Mobile money, smallholder farmers, and household welfare in Kenya

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 6;9(10):e109804. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109804. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The use of mobile phones has increased rapidly in many developing countries, including in rural areas. Besides reducing the costs of communication and improving access to information, mobile phones are an enabling technology for other innovations. One important example are mobile phone based money transfers, which could be very relevant for the rural poor, who are often underserved by the formal banking system. We analyze impacts of mobile money technology on the welfare of smallholder farm households in Kenya. Using panel survey data and regression models we show that mobile money use has a positive impact on household income. One important pathway is through remittances received from relatives and friends. Such remittances contribute to income directly, but they also help to reduce risk and liquidity constraints, thus promoting agricultural commercialization. Mobile money users apply more purchased farm inputs, market a larger proportion of their output, and have higher profits than non-users of this technology. These results suggest that mobile money can help to overcome some of the important smallholder market access constraints that obstruct rural development and poverty reduction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Phone / economics*
  • Family Characteristics*
  • Farmers / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Financial Management / methods*
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Kenya
  • Male
  • Musa
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.