Language Barriers, Technology Adoption and Productivity: Evidence from Agriculture in India

Abstract

We study the effect of language barriers on the ability of farmers to access information about agricultural technologies in rural areas of India. We use call- level data from a government-sponsored call center for agricultural advice offered in different languages across Indian states. Exploiting differences in the language spoken by farmers and call center advisors, we document that language barriers limit the adoption of modern agricultural technologies—such as high-yielding variety seeds. We find no impact of language barriers on agricultural productivity within five years from introduction of call centers, although small but significant differences arise in the longer run.