The impact of mobile phone voice message reminders on agricultural outcomes in Mali

Abstract

Based on theories of learning that suggest that repetition is important for knowledge retention and application, this article hypothesized that sending farmers reminders about cereal management information received during face‐to‐face training has impact on the adoption of recommended practices and related agricultural outcomes over and above what could be realized after receiving training alone. We provide a test of this hypothesis using a randomized controlled trial in Sikasso, Mali. Farmers in 99 villages received face‐to‐face training, after which 44 villages received mobile phone voice messages that reinforced the training recommendations. This setup allowed us to evaluate the impact of the voice SMS reminders on selected indicators. Our results show that the reminders significantly induced timely harvesting, reduced on‐farm cereal losses, increased uptake of improved grain storage technology, and increased the likelihood of pre‐harvest sales contracting. However, we found no overwhelming evidence that the reminders increased yields, and no evidence of impact on revenues were detected. We draw lessons for development policy and practice.

The effect of cognitive function on the poor's economic performance: Evidence from Cambodian smallholder farmers

“…Furthermore, the study by Dzanku et al. (2021) serves as another interesting example. The authors show that sending mobile phone voice message reminders to smallholder farmers can support in recalling knowledge when actually needed.…”

Does combining traditional and information and communications technology–based extension methods improve agricultural outcomes? Evidence from field experiments in Mali

“…In developing countries, traditional methods of agricultural extension such as reaching farmers through extension agents and farmer field schools are used together with modern approaches that rely on information and communications technology (ICT) platforms such as mobile devices and applications (Dzanku, Osei, & Osei-Akoto, 2021;Larochelle, Alwang, Travis, Barrera, & Dominguez Andrade, 2019;Van Campenhout, Spielman, & Lecoutere, 2021).…”

“…But, in spite of the growing literature on how information should be delivered to farmers to increase technology adoption, there remains a paucity of knowledge regarding which approaches work best in which context. Van Campenhout et al (2021) and Dzanku et al (2021) addressed the questions of which ICT-based interventions are most effective. Van Campenhout et al (2021) went a step further to address the question of whether a combination of ICT-based approaches (short video messages, video and an interactive voice response service, and an incremental effect of SMS reminders) are more effective than using only one method.…”

“…This article therefore contributes to filling the gap in the literature on approaches to agricultural information delivery by measuring the impact of farmer training (a traditional approach to agricultural extension delivery) and the impact of a combination of training and an ICT-based approach (i.e., training and voice SMS reminders). Dzanku et al (2021) show that timely reminders could be important for extension recommendation uptake because they could serve as a tool for prodding since even if reminders do not induce new learning, they could help mitigate against the problem of procrastination (Akerlof, 1991), in which case farmers may need periodic nudging to adopt recommendations (Duflo, Kremer, & Robinson, 2011). 1 Unlike Larochelle et al (2019) who analyzed the effect of SMS reminders on the adoption of integrated pest management practices in northern Ecuador after a farmer field day, we use voice SMS to capture a more representative sample of farmers that would otherwise be limited to literate farmers had the SMS been in text format.…”

Impact of aquaculture training on farmers’ income: Cluster randomized controlled trial evidence in Ghana

“…Dzanku et al. (2021) used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate mobile phone voice messages given in addition to face‐to‐face training and whether they reinforced the training recommendations. Their results show that the reminders significantly induced timely harvesting, reduced on‐farm cereal losses, increased uptake of improved grain storage technology, and increased the likelihood of preharvest sales contracting.…”