Mobile technologies could help to improve service delivery to smallholder farmers, but whether such services are fulfilling their potential remains poorly understood. To address this gap, this article presents an exploratory literature review regarding the impact of mobile phone-enabled services on farmers in developing countries. The review highlights a dearth of empirical evidence in this area. Findings suggest that farmers benefited through improvements in production planning, management of weather-related risks, and greater ease in receiving money. The review also points to several methodological shortcomings, notably the reliance on perception data and the failure to assess impacts in relation to usage.

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.

Many farmers in the developing world have limited access to agricultural technologies and markets. Mobile phone-enabled services that offer price information and market linkages could contribute towards bridging this gap by reducing uncertainty about expected profits, information asymmetries and market inefficiencies. This article uses the example of the price information and marketing service M-Farm in Kenya to empirically test this potential. Findings from a survey of M-Farm users confirm that m-services offering price information can help farmers plan production processes better, but also show that the radio can be an effective dissemination channel especially at the early stages of production. While evidence on the utility of the price information to help farmers obtain better prices is inconclusive, resulting changes in cropping patterns and harvesting times are likely to have contributed to perceived income gains. M-Farm appears to have had limited impact on trading relationships. In terms of methodology, the study also highlights the limitations of relying on farmers' perceptions gathered through surveys when assessing the impact of m-services.

This chapter presents an interdisciplinary framework for the investigation of marginality which is inclusive of the diversity of existing poverty research approaches. Marginality is presented as a systemic and evolutionary concept with particular reference to the role of institutions that constrain or motivate actions as measured against a performance indicator such as productivity growth. Based on a brief review of marginality research in social, economic, and development fi elds, this chapter presents a defi nition of marginality and explains the differences between this conceptual framework and those of poverty. Finally, the components of the framework and its interrelationships are described and awareness for the need for further research on marginality is raised.

The rapid spread of mobile phones across the developing world offers opportunities to improve service delivery for smallscale farmers. International and local companies have already started to capitalize on these opportunities although many mobile phone-enabled services are still at an early stage. Kenya has emerged as a leader in m-service development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This chapter assesses the key factors that have helped the local innovation scene to emerge and reviews existing agricultural m-services that provide Kenyan farmers with access to information and learning, financial services, and input and output markets. The potential impact of m-services is illustrated with the example of the price and marketing service M-Farm. Finally, the chapter assesses current mobile technology trends to offer an outlook on potential future applications.

Weather shocks affect smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Sub-Saharan Africa unequally. Agricultural insurance has emerged as a safety net option to protect farmers’ welfare. However, in comparison to other regions, fewer African farmers and pastoralists have adopted agricultural insurance. This review synthesises broad recent literature on why insurance take-up has remained low and highlights six key themes, including: (1) product quality, (2) product design, (3) affordability, (4) information and education, (5) behavioural and sociocultural factors, and (6) the role of government in enabling markets. We shed light on how insurance uptake can be encouraged.

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