Effects of Adoption of Agricultural Technologies on the Income of the Irish Potato Farmers: Application of Propensity Score Matching

Abstract

Farm-level uptake of improved agricultural technologies is a key lever for raising Irish potato incomes worldwide. As global population growth continues to strain the food system, there is a pressing need for strategies that lift productivity and, with it, farmer earnings. Yet despite the crop’s economic weight, many smallholders still record modest returns because they have not fully embraced modern production technologies. This study therefore investigated how technology adoption shapes the income of Irish potato growers in Ol Kalou Sub-County, Kenya. Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, 385 respondents were drawn from a population of 21,942 smallholder Irish potato farmers. Descriptive statistics and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) were used, via SPSS version 28 and STATA version 17, to compare farmers who had and had not adopted technologies such as certified seed, fertilizer use, mechanization, irrigation, and integrated pest management. Adopters earned a significantly higher average income of KES 45,546.25 per acre against KES 30,230.10 per acre for non-adopters, with an estimated Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) of KES 15,316.15 per acre, a 50.67% income gain attributable to adoption. The results show that adopting agricultural technologies meaningfully lifts farm profitability by raising productivity, cutting production risk, and strengthening market participation. The study therefore recommends wider adoption of these technologies as a route to more efficient, lower-cost production.