Effect of education on adoption and continued use of improved maize seeds in Burkina Faso

This paper analyses the effect of education on the adoption and continued use of improved seeds in maize production. A bivariate probit model with sample selection was used on four years' panel data with 529 farmers per year-making a total of 2,116 observations. The results show that levels of primary and secondary education, agricultural supervision and adult literacy encourage the adoption of improved seeds. Secondary education, adult literacy and social capital were found to improve the continued use of improved seeds. The results suggest the need to strengthen extension services and literacy for adults working in agriculture. This could involve increasing the number of literacy centres as well as increasing the number of agricultural technical agents in rural areas.