Overcoming constraints to agricultural innovation through the market: insights from the Peruvian Andes

This paper discusses possible ways to overcome the situation of physical isolation and the multiple failures that pervade Andean villages. Specifically, it studies a training program developed by a Peruvian NGO, which aims at triggering the development of a market for extension services that reach the rural poor. First-hand information is used to identify the scope of the market so-created. It is then looked at success determinants of the intervention, through different indicators. The empirical tests developed show that training farmers as on-the-field consultants is a relevant strategy in the adverse environment under study, provided that the practical implementation is well designed and that some particular constraints are properly taken into account. In particular, training specialists on one relevant topic is much more effective than training generalists. Hence, our results should be viewed as one building block in the debate over successful innovative schemes for agrarian extension in the context of isolation traps and cultural constraints.