Social Interactions in the Dissemination of Alternative Methods

The importance of vegetable farming in urban and peri-urban agriculture is widely recognized in African countries. However, this activity faces significant pest pressures, leading vegetable farmers to rely heavily on chemical pesticides. Given the health and environmental problems caused by these chemical pesticides, it is important to find alternative methods. This paper used the Bayesian theoretical framework for social learning to analyze social interactions in the diffusion of these alternative methods through various networks. Religion, ethnicity, market garden sites, and administrative districts were used as diffusion networks. Ethnicity proved to be the most significant network for the diffusion of alternative methods. The results of this study may help improve the development of policies for the diffusion of innovations in developing countries.