Personalized digital extension services and agricultural performance: Evidence from smallholder farmers in India

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 informati...

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Vydáno v:	PloS one Ročník 16; číslo 10; s. e0259319
Hlavní autoři:	Rajkhowa, Pallavi, Qaim, Matin
Médium:	Journal Article
Jazyk:	angličtina
Vydáno:	United States Public Library of Science 28.10.2021 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Témata:	Access to information Agricultural economics Agricultural industry Agricultural production Agriculture Biology and Life Sciences Cellular telephones Communication Crop production Crop Production - economics Crop Production - statistics & numerical data Crops Customization Developing countries Economic development Efficiency Engineering and Technology Evaluation Farmers Financial services Humans India Information dissemination Innovations Internet Internet Use - economics Internet Use - statistics & numerical data LDCs Management Market prices Open source software People and Places Poverty Productivity Rural areas Small farms Smartphones Work Performance - economics Work Performance - statistics & numerical data India Germany
ISSN:	1932-6203, 1932-6203
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Shrnutí:	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.
Bibliografie:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0259319