Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/89099 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-220
Publisher: 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC
Abstract: 
Previous studies indicate that Colombian farmers make production decisions based on informal sources of information, such as family and neighbors or tradition. In this paper we randomize recipients of price and weather information using text messages (SMS technology). We find that relative to those farmers who did not receive SMS information, the farmers who did were more likely to provide market price information, had a narrower dispersion in the expected price of their crops, and had a significant reduction in crop loss. Farmers also report that text messages provide useful information, especially in regards to sale prices. We do not find, however, a significant difference between the treated and untreated farmers in the actual sale price, nor changes in farmersÂ’ revenues or household expenditures.
JEL: 
D62
Q11
Q12
Q13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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