Report 22. Rates of adoption of PLUS Project interventions, Northwest Haiti, July 1994

Abstract

Approximately 70 percent of the farmers in the Northwest Department of Haiti have adopted one or more of the soil and water conservation practices promoted by CARE for the PLUS Project. Included in this group of farm families are those who have adopted the practices as a direct result of CARE's implementation program as well as those who have adopted the practices as a result of programs implemented by development projects other than the PLUS Project. Primary adoption rates for specific Project interventions are generally less than 30 +/- 10 percent. Included in this group are only those farmers who indicated they have adopted the practice as the direct result of CARE's implementation program. Rates of secondary adoption for individual interventions are generally less than 5.5 +/- 2 percent; however, there are some exceptions. To be counted as a secondary adopter farmers had to indicate that they had begun installation of a soil and water conservation practice without the aid of CARE's field staff and after having observed it on a neighbor's field or having learned of the practice from another farmer. The improved-stubble-barrier ("ramp pay amelioré") has the highest rate of primary and secondary adoption at 30 and 12.6 percent, respectively. Stubble incorporation ("pike tè") has the highest total rate of adoption (adding rates of adoption attributed to primary and secondary PLUS-adopters and adopters from "Other Programs"). Following the "ramp pay" is a group of four interventions, including vegetable gardens, deep digging, hedgerows and stubble incorporation, with primary adoption rates clustered about 20 percent. Next in ranking are a group of interventions with rates of primary adoptions ranging between 6 and 12 percent. This third group includes hillside rockwalls and gully dams. In last place is the tree grafting intervention with a primary rate of adoption of 2 percent. The study results invite conjecture as to the reasons behind the differences in adoption rates among individual interventions. We offer some suggested reasons as a means of stimulating further discussion and use of the study results. For example, the improved stubble barrier and stubble incorporation may have the highest rates of secondary adoption because they build on existing practices and do not require off-site inputs. Some of the differences in adoption rates can be explained by the lack of on- or off-farm resources such as rocks for rockwalls or grafting material for grafts or ravines for damming. The current or previous existence of development programs implemented by projects other than the PLUS Project explains some differences in adoption rates. In addition to the overall rates of adoption calculated for the zones in which CARE works or has worked, we provide rates of adoption for the individual zones or localities which were in our sample. These figures may provide further insight as to applicability of the interventions to these localities, the efficiency of implementation, or other factors affecting adoption. To facilitate this use of the study, the study results and raw data are provided in Tables 1-3, and Figure 1 shows the region-wide rates of adoption in a bar graph. The objective of the study was to document those proportions of farmers adopting PLUS Project interventions at the invitation and assistance of CARE and those proportions adopting from other farmers. Those adopting directly from CARE are termed primary adopters. Those adopting from other farmers are termed secondary adopters. The study was conducted with a two-stage cluster sample designed to yield 95 percent confidence intervals approximately equal to 10 percent. Our calculations indicated this level of confidence would require the following first and second stage samples. For the first stage, we randomly selected 12 of the 87 localities or zones in which CARE operates or has recently operated in the Northwest Region of Haiti. The second stage sample consisted of a random sample of 30-35 individuals from a census listing of the farmers in each area. The questionnaire and statistical formulas used in the study are presented in an appendix.

