Bridging behavior, diffusion, and learning: determinants of technological adoption among smallholder Hass avocado producers in Colombia

Le résumé fourni par la source

The adoption of agricultural innovations in smallholder systems is shaped by economic, institutional, and sociocultural factors. This study examines the relationship between farm and management characteristics and compliance with international certification standards among Colombian smallholder Hass avocado producers. Certification compliance is treated as an observable indicator of certification-linked adoption processes at the farm level, not as a comprehensive measure of technological adoption. The Theory of Planned Behavior, Diffusion of Innovations, and Social Cognitive Theory are used as interpretive frameworks rather than directly measured constructs. From an operational registry of approximately 1,600 producers, 480 enrolled in the program, 311 farms were fully characterized, and 200 were prioritized for follow-up. The final analytical sample includes 126 farms with complete information for Ordinary Least Squares estimation. Compliance with certification requirements, measured on a 0–100 scale, was modeled using robust linear regression and complementary bounded-outcome specifications. Results show that access to technical assistance is positively associated with compliance in the OLS-HC3 specification (+10.15 percentage points; p = 0.037), while most other covariates are not statistically significant at conventional levels. Robustness checks using fractional logit and beta regression preserve the positive sign of the association, although statistical precision varies across specifications. Given attrition and the non-experimental design, findings are correlational rather than causal. Overall, technical assistance appears as a relevant enabling condition for certification compliance, highlighting the need to strengthen extension services, credit access, and participatory learning models for smallholder certification pathways.

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