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

The study hypothesizes that e-agriculture can be a potential option to contribute to multidimensional poverty reduction in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Two-stage instrumental variable (IV) Tobit and seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) analysis are used to identify whether e-agriculture has any role in multidimensional poverty reduction. This study collected data from 351 farm households applying the multi-stage sampling technique. Results reveal that e-agriculture adoption significantly reduces the MPI by 32 percentage points compared to non-adopters. Besides education, farming experience, peri-urban residence, and access to agricultural extension services are diagnosed as positive predictors of e-agriculture adoption. The SUR regression shows that e-agriculture practice can improve the standard of living of coastal farm households. In addition, multiple cropping pattern is also identified as a significant contributor to the reduction of all the deprivations of MPI. 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 aims to provide these communities with exhaustive insights into e-agriculture, thereby empowering them to fully capitalize on the advantages inherent in e-agricultural practice.