Adoption and yield impacts of improved groundnut varieties in Nigeria: Application of the potential outcomes framework

Using the potential outcomes framework, we estimate the influence of the adoption gap, adoption drivers and impact of adopting improved groundnut varieties (IGVs) on groundnut yield among smallholder farmers in Nigeria. The results show a significant 34% adoption gap attributable to the lack of exposure of farmers to IGVs. With full exposure, the adoption rate could increase from the current 31% to about 65%. To close this adoption gap, policy options that empower agricultural extension staff to visit farmers more frequently, engage farmers in the development, testing and scaling activities of agricultural technology, and encourage farmers to join farmer groups are critical. Similarly, enabling households to access credit and input and output markets will lead to the increased probability of adopting IGVs. The study furthermore revealed a significantly positive impact of 148 kg/ha on the yield of IGVs, which represents a 20% average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) and a 22% average treatment effect on the untreated (ATU).