Smartphone‐based agricultural extension services and farm incomes: Evidence from Zhejiang Province in China

Abstract

AbstractSmartphone use in rural China has grown rapidly, leading to the fast development of smartphone‐based agricultural extension services. However, there is limited research on the income effects of smartphone‐based agricultural extension services in rural areas. In this study, we analyze the causal effects of smartphone‐based agricultural extension services (“Zhe'yang'shi” WeChat application as an example) on farm incomes in Zhejiang, China, using a staggered difference‐in‐differences method with panel data from 400 crop farmers. Our results show that adopting smartphone‐based agricultural extension services increases farm income from soil testing formula fertilizer fields by 15.39% and total farm income by 16.31%.