Transition to low-carbon agricultural technologies: The case of farmers in Burkina Faso

Last registered on August 10, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Transition to low-carbon agricultural technologies: The case of farmers in Burkina Faso
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014971
Initial registration date
May 06, 2025

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
May 06, 2025, 5:29 AM EDT

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

Last updated
August 10, 2025, 7:02 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Agnes Zabsonre
Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, Nazi Boni University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Rita Nikiema
PI Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, Norbert Zongo University
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PI Name
Soumaila Gansonre
PI Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
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PI Name
Maxime Agbo
PI Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, University of Parakou
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PI Name
Edmond Lankouande
PI Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University
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PI Name
Roukieta Bonkoungou
PI Affiliation
Partnership for Economic Policy, Thomas Sankara University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-01-01
End date
2026-03-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Environment & Energy, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The adoption of clean energy agricultural technologies, such as water solar pumps, has the potential to enhance agricultural productivity and improve the livelihoods of farmers, including women. However, adoption remains low due to lack of awareness, financial constraints and sociocultural barriers. This study investigates the barriers to adoption and explores strategies to increase uptake through an intervention. The proposed intervention consists of information campaigns, cost-benefit training, and technological transfer facilitated by Africa Energy Solaire, an SME operating in Burkina Faso. The study employs a clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to assess the impact of these interventions on farmers’ willingness to adopt water solar pumps. A sample of approximately 100 agricultural cooperatives will be selected from the Centre and Plateau Central regions. These cooperatives will be randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. In each cooperative, at least 10 members will be surveyed, resulting in an overall sample of 1,000 farmers. Data collection will be conducted in three phases—baseline, midline, and endline—with the midline survey assessing the quality of the intervention. By addressing knowledge gaps and financial barriers, this research aims to inform policymakers and stakeholders on effective strategies to facilitate the transition to sustainable agricultural practices in Burkina Faso.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Agbo, Maxime et al. 2025. "Transition to low-carbon agricultural technologies: The case of farmers in Burkina Faso." AEA RCT Registry. August 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14971-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention consists of training programs that include:
- Information on the advantages/disadvantages of different irrigation methods: manual irrigation, diesel water pumps, and solar water pumps.
- Information campaigns on the benefits of solar water pumps compared to diesel-powered pumps.
- Cost-benefit training to educate farmers on the long-term financial advantages of solar water pumps.
- Technology transfer through demonstrations of the different irrigation methods (manual irrigation, diesel pumps, and solar water pumps).
- Partnerships with microfinance institutions to facilitate access to financing for solar water pumps.
The main implementing partner is Africa Energy Solaire (AES). AES is a small enterprise that focuses on the provision of solar energy equipment and the installation of photovoltaic and solar-powered water pumping systems, contributing to the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure. AES will lead the training and awareness campaigns.
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-15
Intervention End Date
2025-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome measure is farmers' intent-to-adopt solar water pumps. Other primary outcomes include knowledge of solar water pumps, adoption of solar water pumps, willingness to pay for a solar water pump and area farmed.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Our primary outcomes do not require construction, as they are directly observed and captured through the survey variables.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study employs a clustered RCT to evaluate the impact of information campaigns and technological transfer on farmers' willingness to adopt solar water pumps in Burkina Faso.

The study randomly assigns 100 agricultural cooperatives to either the treatment (receiving training) or the control (no training).group, with 50 farmers in each group. Each cooperative contains 10 farmers. Then the sample includes approximately 1,000 farmers.

The treatment group will receive training sessions, cost-benefit information, and technical demonstrations on solar water pumps. A microfinance institution is involved to facilitate financing options. The main outcome is willingness to adopt solar water pumps, alongside knowledge acquisition and gender-based adoption patterns. The study uses Intent-to-Treat (ITT) analysis to measure the causal effect of the intervention, considering potential heterogeneity in adoption by gender.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
The randomization will be done in office by a computer and stratifying by the gender-composition type of the cooperative.
Randomization Unit
The randomization will be done at the cooperative level, that is, the randomization unit is an agricultural cooperative.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The planned number of clusters is 100 agricultural cooperatives.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The number of units of observations is 1,000 farmers.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The total sample size is around 100 cooperatives, of which 50 cooperatives will be assigned to the treatment group and the remaining 50 cooperatives to control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The minimum detectable effect size for main outcome is 0.0799.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comité d’éthique pour la recherche en santé (CERS)
IRB Approval Date
2025-02-12
IRB Approval Number
2025-02-033
Analysis Plan