Mobile phone use and agricultural productivity among female smallholder farmers in Tanzania

Amy Quandt, Jonathan Salerno, Timothy D. Baird, J. Terrence McCabe, Emilie Xu, Jeffrey E. Herrick and Joel Hartter

No 338773, 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: Evidence shows that mobile phones can improve agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet few studies examine gender disparities in mobile phone ownership and use, and how they relate to the gender gap in agricultural productivity. This research gathers survey data on 279 male and female household heads in four villages in Iringa, Tanzania, and investigates the associations between gender, agricultural productivity, and phone ownership and use. Our study finds that many farmers use phones to conduct agricultural activities, with virtually all male respondents using their privately-owned phones compared to only two-thirds of female respondents. Moreover, many women have positive perceptions and trust in the benefits of using phones for agricultural activities. Lastly, phone owners have higher self-reported maize yields compared to non–phone owners. Our results suggest that mobile phones may be a valuable tool in bridging the agricultural gender gap.

Keywords: Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Productivity Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea21:338773

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.338773

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