Adoption and Impacts of Saline-Tolerant Seeds

Last registered on May 17, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Adoption and Impacts of Saline-Tolerant Seeds
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010333
Initial registration date
October 29, 2022

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
October 31, 2022, 4:40 PM EDT

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

Last updated
May 17, 2023, 11:15 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Bangladesh
Region
Khulna

Primary Investigator

Name
Dev Patel
Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-10-30
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study assesses the impact of distributing saline-tolerant rice varieties to farmers in rural Bangladesh.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Patel, Dev. 2023. "Adoption and Impacts of Saline-Tolerant Seeds." AEA RCT Registry. May 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10333-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Farmers' willingness-to-pay for 1 kg of a saline-tolerant rice variety will be elicited using a price-list version of the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism. The ultimate price has been randomly drawn from a distribution with the most mass either on 0 or 200 TK, generating variation in who will end up ultimately receiving the seeds.
Intervention Start Date
2022-10-30
Intervention End Date
2023-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Given the exogenous variation of the BDM price, the key outcomes are: adoption and use of the seed, ultimate harvest and profits, WTP for saline-tolerant seeds for the next season.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
I will also look at effects on beliefs about salinity, purchase of other inputs (like pesticides) during the course of the season, and spillovers on neighbors and social networks. I will explore heterogeneity by past exposure to climate events, beliefs about climate change and salinity, baseline adoption levels, plot size, and whether respondents have already purchased their seeds for this season.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Farmers' willingness-to-pay for 1 kg of a saline-tolerant rice variety will be elicited using a price-list version of the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism. The ultimate price has been randomly drawn from a distribution with the most mass either on 0 or 200 TK, generating variation in who will end up ultimately receiving the seeds.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization was conducted via a computer on the full sample of households collected via a listing of approximately 50 farmers per village conducted prior to the baseline survey. Only 10 of these farmers will be ultimately interviewed.

Each household from the listing was randomly assigned an initial price of 0 or 200, stratified by village. Then, each household was reassigned a price between 10 and 190 in increments of 10 with a .01 percent chance.
Randomization Method
Randomization of the BDM price was done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Expected sample size is 2,480 farmers.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Expected sample size is 2,480 farmers.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Expected sample size is 1,240 farmers per arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University-Area Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2021-08-30
IRB Approval Number
IRB21-1143
Analysis Plan

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