Farmers who exchanged text messages with peers were significantly more likely to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, highlighting the power of peer learning in digital formats, a new study co-authored by McGill University Professor Aurélie Harou found.
The study, published in the Journal of Development Economics, evaluated whether SMS group chats could help maize farmers in Tanzania embrace soil-friendly practices like intercropping legumes and making compost from farm waste.
"Farmers who could communicate with peers via text were 15 to 18 per cent more likely to adopt practices they texted about," said Harou, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "This shows that the benefits of peer-learning extend to a digital framework."
Working with partners at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania and mobile tech company Telerivet, the researchers developed a low-cost platform called ShambaChat, which runs on basic mobile phones. The team conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 257 maize farmers. All participants received SMS messages about sustainable farming methods, but only some were placed in five-person chat groups to discuss the content with each other.
The study found that the farmers in group chats were substantially more likely than the ones who only received messages to implement the practices they had been advised of, especially intercropping maize with legumes, which can improve soil fertility and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers. Those who participated were also more likely to produce compost using on-farm materials.
However, participation in the chat groups declined over time.
"Our study also points to the necessity of designing platforms that consider farmers' needs, habits and capacities in order to maintain farmer interest," Harou said.
The findings provide important insights for organizations aiming to improve agricultural outcomes in low-resource settings, the researchers said. With mobile phones increasingly widespread in rural areas, the researchers add that digital peer networks could be a cost-effective tool for sharing agricultural knowledge, if designed with user engagement in mind.
The researchers note that future work should explore ways to sustain participation and scale up such programs. For now, the study suggests that simple peer-to-peer texting tools can play a meaningful role in helping farmers adopt regenerative practices that support long-term food security and soil health.
About the study
Peer learning and technology adoption in a digital farmer-to-farmer network by Violet Lasdun, Aurélie Harou, Christopher Magomba and David Guerena was published in the Journal of Development Economics.
The research was supported by SSHRC IDG grant 430-2018-1121
