biostudies-literatureFabregas RNICHD NIH HHSeaay3038https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10859166biostudies-literatureUnknown366(6471)The rapid spread of mobile phones creates potential for sustainably raising agricultural productivity for the 2 billion people living in smallholder farming households. Meta-analyses suggest that providing agricultural information via digital technologies increased yields by 4% and the odds of adopting recommended inputs by 22%. Benefits likely exceed the cost of information transmission by an order of magnitude. The spread of GPS-enabled smartphones could increase these benefits by enabling customized information, thus incentivizing farmers to contribute information to the system. Well-known distortions in markets for information limit the ability of such systems to reach the socially efficient scale through purely commercial means. There is a clear role for public support for digital agrScience (New York, N.Y.)Realizing the potential of digital development: The case of agricultural advice.PMC10859166P2C HD042849Schilbach FFabregas RKremer MfalseRealizing the potential of digital development: The case of agricultural advice.The rapid spread of mobile phones creates potential for sustainably raising agricultural productivity for the 2 billion people living in smallholder farming households. Meta-analyses suggest that providing agricultural information via digital technologies increased yields by 4% and the odds of adopting recommended inputs by 22%. Benefits likely exceed the cost of information transmission by an order of magnitude. The spread of GPS-enabled smartphones could increase these benefits by enabling customized information, thus incentivizing farmers to contribute information to the system. Well-known distortions in markets for information limit the ability of such systems to reach the socially efficient scale through purely commercial means. There is a clear role for public support for digital agr2019-01-01T00:00:00Z2019 Dec2025-04-05T14:52:06.965Z2024-11-09T07:14:20.844ZS-EPMC108591663183164110.1126/science.aay3038