Positive effect of capacities building programs on the adoption of farm certification in Peru

Over the last decades, the demand of certificated agricultural products has been
increasing around the world. However, in Peru, the proportion of certified farmers are still low.
Capacities building programs (CBP), have been supported in order to promote participation
of Peruvian farmers in the certification process. The objective of this study is demonstrating
the positive effect of the capacities building programs (CBP) on the probability that Peruvian small and medium farmers would integrate an agricultural certification for their crops. Data
from the Peruvian National Agricultural Survey of 2017 was used to find the relationship between attending a program of capacities building and the probability of having a certification. Two subsamples consisted on 25,440 observations were obtained in order to analyze the effect of the CPB on a certification adoption (organic agriculture for coffee and cocoa crops and GAP for banana and paddy rice respectively). A two-stage method was used based on the Propensity Matching Score technique. Outcomes of the study suggest that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship within the participation in these programs and the adoption of farm certifications.
Results can help to define better public policies aimed to design an integrated system involving farm knowledge in order to help many agricultural families’ wellbeing.