Diffusion of hybrid corn technology, the case of El Salvador

THREE ASPECTS ARE TREATED. FIRST, THE STUDY DEALS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS AND SOME OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY WORK AND LIVE. SECOND, IT DEFINES FARM CHARACTERISTICS. THIRD, IT EXPLAINS AND ANALYZES THE RELATIVE IMPACT AND COVERAGE OF NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES. THE MAIN TASK OF THE STUDY IF TO USE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THOSE FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY. THE PRIMARY DATA USED CONSIST OF FIELD INTERVIEWS FROM A SAMPLE OF MAIZE GROWERS SELECTED AT RANDOM. IN BRIEF, IT WAS FOUND THAT WHILE AGROCLIMATIC FACTORS AND FARM SIZE ARE INFLUENCING NITROGEN USE AND THE FORMER IS PLAYING A STRONG ROLE IN THE PATTERN OF HYBRID ADOPTION, IT APPEARS THAT MORE CREDIT AND BETTER ACCESS WOULD PROMOTE THE USE OF FERTILIZER, WHILE EASIER ACCESS TO HYBRIDS COULD SPEED THEIR WIDER USE.