Fang, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Earns 'Outstanding CJAE Article' Award

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Di Fang, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, earned the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics award for Outstanding CJAE Article. The award recognizes achievement in agricultural economics, resource economics and farm management for articles appearing in the journal of the society, the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics.

The article, written with co-author Timothy Richards of Arizona State University and titled "New Maize Variety Adoption in Mozambique: A Spatial Approach," received critical acclaim due to the authors' innovative approach to analyzing an important issue: specifically, how the adoption of new maize varieties can improve farmers' productivity and incomes.

The Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics expanded upon the significance of Fang and colleague's work: "Introducing spatial effects with social interactions is a relatively new approach in modeling adoption. [The authors] use an original and relevant approach to better understand how social learning works in disseminating agricultural innovations in developing countries. The important, though often neglected, effect of information sharing is formalized and measured in this paper. These results are useful in informing agricultural policy in areas such as extension services, on which so much government and NGO money is spent."