Does e-agriculture practice matter for poverty reduction among coastal farm households?

The study hypothesizes that e-agriculture practice may contribute to multidimensional poverty reduction in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Two-stage instrumental variable (IV) Tobit and seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) analyses are used to identify the relationship. We collected data from 351 rice producing households applying a multi-stage sampling technique. Results reveal that e-agriculture adoption significantly reduces multidimensional poverty by 32 percentage points compared to non-adoption. Besides, education, farming experience, residence in the peri-urban area, and access to agricultural extension services are identified as positive predictors of e-agriculture adoption. The SUR regressions show that e-agriculture practice can help improve the standard of living of coastal farm households. In addition, multiple cropping patterns significantly contribute to the reduction of all the deprivations of multidimensional poverty. Based on the research outcomes, the study advocates broadening access to extension services to seamlessly incorporate small and marginalized farm households in remote coastal areas. Such integration may equip coastal communities with comprehensive insights into e-agriculture, thereby empowering them to fully leverage the advantages inherent in this farming technique.