Investing in Digital Technology to Increase Market Access for Women Agri-preneurs in Guatemala

Smallholder farmers in developing countries face information barriers that hinder market opportunities and business productivity. Women in agriculture face higher information gaps, lower access to markets, and higher informality, compounded by restrictive social norms. Information diffusion through digital technologies can increase market participation in rural areas and holds promise to enhance the status of women in the business sphere. To address the information gap and lack of market access faced by smallholder women in Guatemala, the DIGITAGRO project used digital technologies to provide information about the national School Feeding Programme (SFP), which by law buys half of schools’ food from local family farming. The project conducted an impact evaluation of a digital information campaign conducted in 271 villages at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The treatment group received a video and a series of tailored text messages with information on SFP participation, food quality standards and practices, products and prices, and relevant contact information. The control group received a placebo. The intervention increased knowledge about the SFP, especially for women not reached by traditional extension programmes, prompted women to increase their sales, and had effects on intra-household decision-making. However, barriers such as product mismatches, production capacity, and institutional trust seem to be hampering women’s direct involvement in the SFP, calling for targeted complementary extension services and a better alignment of the SFP structure with local market conditions.