Improving Agricultural Productivity and Market Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean: How ICTs can make a Difference?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-7092.2013.02.14Keywords:
Agriculture, Rural Development, Technological Change, Information and CommunicationsAbstract
Abstract: The rapid dissemination of ICTs in rural areas in LAC has been received with a lot of optimism, as these technologies are thought to be potentially effective tools of agricultural development. However, rigorous analyses of the impacts of ICTs on agriculture are still very scarce and lag behind the rapid penetration of these technologies. This paper is the first attempt to summarize recent findings from some of the few academic studies addressing this topic and complementing this analysis with anecdotal evidence and findings from case studies. Overall, the available evidence indicates that ICTs can play a major role in promoting agricultural productivity and rural development in LAC. By closing information gaps and reducing transaction costs, ICTs can improve the opportunities of farmers in agricultural markets and empower smallholders. ICTs can also foster productivity by facilitating the dissemination of technological knowledge and expand the access to financial and public services among the rural population by making service provision more affordable. Nonetheless, to the extent that the effective provision of ICTs has certain minimum requirements in terms of human and physical capital, many agricultural economies will be unable to reap the full benefits of these technologies.References
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Aker, Jenny. 2008. “Does Digital Divide or Provide? The Impact of Mobile Phones on Grain Markets in Niger” BREAD Working Paper No. 177.
Aker, Jenny and Marcel Fafchamps. 2010. “How Does Mobile Phone-Coverage Affect Farm-gate Prices? Evidence from West Africa”. Mimeo. Medford: Tufts University.
Beaumont Dixie, Grahame and Nithya Jayaraman. 2011. “Strenghtening Agricultural Marketing with ICT” In: “ICT for Agriculture e-Sourcebook” The Agricultural and Rural Development Deparment & infodev World Bank.
Beuermann, Diether. 2010. “Information and Communication Technologies, Agricultural Productivity and Child Labor in Rural Peru”. PhD Dissertation. Department of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park.
Beuermann, Diether and Christopher McKelvey and Renos Vakis. 2012. “Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Rural Peru,"" The Journal of Development Studies 48(11): 1617-1628.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2012.709615
Brehm, Kevin, Amanda Enrico, Cheray Kiendl, Emily Morgan, Alexandra Teachout and Katie Vasquez. 2007. “Globalization of Food Retailing and Transformation of Supply Networks: Consequences for Small-scale Agricultural Producers in Southeastern Mexico” Journal of Latin American Geography 6 (2).
Camacho, Adriana and Emily Conover. 2011. “The Impact of Receiving Price and Climate Information in the Agricultural Sector” IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-220. Washington DC: IDB.
Cavatassi, Romina, Mario González, Paul Winters, Jorge Andrade-Piedra, Graham Thiele and Patricio Espinosa. 2009. “Linking Small Holders to the New Agricultural Economy: an Evaluation of the Plataformas Program in Ecuador.” Working Papers 09-06. Agriculture and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO.
Calderón, César and Luis Servén 2010. “Infrastructure in Latin America” Policy Research Working Paper No. 5317. Washington D.C: World Bank.
Chong, Alberto, Virgilio Galdo y Máximo Torero. 2009. “Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-natural Experiment for Peru.” Economica, 76 (304): 623-648.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2008.00735.x
Choudhary, Vikas and Soham Sen. 2011. “ICT Applications for Smallholder Inclusion in Agribusiness Supply Chains” In: “ICT for Agriculture e-Sourcebook” The Agricultural and Rural Development Deparment & infodev Washington DC: World Bank.
Conley, Timothy G. and Christopher R. Udry. 2010. ""Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana."" American Economic Review. 100 (1): 35-69.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.1.35
Coon, Jeremy, Anita Campion and Mark Wenner. 2010. “Financing Agriculture Value Chains in Central America” Technical Notes. No. IDB –TN-146. Washington DC: IDB.
de Janvry, A., G. Gordillo, J. P. Platteau and E. Sadoulet. 2001. “Access to Land, Rural Poverty, and Public Action” Oxford: Oxford University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242177.001.0001
de Janvry, Alain and Elisabeth Sadoulet. 2002. “Land Reforms in Latin America: Ten Lessons toward a Contemporary Agenda”. Document prepared for the World Bank's Latin American Land Policy Workshop, Pachuca, Mexico, June 14th 2002. http://are.berkeley.edu/~sadoulet/papers/ Land_Reform_in_LA_10_lesson.pdf
de Janvry, Alain, Elisabeth Sadoulet and Karen Macours. 2002. “El Acceso a Tierras a Través del Arrendamiento”. In: “El Acceso a la Tierra en la Agenda de Desarrollo Rural”, Serie de informes técnicos del Departamento de Desarrollo Sostenible, Washington DC: IDB.
