Evaluation of India Grain Legume Cluster Development

Last registered on February 15, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluation of India Grain Legume Cluster Development
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003872
Initial registration date
February 14, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 15, 2019, 4:10 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Bihar

Primary Investigator

Name
Travis Lybbert
Affiliation
UC Davis
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Tomoé Bourdier
PI Affiliation
University of California, Davis
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Ashish Shenoy
PI Affiliation
University of California, Davis
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2017-04-24
End date
2021-06-30
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This randomized controlled trial evaluates a three-year program promoting pulse cultivation in five districts of Northern Bihar, India, through four local implementing partners. In response to the political imperative to address the growing trade deficit in pulses by augmenting domestic supplies, the program has proposed to develop and pilot a package of interventions aimed at increasing take-up and productivity of pulses farming in the region, with the potential for future replication and scale-up. The UC Davis research team aims to evaluate the program’s impacts on pulse production, welfare and nutrition of the farmers (and their households) targeted by the AKF intervention.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bourdier, Tomoé, Travis Lybbert and Ashish Shenoy. 2019. "Evaluation of India Grain Legume Cluster Development." AEA RCT Registry. February 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3872-1.0
Former Citation
Bourdier, Tomoé, Travis Lybbert and Ashish Shenoy. 2019. "Evaluation of India Grain Legume Cluster Development." AEA RCT Registry. February 15. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3872/history/41604
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In Year 1 of the program (June 2017 through May 2018), the evaluation design included three treatment arms and a control group randomized at the village level. Farmers in the three treatment arms received a package of interventions designed to encourage and improve the cultivation of pulses with varying intensity:
• High intensity: The high intensity treatment consisted of demonstration plots for which inputs and training were provided, free improved certified pulse seeds distributed at the village-level, and extension messaging and support.
• Medium intensity: The medium intensity treatment consisted of free improved certified pulse seeds distributed at the village-level, and extension messaging and support.
• Low intensity: The low intensity treatment consisted of distribution of seed vouchers to farmers, which can be redeemed for free improved certified pulse seeds at a centralized location decided by each implementing partner.
In Year 2 of the program (starting from June 2018), the three treatment arms were collapsed into a single treatment arm, in which all villages received the high-intensity package of interventions.
Intervention Start Date
2017-04-24
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Total area under pulses, by season (Kharif, Rabi); Total pulse production, by season (Kharif, Rabi); Total weekly household consumption of pulses; Weekly protein consumption per adult male equivalent; Reported weekly protein intake of target household member.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In all treatment and control arms, farmers are recruited through an initial meeting, organized prior to the beginning of the planting season to gauge farmer interest in pulse crops production. Our main sample for data collection and analysis is comprised of farmers randomly drawn from the attendance lists of these initial meetings, to ensure that control farmers are comparable to treatment farmers.
Villages were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment arms or the control arm. Randomization was stratified by block. (A block is an administrative sub-unit of a district. In the program area, there are two blocks in each of the five districts.)
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
158 villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,082 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
59 control villages, 32 "low intensity" treatment villages, 34 "medium intensity" treatment villages, 33 "high intensity" treatment villages
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UC Davis IRB
IRB Approval Date
2017-11-02
IRB Approval Number
1142147
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials