Impact Of Chinese Agricultural Technology Transfers On Farmers’ Productivity And Welfare In Nigeria

Agriculture is essential to China-Africa cooperation because of its importance in structural transformation change.Chinese agricultural technology transfers to Africa have significantly increased during the past few decades,but only a few empirical studies have documented whether Africa benefits from such intervention.This study uses ex-post non-experimental household survey data from Ogun State,Nigeria.The study begins by using a nationally representative dataset to evaluate the impact of improved maize on production efficiency in Nigeria to understand the country farmers’ responses to agricultural technology.Using a household survey,this study investigates whether Chinese agricultural technologies transfer increases crop yield and agricultural income in Nigeria and whether the technology transfer targets the right farmers.This study also identified the factors influencing the awareness and adoption of Chinese agricultural technology transfer in the study area.This study combines impact evaluation techniques such marginal treatment effect model and the Heckman sample selection model for the empirical approach.This study finds that improved maize varieties increased yield by 38.7%,but the technical efficiency of the improved variety is comparable to that of the traditional variety.Like other foreign development partners,the marginal treatment effect model revealed that participants in Chinese agricultural technology training had a 68.5% increase in yield and a 45.3% gain in agricultural income.However,there is heterogeneity in the treatment effect with the program targeting farmers from advantaged backgrounds,who benefit less from attending the program.The result showed that access to extension services and belonging to an agricultural cooperative and non-agricultural local association are the main factors influencing both awareness and adoption of Chinese agricultural technology transfer in the study area.Most farming households believe Chinese agricultural technologies are superior,easier,and less expensive than traditional approaches.Despite the positive impact of Chinese agricultural technology transfer in Nigeria,some challenges militate farmer adoption of the technologies.Thus,the government and project stakeholders are encouraged to design policies to improve these factors.This study indicates that enough awareness and incentives to convince highly resistant farmers to participate in such programs will go a long way.Thus,the role of extension services and social capital should never be underestimated in achieving such objectives.