Abstract
Productivity growth in smallholder agriculture is an important driver of rural economic development and poverty reduction. However, smallholder farmers often have limited access to information, which can be a serious constraint for increasing productivity. One potential mechanism to reduce information constraints is the public agricultural extension service, but its effectiveness has often been low in the past. Digital technologies could enhance the effectiveness of extension by reducing outreach costs and helping to better tailor the information to farmers’ individual needs and conditions. Using primary data from India, this study analyses the association between digital extension services and smallholder agricultural performance. The digital extension services that some of the farmers use provide personalized information on the types of crops to grow, the types and quantities of inputs to use, and other methods of cultivation. Problems of selection bias in the impact evaluation are reduced through propensity score matching (PSM) combined with estimates of farmers’ willingness to pay for digital extension. Results show that use of personalized digital extension services is positively and significantly associated with input intensity, production diversity, crop productivity, and crop income.
Highlights
In developing countries, productivity growth in small-farm agriculture can serve as an important driver of economic development and poverty reduction [1,2]
Around 82% of the households belong to socially disadvantaged groups, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC)
The diffusion of agricultural information in developing countries has been promoted through the public extension service, wherein extension agents visit and educate individual farmers or farmer groups
Summary
Productivity growth in small-farm agriculture can serve as an important driver of economic development and poverty reduction [1,2]. Smallholder farmers typically face many challenges, such as unpredictable weather conditions, market risks, and limited access to information, technologies, and financial services. These and other constraints result in low productivity and low rates of market participation [3]. A key policy question for promoting rural development and poverty reduction is how the main information and market access constraints that smallholder farmers face can be overcome.
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