Using satellites and phones to evaluate and promote agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from smallholder farms in India

Shawn Cole, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen and Aparna Krishna

Journal of Development Economics, 2025, vol. 176, issue C

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: Satellite data; Fertilizer; Agricultural extension; Methodology; Yield measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:176:y:2025:i:c:s0304387825000148

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103463

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