Impact of information and communication technology-based market information services on smallholder farm input use and productivity: The case of Kenya

Information asymmetry has traditionally constrained smallholder farmers' access to markets, consequently limiting their adoption of modern technologies and farm productivity. Improved smallholder farmers' access to markets via the recent Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platforms has the potential to reverse this scenario. This study uses Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique to evaluate the impact of an ICT-based market information services (MIS) project on farm input use and productivity in Kenya. It finds a positive and significant impact of the intervention on the use of seeds, fertilizers, land, and labor productivity. However, a negative impact on labor usage is found. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.