ISPA Account
Nobel laureate shows the power of digital agriculture and on-farm experimentation
Michael Kremer got a share of the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for his work on experimental approaches to alleviating global poverty. He notably showed innovative uses of randomized control trials to answer key development questions related to agriculture. Kremer recently gave a lecture at the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) to show how mobile technologies and digital agriculture can create innovations reaching out to smallholders as well. Kremer also addressed the role of higher-resolution weather information, customized pest-control advice and the opportunities to improve supply chains and extension services. His recently published work shows how information sharing through mobile telephony can improve yields and adoption of recommended inputs across sub-Saharan Africa and India.