Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 2021
  • Article
  • Economic Journal

'Mobile'izing Agricultural Advice: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Sustainability

By: Shawn A. Cole and A. Nilesh Fernando
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

We examine the role of management in agricultural productivity by evaluating a mobile-phone based agricultural advice service provided to farmers in India. Demand for advice is high, and advice changes practices, increasing yields in cumin (28%) and cotton (8.6% for a subgroup receiving reminders). Information spreads, as non-treated farmers with more treated peers change practices and lose less to pest attacks. Though willingness to pay for the service is low, the value of the information externality exceeds the subsidy that would be necessary to operate the service. We estimate each dollar spent on the service yields a $10 private return.

Keywords

Agricultural Extension; Informational Inefficiencies; Technology Adoption; Agribusiness; Information; Mobile Technology; India

Citation

Cole, Shawn A., and A. Nilesh Fernando. "'Mobile'izing Agricultural Advice: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Sustainability." Economic Journal 131, no. 633 (January 2021): 192–219.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Shawn A. Cole

Finance
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • October 2021 (Revised January 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil

    By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski
    • October 2021
    • World Bank Economic Review

    Changing Gambling Behavior through Experiential Learning

    By: Shawn A. Cole, Martin Abel and Bilal Zia
    • Journal of Risk and Insurance

    Targeting Weather Insurance Markets

    By: Anita Mukherjee, Shawn Cole and Jeremy Tobacman
More from the Authors
  • Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski
  • Changing Gambling Behavior through Experiential Learning By: Shawn A. Cole, Martin Abel and Bilal Zia
  • Targeting Weather Insurance Markets By: Anita Mukherjee, Shawn Cole and Jeremy Tobacman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College