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Integrating value chains to improve food safety and increase smallholder incomes in Kenya

Last registered on June 23, 2016
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Integrating value chains to improve food safety and increase smallholder incomes in Kenya
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001373
Initial registration date
June 23, 2016

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
June 23, 2016, 2:27 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Kenya
Region
Meru County, possibly other nearby counties

Primary Investigator

Name
Vivian Hoffmann
Affiliation
IFPRI
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander Saak
PI Affiliation
IFPRI
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PI Name
Erwin Bulte
PI Affiliation
Wageningen University
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PI Name
Janneke Pieters
PI Affiliation
Wageningen University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2016-09-01
End date
2017-06-30
Keywords
Agriculture, Health
Additional Keywords
Food Safety
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This is a pilot study to evaluate adoption of ex-ante technologies for preventing toxic fungal contamination, the biocontrol product Aflasafe and mobile dryers, and an ex-post management technology, rapid testing for aflatoxin, by smallholder farmers in Kenya. Adoption of these technologies will be compared across farmer groups randomly assigned to receive a food safety-conditional purchase commitment from a formal sector buyer, and those left to find buyers independently. The impact of access to low-cost testing on adoption of preventive technologies will also be tested. The objectives of the pilot are to 1) establish commercial relationships between maize aggregators in the study region and formal sector millers, 2) test whether the existing formal sector price premium is sufficient to motivate adoption of food safety technologies, and 3) assess take-up of the technologies under different market conditions in order to design an adequately powered full-scale adoption study.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bulte, Erwin et al. 2016. "Integrating value chains to improve food safety and increase smallholder incomes in Kenya." AEA RCT Registry. June 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1373-1.0
Former Citation
Bulte, Erwin et al. 2016. "Integrating value chains to improve food safety and increase smallholder incomes in Kenya." AEA RCT Registry. June 23. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1373/history/8987
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-09-01
Intervention End Date
2017-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Adoption of aflatoxin prevention and management technologies by smallholder farmers
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
All farmer groups in the pilot study will have access to aflatoxin control technologies (either or both Aflasafe and mobile maize dryers). Their access to output markets will depend on their assignment to one of two market access treatments:

1) INDEPENDENT MARKETING: Farmers are provided with information about aflatoxin and an opportunity to purchase Aflasafe KE01 or the mobile drying service. No information about buyers willing to pay for aflatoxin-safe produce is provided.

2) MARKET LINKAGE: Farmers are provided with the same information and opportunity to purchase Aflasafe or the mobile drying service as above. In addition, they are presented with a letter of intent from a prospective buyer stating an offer price conditional on safety and other quality parameters. An aggregator connected to this buyer will take a composite sample of the farmer group’s maize and test this for aflatoxin, conditional on the group offering a minimum amount of maize for sale.

In addition, 50% of the farmer groups in each of these treatment groups will be assigned to an AFLATOXIN TESTING treatment (treatments 1T and 2T respectively). These farmers will be able to pay for individual level aflatoxin tests, administered by study personnel.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
TBD through consultation with implementing partner
Randomization Unit
farmer group
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
approx 20
Sample size: planned number of observations
approx 120 (6 per cluster)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1) INDEPENDENT MARKETING: 5 farmer groups
2) MARKET LINKAGE: 5 farmer groups
1T) INDEPENDENT MARKETING + TESTING: 5 farmer groups
2T) MARKET LINKAGE + TESTING: 5 farmer groups
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Subjects Committee for Innovations for Poverty Action IRB-USA
IRB Approval Date
2016-05-11
IRB Approval Number
14154
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

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