Technology Adoption Characteristics of Smallholder Farmers in Cambodia 

Abstract:
Cambodian smallholder farmers face an array of new technologies to which they must adapt that are as varied as their crops. Understanding the demographic, production, environmental, and behavioral characteristics that underpin technology adoption by smallholder farmers is critical to building equitable growth and policy solutions that optimize research and extension services. As Cambodia diversifies its agricultural commodities and fortifies its agri-food processing, technology adoption is imperative for these large-scale processes. Nevertheless, there is a distinct gap of critical missing knowledge in Cambodia. Rachel seeks to fill this gap by studying a diverse set of farmers in Eastern Cambodia, using qualitative data with novel indices and rank-based data in conjunction with robust quantitative methods to understand the complex dynamics of behavior change for farmers in Cambodia, and the policy implications that ensue.
Bio:
Speaker: Rachel Brown is a U.S. State Department Fulbright Fellow currently living in PhnomPenh, Cambodia conducting research with smallholder farmers using economic analysis to model change behavior, risk, and insurance demand. While an economics student at George Washington University in Washington D.C., she studied the major determinants of poverty for farmers in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Previously, she worked on a hydroponic social venture in Cambodia. She graduated from George Washington University with a B.S. in International Affairs and Economics. Her research interests include agricultural economics, microfinance, risk, and insurance.
Moderator: Ponleu Soun, previously a lecturer and research associate at the Department of Media and Communication of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, now serves as the Program Manager of the CKS-Ponlok Chomnes Program at the Center for Khmer Studies. He has presented his research at international conferences, such as the 2nd Asian Summer School on Political Parties and Democracy; the 7th International Conference on International Relations and Development; and the 2023 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference.
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