Individual differences in technological readiness and the adoption of solar dryers: The case of horticultural smallholder farmers in Northern Tanzania

Abstract

Adoption of solar dryers among smallholder farmers in developing countries remains low, despite their proven potential to enhance food security. While prior studies emphasize techno-socio-economic barriers, they often overlook individual psychological traits that likely shape adoption behaviour, assuming uniform adoption patterns and limiting targeted interventions. This study addresses this gap by examining farmers’ technology readiness classes and assessing how psychological and sociodemographic factors influence solar dryer adoption. Using survey data from 447 horticultural smallholder farmers in northern Tanzania, the study was guided by the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) framework. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to segment farmers into distinct readiness classes, while categorical structural equation modelling (SEM) assessed the association of TRI traits, sociodemographic factors, and adoption probability. The results identified four technological readiness classes, with 95.5% of farmers in low-TR groups: hesitators (35.8%), sceptics (30.6%), and laggards (29.1%). Among TRI constructs, optimism (β = 0.59) and innovativeness (β = 0.32), along with education (β = 0.13), significantly increased the likelihood of adoption from 50% to 64%, 58%, and 53%, respectively. Gender (β = −0.323) indicated that male farmers’ probability of adopting solar dryers drops to 42%. These findings highlight the importance of tailored interventions that foster positive technology attitudes, enhance innovativeness, empower women, and support education-based capacity building. By integrating LCA with SEM, the study provides a novel, empirical demonstration of how psychological and sociodemographic factors jointly shape the likelihood of solar dryer adoption, offering actionable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to design context-specific strategies.