FAO. 2009 “How to Feed the World in 2050” Briefings of the High-Level Expert Forum. Rome: FAO.
Foster, Andrew and Mark Rosenzweig. 1995 “Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture.” Journal of Political Economy. 103 (6): 1176-1209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/601447
Galiani, Sebastián and Laura Jaitman. 2010. “Traceability applied to SMEs in Argentina: A Case Study”. Mimeo. Washington DC: IDB.
González, Verónica, Pablo Ibarrarán, Alessandro Maffioli, and Sandra Roz . 2009. “The Impact of Technological Adoption on Agricultural Productivity: The Case of the Dominican Republic”. Office of Evaluation and Oversight. Washington DC: IDB.
Goyal, Aparajita 2010. “Information, Direct Access to Farmers, and Rural Market Performance in Central India” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2 (3): 22-45.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/app.2.3.22
IDB 2010. Assessing the Effectiveness of Agricultural Interventions. Development Effectiveness Overview. Washington DC: IDB.
IDB. 2011. Development Connections: Unveiling the Impact of New Information Technologies. Washington DC: IDB.
Jack, Kelsey. 2011. “Constraints on the Adoption of Agricultural Technologies in Developing Countries.” White paper, Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative, Boston: J-PAL (MIT) and Berkeley: CEGA (UC Berkeley).
Jensen, Robert. 2007. “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance and Welfare in South Indian Fisheries Sector”. Quarterly Journal of Economics 24 (3): 1057-942.
Jensen, Robert. 2010. “Information, Efficiency and Agricultural Markets”. Agricultural Economics, forthcoming. Available at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/53206/2/ICTs_Agriculture_Jensen.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00501.x
Iglesias, Enrique V. 1992. Agricultural Development in Latin America and the Role of Research and Technological Change: An Overview. Sir John Crawford Memorial Lecture. Washington DC: CGIAR.
Ludena, Carlos E. 2010. “Agricultural Productivity Growth, Efficiency Change and Technical Progress in Latin America and the Caribbean.” IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-186. Washington DC: IDB.
Macours, Karen, Alan de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet. 2004. “Insecurity of Property Rights and Matching in the Tenancy Market” Cudare Working Papers. Berkley: UC-Berkeley.
McNamara, Kerry. 2009. “Improving Agricultural Productivity and Markets: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies” Notes. Agriculture and Rural Development. Issue 47. Washington DC: World Bank.
Muto, Megumi and Takashi Yamano. 2009. “The Impact of Mobile Phone Coverage on Market Participation: Panel Data Evidence from Uganda” World Development 37 (12).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.05.004
Pfaff, Alexander, Andres Robalino and G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa. 2008. “Payments for Environmental Services: Empirical Analysis for Costa Rica”. Stanford Institute of Public Policy. Working Paper Series. SAN08-05. Durham: Duke University.
Ravallion, Martin, Shaohua Chen and Prem Sangraul 2007. “New Evidence on the Urbanization of Global Poverty” Policy Research Working Paper. Development Research Group. Washington DC: WB.
Tejerina, Luis and Glenn Westley 2007. “Financial Services for the Poor. Household Survey Sources and Gaps in Borrowing and Saving” Technical Paper Series. Sustainable Development Department. Washington DC: IDB 23.
World Bank. 2008a. The Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean. Agriculture for Development Policy Brief. Washington DC: WB.
World Bank. 2008b. World Bank Development Report: Agriculture for Development. Washington DC: WB.
World Bank. 2011. World Development Indicators. Washington DC: WB.
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Published
2013-05-14
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Goyal, A., & González-Velosa, C. (2013). Improving Agricultural Productivity and Market Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean: How ICTs can make a Difference?. Journal of Reviews on Global Economics, 2, 172–182. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-7092.2013.02.14
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