Webinar #26: Behavioral Games to Explore Water-Saving Technology Adoption in Uzbekistan

In this webinar, Anton Liutin (University of Wisconsin-Madison) presents a project on water-saving technologies in Uzbekistan.
This research explores the use of mathematical modeling and behavioral games, specifically modified 'Irrigation games,' to understand the adoption of water-saving technologies among farmers in Uzbekistan, where water scarcity poses significant challenges. Despite the urgency, adoption of these technologies has been slow. The study investigates how the positioning of farmers along irrigation canals (from upstream to downstream), water availability, and social costs influence farmers' decisions to adopt these technologies. By engaging 200-300 farmers across four regions in these specialized behavioral games that incorporate water-saving technology options, the research aims to identify constraints preventing adoption and understand the social and personal trade-offs farmers face. The study also examines how strategies employed in these games correlate with real-world decisions, providing deeper insights into barriers to technology adoption in resource-scarce environments.