CAED member and PhD candidate, Yadav Padhyoti, is embarking on a 4-year research project through the Australian Research Council (ARC)'s Training Centre for Behavioural Insights for Technology Adoption (BITA).
The PhD project will explore Australian agricultural markets to unravel their inefficiencies, investigate the complexities of how farmers choose their marketing channels and understand producers' behavioural influence on the use of online commodity trading platforms.
Yadav is one of three UWA-based PhD students awarded scholarships through BITA. His passion is for improving the adoption of innovative agricultural technologies. He is keen to better understanding the role of behavioural science and how it can improve the adoption of more efficient agricultural technologies, such as online commodity trading platforms.
“Based on my field experience and academic knowledge, I believe that producers and supply chain actors consider behavioural factors like cognitive biases, heuristics, and social influence when making business decisions, in addition to pure rationality. I am embarking on a behavioural science journey to understand various behavioural perspectives that impact agricultural stakeholders' decision-making to develop effective solutions for them when they encounter uncertainties.” said Yadav.
Yadav has a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Public Policy, a growing list of publications and more than ten years of experience working as an Agricultural Economist with the Ministry of Agricultural and Livestock Development (MoALD), Nepal, in diverse projects funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, KOICA and UNDP. He has experience analysing the performance of agribusinesses, agricultural markets, value chains, and agricultural policies.
After some initial investigation, Yadav and his supervisory team, consisting of A/Prof Ben White, A/Prof Amin Mugera, and Dr Fiona Dempster, found a gap in the behavioural adoption literature: understanding how farmers' behaviour influences choices of marketing channels and adoption of an online commodity trading platform.
This knowledge gap is not just an academic itch—it's crucial for enhancing the competitiveness of Australian agriculture. Yadav’s industry partners, including Rob Kelly (CEO, AGORA) and Nathan Cattle (CEO, Clear Grain Exchange) support the research. Their support will be instrumental in ensuring practical and relevant outcomes for farmers and, more broadly, the Australian agricultural industry.
Through farmer surveys, consultation with supply chain actors, and collaboration with industry partners, Yadav will estimate the level of inefficiencies in Australian grain and livestock markets, evaluate the performance of marketing channels and factors affecting producers’ choice of marketing channels, and assess the behavioural influence of producers on their acceptance of online commodity trading platforms.
Yadav hopes the research will contribute to BITA's vision by identifying barriers to adopting online commodity trading platforms and price discovery and raising awareness among farmers of the potential behavioural biases in their choice of marketing channels.
For more information:
BITA program leader at UWA: marit/kragt@uwa.edu.au
General enquiries about BITA at UWA: tamara.harold@uwa.edu.au
BITA Centre: ARC BITA
BITA LinkedIn: ARC BITA: About
PhD project lead:
Yadav Padhyoti: yadav.padhyoti@research.uwa.edu.a
PhD project supervisory team:
A/Prof Ben White: benedict.white@uwa.edu.au
A/Prof Amin Mugera: amin.mugera@uwa.edu.au
Dr Fiona Dempster: fiona.dempster@uwa.edu.au
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