The integration of smallholder farmers into emerging value chains for fine‐grain and aromatic ‘premium quality rice’ (PQR) could prove to be crucial to improving rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, though efforts could be constrained by farmers' differing levels of agronomic knowledge. Based on a pre‐analysis plan, we analyse farmers' ability to efficiently allocate production enhancing inputs in PQR cultivation based on a survey of 1420 farmers in key PQR producing areas. Farmers received a hypothetical budget to allocate to six different inputs advised for efficient production of PQR, mimicking familiar production decisions made seasonally on their own farms. Our results suggest that even without budget or input access constraints farmers tend to inefficiently allocate inputs in PQR in this hypothetical setting. In particular, they tend to overspend on seeds, fertiliser and pesticides. Farmers with better access to agricultural information, such as through PQR specific extension services, conversely reach substantially higher efficiency scores and decided to spend significantly less on fertiliser. Without future adjustments such as more targeted extension services, implied higher production costs will likely lower the profitability of PQR cultivation for smallholder farmers, thereby limiting potential income gains. Besides these economic concerns, excessive input use is associated with environmental externalities. Improved efficiency is therefore desirable from both an economic and environmental standpoint.

中文翻译：

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信息限制能否解释优质水稻种植效率低下的原因？来自孟加拉国小农的证据

尽管农民的农艺知识水平不同，但小农融入细粮和芳香“优质大米”（PQR）新兴价值链可能对改善孟加拉国农村生计至关重要。基于预分析计划，我们通过对 PQR 重点产区 1420 名农民的调查，分析了农民在 PQR 种植中有效分配增产投入的能力。农民收到了一份假设预算，分配给六种不同的投入，建议有效生产 PQR，模仿他们自己农场季节性做出的熟悉的生产决策。我们的结果表明，即使没有预算或投入获取限制，农民在这种假设环境下也往往会低效地分配 PQR 投入。特别是，他们往往在种子、化肥和农药上超支。相反，能够更好地获取农业信息（例如通过 PQR 特定推广服务）的农民能够获得更高的效率分数，并决定大幅减少化肥支出。如果未来没有进行更有针对性的推广服务等调整，更高的生产成本可能会降低小农 PQR 种植的盈利能力，从而限制潜在的收入增长。除了这些经济问题之外，过度使用投入还与环境外部性有关。因此，从经济和环境的角度来看，提高效率是所希望的。