Publications
Publications
- 2025
- HBS Working Paper Series
Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India
By: Shawn Cole, Grady Killeen, Tomoko Harigaya and Aparna Krishna
Abstract
This paper evaluates a low-cost, customized soil nutrient management advisory service in India. As a methodological contribution, we examine whether and in which settings satellite measurements may be effective at estimating both agricultural yields and treatment effects. The intervention improves self-reported fertilizer management practices, though not enough to measurably affect yields. Satellite measurements calibrated using OLS produce more precise point estimates than farmer-reported data, suggesting power gains. However, linear models, common in the literature, likely produce biased estimates. We propose an alternative procedure, using two-stage least squares. In settings without attrition, this approach obtains lower statistical power than self-reported yields; in settings with differential attrition, it may substantially increase power. We include a “cookbook'' and code that should allow other researchers to use remote sensing for yield estimation and program evaluation.
Keywords
Performance Evaluation; Technology Adoption; Measurement and Metrics; Analytics and Data Science; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India
Citation
Cole, Shawn, Grady Killeen, Tomoko Harigaya, and Aparna Krishna. "Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-035, January 2025.