Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Innovations for Poverty Action

Titre : Contract Farming, Technology Adoption, and Agricultural Productivity : Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya

Région /Pays : Kenya

Date : 2011-2014

Résumé
The adoption of agricultural practices that can increase yields, like fertilizer application, remains low among smallholder farmers in many low- and middle-income contexts. While traditional agricultural extension aims to ensure farmers receive and act upon timely information to improve their agricultural yields, these efforts are often costly and time-consuming. In Western Kenya, researchers evaluated an SMS intervention whereby a large-agribusiness sent farmers with whom they contracted timely reminders on agricultural tasks to be completed. The SMS intervention was a cost-effective means of increasing yields, farmer revenue, and company profits. However, researchers found that the SMS intervention had no impact on yields when tested a second time on a different sample one year later.

Présentation
To date, agricultural yields in sub-Saharan Africa have been mostly stagnant. This can be challenging for large agri-businesses that rely on crops from smallholder farmers with whom they contract. Like many smallholder farmers, the adoption of efficient agricultural practices like weeding, fertilizer application, and timely planting among contracted farmers has been low. Traditional agricultural extension efforts are often costly and require monitoring of extension workers and farmers alike to ensure farmers receive and act upon timely information. Information and communication technologies (ICT), like mobile phones, could potentially overcome some of the hurdles presented by traditional agricultural extension, including costly and time-intensive monitoring of workers. This could be useful for both firms and farmers interested in boosting productivity and profits. As the use of mobile phones has increased in low- and middle-income countries, this technology could deliver personalized agricultural information to farmers at low cost and in a way that is tailored to their context and timed to coincide with the relevant part of the growing season. Do SMS messages improve agricultural productivity and improve profits for both contract farmers and the companies they supply ?

Taille de l’échantillon  : 2,000 farmers

Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA)