Digital Agribusiness Adoption and Market Performance among Smallholder Farmers in Odisha
Lakhan Lal Meena, Mayuri Singh Sardar, Mehazabeen A and Santosh D.T
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Abstract:
Digital agribusiness platforms are increasingly seen as a tool to enhance the market access of smallholder farmers, market information and opportunities for profitable marketing. But there is limited empirical evidence of their economic impacts, especially in Odisha, India. The present study aimed to evaluate the determinants and economic impact of adopting digital agribusiness-platform by the smallholder farmers from district of Gajapati, Ganjam and Kalahandi in Odisha. 300 farmers (150 adopters and 150 non-adopters) were sampled for primary data collection. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to describe patterns of platform adoption, and propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized to estimate the association between indicators of platform adoption and indicators of market access and economic performance. The users of digital platforms had higher number of market-information sources accessed (3.42 sources vs. 1.86 sources), more number of buyers contacted (3.74 buyers vs. 1.92 buyers) and higher price of farm-gate price (₹27.84 vs. ₹24.72 per kg) and lower marketing cost (₹2.86 vs. ₹3.38 per kg). The probability of adoption was significantly higher when considering education, smartphone ownership, Internet usage, access to information on digital markets, and FPO membership and digital agriculture training. The estimates show that adoption was related to increased net farm returns (ATT = ₹19,070 per ha), BCR (ATT = 0.33), MAI (ATT = 15.7 points) and price realization (ATT = ₹2.66 per kg); while the marketing cost decreased (ATT = −₹0.45 per kg). The results indicate the potential of digital agribusiness platforms for enhancing the participation in markets and economic performance of farms. Increasing digital capacity and literacy, farmer training, and digital marketing through FPOs and rural connectivity could be leveraged to promote inclusive digital market participation and support sustainable smallholder agricultural development.
Keywords:
Digital agribusiness; market access; e-NAM; price realization; propensity score matching
Citation: Lakhan Lal Meena, Mayuri Singh Sardar, Mehazabeen A and Santosh D.T (2026). Digital Agribusiness Adoption and Market Performance among Smallholder Farmers in Odisha. Horizon J. Hum. Soc. Sci. Res. 8 (S), 126–134. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2026.v8.nS.id1401.p126
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