IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v167y2023ics0305750x22003680.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Weather information and agricultural outcomes: Evidence from a pilot field experiment in Benin

Author

Listed:
  • Yegbemey, Rosaine N.
  • Bensch, Gunther
  • Vance, Colin

Abstract

Weather conditions are an important determinant of agricultural factor input, particularly labor allocation. The availability of weather forecasts can therefore lead to efficiency gains in the form of cost decreases and productivity increases. We test the practical feasibility, the uptake, and the effect of providing basic weather forecasts in the rainy season on the labor productivity of smallholder farmers. For this purpose, we conducted a Randomized Controlled Trial as a pilot with monthly data collections involving 331 farmers across six villages in northern Benin. We find that most farmers subscribe to the intervention and report satisfaction with the service. The impact estimates indicate positive and economically significant intention-to-treat and local average treatment effects in terms of reduced relative labor costs, increased yield and, in turn, increased labor productivity for maize and cotton cultivation. These benefits come at relatively low cost, suggesting that weather-related information via mobile phone outreach holds promise for helping smallholder farmers to better adapt to changing weather.

Suggested Citation

  • Yegbemey, Rosaine N. & Bensch, Gunther & Vance, Colin, 2023. "Weather information and agricultural outcomes: Evidence from a pilot field experiment in Benin," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:167:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x22003680
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106178
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22003680
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106178?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Letta, Marco & Montalbano, Pierluigi & Tol, Richard S.J., 2018. "Temperature shocks, short-term growth and poverty thresholds: Evidence from rural Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 13-32.
    2. Vieri Tarchiani & Federica Rossi & José Camacho & Robert Stefanski & Kodjenini Augustin Mian & Dominic Soami Pokperlaar & Hamidou Coulibaly & Aïssatou Sitta Adamou, 2017. "Smallholder Farmers Facing Climate Change in West Africa: Decision-Making between Innovation and Tradition," Journal of Innovation Economics, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(3), pages 151-176.
    3. Mark R. Rosenzweig & Christopher Udry, 2014. "Rainfall Forecasts, Weather, and Wages over the Agricultural Production Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 278-283, May.
    4. Eduardo Nakasone & Maximo Torero, 2016. "A text message away: ICTs as a tool to improve food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 49-59, November.
    5. David Spielman & Els Lecoutere & Simrin Makhija & Bjorn Van Campenhout, 2021. "Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 177-201, October.
    6. Emily Boyd & Rosalind J. Cornforth & Peter J. Lam & Aondover Tarhule & M. Issa Lélé & Alan Brouder, 2013. "Erratum: Building resilience to face recurring environmental crisis in African Sahel," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(8), pages 764-764, August.
    7. Jenny C. Aker & Ishita Ghosh & Jenna Burrell, 2016. "The promise (and pitfalls) of ICT for agriculture initiatives," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 35-48, November.
    8. Marcel Fafchamps & Bart Minten, 2012. "Impact of SMS-Based Agricultural Information on Indian Farmers," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 26(3), pages 383-414.
    9. Camacho, Adriana & Conover, Emily, 2019. "The impact of receiving SMS price and weather information on small scale farmers in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Emily Boyd & Rosalind J. Cornforth & Peter J. Lamb & Aondover Tarhule & M. Issa Lélé & Alan Brouder, 2013. "Building resilience to face recurring environmental crisis in African Sahel," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 631-637, July.
    11. Bozzola, Martina & Smale, Melinda, 2020. "The welfare effects of crop biodiversity as an adaptation to climate shocks in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    12. Mathieu Ouédraogo & Silamana Barry & Robert B. Zougmoré & Samuel Tetteh Partey & Leopold Somé & Gregoire Baki, 2018. "Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Climate Information Services: Evidence from Cowpea and Sesame Producers in Northern Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yegbemey, Rosaine Nérice & Bensch, Gunther & Vance, Colin, 2021. "Weather information for smallholders: Evidence from a pilot field experiment in Benin," Ruhr Economic Papers 930, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Abate, Gashaw T. & Abay, Kibrom A. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Kassim, Yumna & Spielman, David J. & Paul Jr Tabe-Ojong, Martin, 2023. "Digital tools and agricultural market transformation in Africa: Why are they not at scale yet, and what will it take to get there?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Abate, Gashaw T. & Bernard, Tanguy & Makhija, Simrin & Spielman, David J., 2023. "Accelerating technical change through ICT: Evidence from a video-mediated extension experiment in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Hongyun Zheng & Wanglin Ma, 2023. "Smartphone-based information acquisition and wheat farm performance: insights from a doubly robust IPWRA estimator," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 633-658, June.
    5. Kamiche Zegarra, J. & Bravo-Ureta, B., 2018. "Are users of market information efficient? A stochastic production frontier model corrected by sample selection," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275870, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Mwambi, Mercy & Depenbusch, Lutz & Bonnarith, Uon & Sotelo-Cardona, Paola & Kieu, Khemrin & di Tada, Nicolas & Srinivasan, Ramasamy & Schreinemachers, Pepijn, 2023. "Can phone text messages promote the use of integrated pest management? A study of vegetable farmers in Cambodia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    7. Michelson, Hope & Fairbairn, Anna & Ellison, Brenna & Maertens, Annemie & Manyong, Victor, 2021. "Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    8. Tesei, Andrea & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Gupta, Apoorv, 2019. "Technology Adoption and Access to Credit via Mobile Phones," CEPR Discussion Papers 13956, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Campenhout, Bjorn Van, 2021. "ICTs to Address Information Inefficiencies in Food Supply Chains," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315054, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2022. "Crops in crises: Shocks shape smallholders' diversification in rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Jenny Aker & Joel Cariolle, 2022. "The Use of Digital for Public Service Provision in Sub-Saharan Africa," Post-Print hal-03003899, HAL.
    12. Lasdun, Violet & Harou, Aurelie P. & Magomba, Christopher & Guerena, David, 2022. "Peer Learning in a Digital Farmer-to-Farmer Network: Effects on Technology Adoption and Self-Efficacy Beliefs," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322561, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Voss, Rachel C. & Jansen, Tony & Mané, Bacary & Shennan, Carol, 2021. "Encouraging technology adoption using ICTs and farm trials in Senegal: Lessons for gender equity and scaled impact," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    14. Catherine Ragasa & Diston Mzungu & Kenan Kalagho & Cynthia Kazembe, 2022. "Role of interactive radio programming in advancing women’s and youth’s empowerment and dietary diversity: Mixed method evidence from Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(5), pages 1259-1277, October.
    15. Campenhout, Bjorn Van, 2021. "ICTs to Address Information Inefficiencies in Food Supply Chains," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 313801, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. G.T. Abate & Tanguy Bernard & Simrin Makhija & David J. Spielman, 2019. "Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers hal-02879823, HAL.
    17. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2020. "Using agriculture for development: Supply- and demand-side approaches," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    18. Apoorv Gupta & Jacopo Ponticelli & Andrea Tesei, 2020. "Language Barriers, Technology Adoption and Productivity: Evidence from Agriculture in India," NBER Working Papers 27192, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Michels, Marius & Musshoff, Oliver, 2021. "Timing of Smartphone Adoption in Agriculture: A Tobit Regression Analysis," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315358, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Deng, Xin & Xu, Dingde & Zeng, Miao & Qi, Yanbin, 2019. "Does Internet use help reduce rural cropland abandonment? Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:167:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x22003680. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.