Risk and the modernization of agriculture

Last registered on July 21, 2014
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Risk and the modernization of agriculture
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000448
Initial registration date
July 21, 2014

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
July 21, 2014, 6:35 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 21, 2014, 7:47 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Odisha

Primary Investigator

Name
Kyle Emerick
Affiliation
Tufts University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Manzoor Dar
PI Affiliation
International Rice Research Institute
PI Name
Alain Janvry
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
PI Name
Elisabeth Sadoulet
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2011-09-01
End date
2014-06-30
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This paper tests whether adding flood tolerance to the farmer's production technology -- thus sharply reducing risk -- leads to agricultural investment. Specifically, we study Swarna-Sub1, which is one of the first stress-tolerant rice varieties to be released in south Asia. Other than enhanced flood tolerance, Swarna-Sub1 is genetically very similar to the popular rice variety Swarna.

We use a randomized experiment across 128 villages in the Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Odisha India. 5 farmers in each treatment village were provided a small amount of Swarna-Sub1 seed. Two years of follow-up surveys were conducted.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Dar, Manzoor et al. 2014. "Risk and the modernization of agriculture." AEA RCT Registry. July 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.448-2.0
Former Citation
Dar, Manzoor et al. 2014. "Risk and the modernization of agriculture." AEA RCT Registry. July 21. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/448/history/2195
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2011-09-01
Intervention End Date
2014-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Rice yield (kg per ha)
Fertilizer usage (kilograms N, P, and K)
Area cultivated (number of plots, area, and log area)
Planting technique (broadcasting vs. transplanting)
Irrigation application
Credit utilization
Share of rice harvest saved for consumption
Adoption of traditional rice varieties
Adoption of Swarna
Land fallowing
Seed use per hectare

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A small amount of Swarna-Sub1 seeds were provided to 5 farmers in each of 64 treatment villages. The treatment consisted only of the small package of seeds and a short information sheet describing the new variety.

The control group consists of 5 farmers in each of the 64 control villages. In addition, 10 farmers in each of the 64 treatment villages were surveyed. We test for spillovers amongst these farmers.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Village-level randomization was done in office by a computer. Randomization within treatment villages was done by pre-assigned random number.
Randomization Unit
The first tier of randomization was the village level. There was also individual level randomization within treatment clusters.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
128
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,280
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
64 villages control, 64 villages treatment
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 Berkeley
IRB Approval Date
2011-07-26
IRB Approval Number
2011-05-3208
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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