Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support

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dc.creatorKariuki, Sarah W.
dc.creatorMohamed, Asha B.
dc.creatorMutuku, Urbanus
dc.creatorMutegi, Charity
dc.creatorBandyopadhyay, Ranajit
dc.creatorHoffmann, Vivian
dc.date2024-12-20
dc.date2024-12-20T20:30:29Z
dc.date2024-12-20T20:30:29Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:45:10Z
dc.descriptionAgricultural technologies shown to be highly effective in research trials often have a lower impact when utilized by smallholder farmers. Both heterogeneous returns and suboptimal application are believed to play a role in this efficacy gap. We provide experimental evidence on the impact of a biocontrol product for the control of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungal byproduct, as applied by smallholder farmers in Kenya. By varying the level of external support across farmers, we investigate the role of misapplication in the effectiveness gap. We find that the provision of biocontrol together with a one-time training on application reduces aflatoxin contamination in maize relative to a control group by 34 percent. Additional training to the farmers in the form of a call to remind them of the correct time of application in the crop cycle increases the reduction to 52 percent. Our findings indicate that farmers can achieve meaningful improvements in food safety using biocontrol even with minimal training on its use and that additional support at the recommended time of application can strengthen its impact.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/113622
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/135798
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/124974
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102620
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/138944
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceKariuki, Sarah W.; Mohamed, Asha B.; Mutuku, Urbanus; Mutegi, Charity; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; and Hoffmann, Vivian. 2024. Effectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2304. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168192
dc.subjectfood safety
dc.subjectaflatoxins
dc.subjectimpact assessment
dc.subjectagricultural technology
dc.subjectsmallholders
dc.subjecttraining
dc.subjectmaize
dc.subjectcrops
dc.titleEffectiveness of aflatoxin biocontrol: Evidence from Kenyan smallholders under varied levels of technical support
dc.typeWorking Paper

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)