Digital Agricultural Extension and Productivity Impacts in Rice Farming: Lessons From Nigeria

The use of digital tools in farm management is increasing in developing countries, yet their effects on production, technology, and managerial performance remain underexplored. This study evaluates the impacts of RiceAdvice, a decision‐support mobile app that provides personalized recommendations to rice farmers. Using a four‐period experimental panel dataset from northern Nigeria, we estimate impacts on technology, technical efficiency, and frontier yields across a control group, a group receiving recommendations only, and a group receiving recommendations plus fertilizer. Results from panel stochastic production frontier models and analysis of covariance estimations show that RiceAdvice improves productivity by enhancing both access to improved practices and managerial performance. Gains are especially large and consistently significant when advisory services are bundled with fertilizer, while effects of the recommendation‐only intervention are more fragile under attrition, as revealed by Lee bounds analysis. Productivity gains peaked in the second year before tapering off, highlighting potential sustainability challenges without continued support. Overall, the findings suggest that sustained access to RiceAdvice, especially when complemented with fertilizer, can strengthen managerial performance and raise productivity among smallholder rice farmers.