Apeprè 70 pou san agrikiltè nan Nòdwès payi Dayiti adopte youn oubyen plis nan teknik konsèvason sòl ak dlo lapli CARE/PLUS fè ekstansyon pou yo kote lap travay. Nan 70 pou san sa a genyen non sèlman moun ki patisipe dirèkteman nan pwogram CARE/PLUS, men tou genyen moun ki pran teknik yo kay yon lòt plantè, ak moun ki aprann teknik yo nan yon lòt pwojè ki pa Pwojè PLUS. To adopsyon patisipan dirèk nan aktivite Pwojèa òdinèman mwens pase 30 +/- 10 pou san. Nan chif sa a genyen sèlman agrikiltè ki di yo adopte yon teknik paske yo patisipe dirèkteman nan pwogram CARE ("adoptan primè"). To adopsyon moun ki aprann yon teknik kay yon lòt plantè ("adoptan segondè") jeneralman mwens pase 5,5 +/- 2 pou san; men, genyen kèk eksepyon. Pou yo konte yon moun kòm "adoptan segondè", li dwe di li enstale estrikti konsèvasyon sòl ak dlo lapli yo san èd teknisyen CARE lè li fin obsève estrikti a nan jaden yon vwazen oubyen lè se yon lòt agrikiltè ki aprann li teknik la. Ranp pay amelyore genyen pi gwo "to adopsyon primè", 30 pou san, ak "to adopsyon segondè", 12,6 pou san. Antere pay nan tè ("pike tè") bay pi gwo to adopsyon total (lè ou mete ansanm "adoptan primè", "adoptan segondè" ak adoptan ki patisipe nan ("lòt pwogram"). Apre ranp pay, gen yon gwoup ki genyen kat aktivite: jaden legim, pike tè a fon, ranp vivan ak antere pay nan tè, tout ansanm bay 20 pou san "adopsyon primè". Apre genyen yon gwoup aktivite ki bay to adopsyon ant 6 a 12 pou san. Twazièm gwoup sa a genyen ladan-l mi sèk ak baraj ravin. Andènye ou jwenn grefaj zab fwitye ki bay yon to adopsyon 2 pou san. Rezilta etid sa a ta fè moun mande pou ki rezon genyen diferans nan to adopsyon aktivite yo. Kòm baz diskisyon, nou bay kèk rezon ki ta ka esplike diferans sa yo. Pa egzanp, ranp pay amelyore ak antere pay nan tè ta ka bay "to adopsyon segondè" ki pi wo paske yo fèt apati teknik ki egziste deja e yo pa mande bagay plantè a pa ka jwenn kote li ye a. Gen kèk diferans nan to adopsyon yo ki kapab esplike paske plantèa pa kapab jwenn sou plas resous teknik la mande tankou ròch pou fè kòdon ròch ou byen materyel pou fè baraj nan ravin. Gen lòt diferans nan to adopsyon yo ki esplike akòz lòt pwogram devlopman ki sou teren an kounye a oubyen ki te egziste nan zòn nan. Anplis to adopsyon total pou zòn kote CARE ap travay oubyen te travay, nou bay tou to adopsyon pou chak zòn oubyen lokalie kote nou te fè ankèt la. Chif sa yo ka pèmèt pi byen konprann si yon aktivite aplikab pou lokalite a, si ekstansyon teknik la byen fèt nan zòn nan, oubyen lòt bagay ki fè to adopsyon an ka varye. Pou pi byen sèvi ak rezilta etid sa a, nou bay rezilta ak chif gwosomodo yo nan Tablo 1-3. Nan figi 1, nou montre to adopsyon yo pou tout rejyon Nòdwès la nan yon graf ki fèt ak ba. Etid sa a te fèt pou pèmèt konnen ki kantite plantè ki adopte teknik Pwojè a paske yo patisipe dirèkteman nan pwogram CARE/PLUS ki ede yo ak ki kantite ki aprann teknik yo lakay yon vwazen. Moun ki gen kontak dirèk ak CARE yo rele yo "adoptan segondè". Echantiyonaj pou fè etid sa a te fèt yon fason pou asire yon enteval konfyans ki egal apeprè 10 pou san. Kalkil yo te montre pou jwenn yon nivo 95 pou san konfyans, sa ta mande pou fè de kalite echantiyonaj. Toudabò, nou chwazi owaza 12 nan 87 lokalite kote CARE ap travay oubyen te travay pa lontan sa nan Nòdwès la. Answit, nou chwazi yon echantiyon ki genyen 30 à 35 moun sou yon lis resansman plantè nan chak zòn. Kesyonè ak fòmil pou fè kalkil estatistik yo prezante nan anèks etid la.