The Impact of Contract Farming: Experimental Evidence from East Africa

Last registered on July 28, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of Contract Farming: Experimental Evidence from East Africa
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011717
Initial registration date
July 24, 2023

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 28, 2023, 1:58 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Rwanda
Region
Country
Uganda
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Lorenzo Casaburi
Affiliation
University of Zurich
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jack Willis
PI Affiliation
Columbia University

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-12-01
End date
2024-07-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Firms & Productivity, Other
Additional Keywords
Contract farming.
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In the experiment, we study the impact of linking smallholder farmers in value-chain contracting arrangements that provide iron-fortified beans. The partner contract farming companies first identify a set of potential villages to target for expansion into and the randomization then selects a subset of such villages for actual expansion. In a first random sample of villages, farmers receive a crop purchase guarantee and the provision of agricultural inputs (fertilizer and bean seeds) on credit. A second group receives a crop purchase guarantee and the possibility to buy agricultural inputs for cash. A final group of villages is allocated to control.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Casaburi, Lorenzo and Jack Willis. 2023. "The Impact of Contract Farming: Experimental Evidence from East Africa." AEA RCT Registry. July 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11717-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We collaborate with three contract farming companies interested in expanding their business operations to new villages. Within each village involved in the research, the contract farming companies recruit an average of 20 farmers whom they intend to establish contracts with if the village is eventually assigned into treatment. Then, villages are randomized into three groups:
- Control group: farmers in 1/3 of villages will not be contracted.
- Treatment 1: farmers in 1/3 of villages will be offered agricultural inputs on credit and a commitment to purchase their beans at harvest.
- Treatment 2: farmers in 1/3 of villages will be offered agricultural inputs for cash and a commitment to purchase their beans at harvest.
Intervention Start Date
2023-02-01
Intervention End Date
2024-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- Contracting outcomes: contract take-up, determinants of take-up
- Cultivation choices: amount of land cultivated, cultivation of biofortified beans, other crop choices
- Agricultural inputs: use and cost of seeds, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides, for bean cultivation and farm-level outcomes
- Agricultural labor: indicators of household and hired labor, for bean cultivation and farm-level outcomes
- Agricultural production: indicators of quantities harvested, revenues, profits and productivity, for bean cultivation and farm-level outcomes
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
- Migration patterns
- Food security indicators
- Household labor and business activities indicators:
i. Agricultural labor activities on other people's farms
ii. Non-agricultural labor activities
- Credit, loans and savings indicators
- Household assets indicators
- Mental well-being indicators
- Media consumption and community engagement indicators
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The contract farming partner companies first identify a group of previously untapped villages where they would be interested to expand their business operations. Within each village, they further recruit an average of 20 farmers they would like to contract with if the village is eventually assigned into treatment. Then, villages are randomized into three groups:
- Control group: farmers in 1/3 of villages will not be contracted.
- Treatment 1: farmers in 1/3 of villages will be offered inputs on credit and a commitment to purchase their beans at harvest.
- Treatment 2: farmers in 1/3 of villages will be offered inputs for cash and a commitment to purchase their beans at harvest.

A listing exercise was conducted in September 2022. The baseline survey took place between December 2022 and January 2023. We will do at least two rounds of follow-up surveys (August 2023 and February 2024), more if funding allows.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization on a computer.
Randomization Unit
Randomization at the village-level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
67 villages in Uganda and 40 villages in Rwanda.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 20 farmers per villages (i.e., 1340 farmers in Uganda and 800 farmers in Rwanda). We may expand the sample in future stages of the research.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
35-36 villages per treatment 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
University of Zurich
IRB Approval Date
2022-03-09
IRB Approval Number
OEC IRB # 2022-024
IRB Name
Mildmay Uganda Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-07-11
IRB Approval Number
REC REF 0804-2022
IRB Name
Rwanda National Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-07-15
IRB Approval Number
353/RNEC/2022
Analysis Plan