Increasing agricultural productivity by promoting high-yielding and micronutrient-rich crop varieties has the potential to reduce poverty and malnutrition. However, getting these technologies into the hands of smallholders remains a challenge. This paper presents results from a randomised field experiment that uses rural primary schools as dissemination hubs for improved orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) vines and nutrition information in rural Tanzania and Uganda. Two years after the initial vine distribution, we find that households in treatment villages are 21 percentage points more likely to report growing OFSP and 27 percentage points more likely to correctly state the nutritional benefits of OFSP compared to those in control villages. We also find up to 16 percentage point increase in the likelihood of OFSP consumption by children under 5 years of age in treatment villages compared to that in control villages. Furthermore, we find suggestive evidence that increased knowledge on the nutritional benefits of OFSP mediated up to a third of the total treatment effect on OFSP adoption and consumption. Our findings suggest that rural primary schools can be effective channels for promoting and accelerating the diffusion of micronutrient-rich crop varieties in rural areas.

中文翻译：

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农村学校作为农业技术传播的有效枢纽：来自坦桑尼亚和乌干达的实验证据

通过推广高产和富含微量营养素的作物品种来提高农业生产力，具有减少贫困和营养不良的潜力。然而，将这些技术交到小农手中仍然是一个挑战。本文介绍了一项随机田间试验的结果，该试验利用农村小学作为坦桑尼亚和乌干达农村地区改良橙肉甘薯 (OFSP) 藤蔓和营养信息的传播中心。在最初的葡萄藤分发两年后，我们发现，与对照组相比，处理村的家庭报告种植 OFSP 的可能性高 21 个百分点，正确陈述 OFSP 的营养益处的可能性高 27 个百分点。我们还发现，与对照组相比，治疗村 5 岁以下儿童消费 OFSP 的可能性增加了 16 个百分点。此外，我们发现提示性证据表明，增加对 OFSP 营养益处的了解在对 OFSP 采用和消费的总治疗效果中起到了三分之一的调节作用。我们的研究结果表明，农村小学可以成为促进和加速富含微量营养素的作物品种在农村地区推广的有效渠道。