How can we prevent soil erosion in West Sahel? Experimental evidence from Burkina Faso

Last registered on March 19, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How can we prevent soil erosion in West Sahel? Experimental evidence from Burkina Faso
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013195
Initial registration date
March 18, 2024

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
March 19, 2024, 5:26 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Rie Muraoka
Affiliation
Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yuko Nakano
PI Affiliation
University of Tsukuba
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PI Name
Guenwoo Lee
PI Affiliation
Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
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PI Name
Kenta Ikazaki
PI Affiliation
Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
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PI Name
Eveline Sawadogo/Compaore
PI Affiliation
Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-03-25
End date
2026-03-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
Soil Erosion, Soil Deradation, Soil Health, Soil Fertility, Sustainability, Technology Adoption
JEL code(s)
O12, O13, O33, O55, Q12. Q16
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In the West Sahel region, soil erosion deteriorates soil fertility and diminishes land productivity, posing a threat to food security. This process occurs gradually over time, making it challenging for farmers to recognize its detrimental effects. However, without intervention to prevent soil erosion, farmland productivity is expected to decline significantly within a couple of decades. Therefore, it is crucial for farmers in the West Sahel region to adopt soil erosion prevention technology. The Fallow Band System (FBS) is the new technology to prevent soil erosion, which does not require labor or other inputs to employ this technology. This study aims to elucidate the mechanisms and constraints of farmers' decision to adopt FBS by conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with multiple interventions in the central of Burkina Faso, where soil erosion is a significant problem. Our interventions include providing technical training for FBS, general information and/or detailed scientific information on soil erosion and degradation, a field day, and/or offering conditional cash transfers to offset any income reduction resulting from FBS adoption. By elucidating the mechanisms of farmers' decision-making of adopting FBS, we attempt to find effective strategies to disseminating soil erosion prevention technology.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ikazaki, Kenta et al. 2024. "How can we prevent soil erosion in West Sahel? Experimental evidence from Burkina Faso." AEA RCT Registry. March 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13195-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The Interventions of this study are as follows.

- Control group
- Treatment arm 1: General information and training of the Fallow Band System (FBS) technology
- Treatment arm 2: General information, conditional cash transfer, and training of the FBS
- Treatment arm 3: General information, detailed scientific information on soil erosion and degradation, the filed day, and training of the FBS

No intervention will be provided for the control group. Treatment arm 1 will receive general information on soil erosion and degradation and training of FBS. Treatment arm 2 will receive the same information and training as Treatment arm 1. Additionally, Treatment arm 2 will be compensated for reduction in crop income during the first year resulting from the adoption of FBS, provided they adopt it. Treatment arm 4 will also receive identical information and training as Treatment arm 1. Moreover, they will be invited to a field day tour to observe FBS and watch a video of detailed scientific information on soil erosion and degradation.
Intervention Start Date
2024-05-01
Intervention End Date
2025-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Adoption of FBS, Adoption of other soil conservetion technologies, farmer's belief about future yield and soil fertility, and crop yields and income
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Soil fertiliy, migration, household resource allocation, housheold off-farm income, total housheold income, farmer to farmer extension, authority of household head,
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We sought out four provinces that represent central Burkina Faso in terms of cultural, ethnic, and agricultural ecological environments, and are also safe for conducting interview surveys. Consequently, we selected the provinces of Boulkiende, Kourwego, Passore, and Sanguie. Within each province, we randomly selected four communes. From each commune, four villages were also randomly chosen. Subsequently, we randomly selected 22 households from each village. In total, we have chosen 1,408 households across 64 villages within 16 communes spanning these four provinces.

We are planning to conduct a village-level randomized controlled trial (RCT). Sample villages will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. Out of the 64 villages, 16 will be allocated to the control group, 16 to Treatment arm 1, 16 to Treatment arm 2, and 16 to Treatment arm 3.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
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
64 villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
1408 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
16 villages are
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board, Faculty of Humanities and Sociecal Sciences, University of Tsukuba
IRB Approval Date
2023-12-07
IRB Approval Number
2023-23
Analysis Plan