The Long Shadow of Faith-based Social Networks on Agricultural Performance: Evidence from Ethiopian Apple Growers

• Published in: European journal of development research Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 297 - 319
• Main Authors: Alemu, Sintayehu Hailu, van Kempen, Luuk, Ruben, Ruerd
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.04.2018; Palgrave Macmillan
• Subjects: Acquisition; Agricultural production; Charities; Cultivation; Culture; Development and Social Change; Development Economics; Development Policy; Development Studies; Educational attainment; Efficacy; Ego; exclusion; Information sharing; Knowledge; Knowledge sharing; knowledge transfer; Orchards; Original Article; peer effects; Protestant churches; Protestants; religion; Religious beliefs; Social interaction; Social networks; Social Sciences; tie strength; Training; Ethiopia; tie strength; peer effects; exclusion; knowledge transfer; social networks; religion
• ISSN: 0957-8811; 1743-9728
• DOI: 10.1057/s41287-017-0094-3

The aim of the paper is to test the importance of social networks in the acquisition of technical know-how among apple growers in Southern Ethiopia. What contribution do social networks make in knowledge transfer alongside more formal sources such as training and education? We take special interest in the role of faith-based networks, as apple cultivation was originally introduced into the study area by individuals and organizations linked to the Protestant church. The network effect is proxied by the frequency of contact of an individual producer (‘ego’) with his/her most salient resource persons (‘alters’) as well as the number of visits to their orchards. We find a positive relation between both types of social interaction and knowledge acquisition, although the efficacy of these varies with the producers’ level of education. Protestant producers have been able to maintain a knowledge advantage with respect to Orthodox Christian producers ever since apple cultivation took off in the 1990s.