, let to a reduction in availability of the main food staple. Inflationary pressures built and were exacerbated by foreign exchange shortages. The economy slowed due to debt overhang and dwindling investment caused in part by increased uncertainty. Several factors contributed to deterioration of the value of the Zimbabwean Dollar and by mid-2007, hyperinflation became rampant. The economic crisis began to abate in 2008 and political agreements signed in 2008 and implemented in 2009 led to further stabilisation. As Zimbabwe moves forward, it is important to understand the conditions faced by the poor, and how they have changed during the period of hyperinflation. To do so, this paper uses 2001 and 2007/8 nationally representative household data and an asset index to avoid reliance on money-metric measures during the period of hyperinflation. An asset index is constructed using polychoric principal component analysis for both periods. A profile of well-being in 2001 is obtained using consumption expenditures, which helps calibrate asset index poverty lines. The 2001 data are used to generate small-area poverty estimates for both survey years and to validate the robustness of the findings from the asset index. The asset index holds its own when compared with standard consumption expenditure methods and small-area estimation-based predictions, providing confidence in our findings. Urban asset poverty declined during 2001/7, but extreme poverty increased. Rural asset poverty and extreme poverty worsened between 2001 and 2007. For the best-educated households, poverty increased significantly. Conditions of communal and resettlement workers deteriorated, reflecting worsening economic conditions in rural areas.

This paper assessed the effect of climbing bean adoption on the welfare of the bean growers in Rwanda, using four indicators: per capita consumption expenditure, poverty head count, quantity of bean consumed per person and food security. The analysis was based on cross sectional data from a nationally representative survey of bean growers, conducted in 2011. Instrumental variables and control function approaches were used to address the endogeneity of climbing bean adoption decisions in household welfare outcomes. Results demonstrated that investments in climbing bean research and dissemination efforts contributed significantly to improve household welfare. One additional kilogram of climbing bean seed planted raises per capita consumption expenditure by 0.9% and that of bean consumption by 2.8%, and increases the probability that a household is food secure by 0.6% while decreasing the likelihood of being poor by 0.6%. These findings highlight the important role climbing bean adoption can play in reducing food insecurity and poverty in land constrained areas.