Desk-review: Smallholder farming, nutrition and m-Agriculture services in Ghana

This desk-based review forms part of the external impact evaluation of m-Nutrition in Ghana. The evaluation is being conducted by a consortium of researchers from Gamos, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). M-Nutrition is a global initiative supported by DFID, organised by GSMA, and implemented by in-country mobile network operators (MNOs) to use mobile technology to improve the nutritional status of children and their mothers. In Ghana m-Nutrition is added to the existing m-Agriculture platform Farmers’ Club, a service that offers agricultural information via SMS (short message service) and voice, access to an expert helpline and free calls to other Farmers’ Club members. Informed by the primary outcomes of the impact evaluation (i.e. to assess the impact of m-nutrition on income, productivity and dietary diversity of smallholder farmers), the review will summarise existing evidence on: a) Characteristics of smallholder agriculture in Ghana (with a specific focus on agriculture production and income); b) Determinants of dietary intake in rural Ghana; and c) The use of mobile phones for agriculture in Ghana (with a specific focus on factors that may influence up-take of mobile phone-based information)