Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India

Full citation:

Cole, Shawn, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen, and Aparna Krishna. 2025. “Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India.” Working Paper.  

Links:

https://precisiondev.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Using-Satelites-and-Phones-to-Evaluate-and-Promote.pdf

Abstract:

This paper evaluates a low-cost, customized soil nutrient management advisory service in India. As a methodological contribution, we examine whether and in which settings satellite measurements may be effective at estimating both agricultural yields and treatment effects. The intervention improves self-reported fertilizer management practices, though not enough to measurably affect yields. Satellite measurements calibrated using OLS produce more precise point estimates than farmer-reported data, suggesting power gains. However, linear models, common in the literature, likely produce biased estimates. We propose an alternative procedure, using two-stage least squares. In settings without attrition, this approach obtains lower statistical power than self-reported yields; in settings with differential attrition, it may substantially increase power. We include a “cookbook” and code that should allow other researchers to use remote sensing for yield estimation and program evaluation.