Expanding asset-collaterized lending for smallholder farmers through marketing campaigns

Last registered on December 23, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Expanding asset-collaterized lending for smallholder farmers through marketing campaigns
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015078
Initial registration date
December 22, 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
December 23, 2024, 3:38 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 23, 2024, 5:35 PM EST

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

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Chicago

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-12-21
End date
2026-10-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Climate variability poses significant economic risks to smallholder dairy farmers in low- and middle-income countries. Rainwater harvesting tanks can help farmers adapt, while biodigesters, which convert cattle dung into clean-burning biofuel, offer a solution to reduce methane emissions—a major contributor to climate change.

Previous research in Western Kenya shows strong demand for asset-collateralized loans (ACLs) to purchase water tanks, boosting household economic output (Jack et al., 2023). This study evaluates the impact of SMS marketing campaigns promoting ACLs for water tanks and biodigesters. Using administrative data from the Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) we partner with, we will assess loan uptake and examine dairy production impacts through cooperative records.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Deutschmann, Joshua et al. 2024. "Expanding asset-collaterized lending for smallholder farmers through marketing campaigns." AEA RCT Registry. December 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15078-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study will evaluate the impacts of addressing credit and information constraints on loan uptake and productive asset ownership. In our interventions, we will (1) design an ACL product suited for the SACCO’s members in conjunction with the SACCO (2) offer an ACL for water tanks and biodigesters to all eligible farmers in the SACCO (3) market the ACL product to a randomly selected sample of eligible farmers
Intervention Start Date
2024-12-23
Intervention End Date
2025-02-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Loan take-up
Repayment
Milk sales
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This experiment evaluates the impacts of loosening credit and information constraints on credit demand for productive assets among smallholder dairy farmers. We will partner with one SACCO and its associated dairy cooperative to randomize marketing materials to eligible farmers for a new (for the lender) asset-collateralized loan product.

We stratify treatment assignment on gender, agroecological zone, and milk production.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Household level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
2600
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1300
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Health Media Lab (HML) Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2024-09-29
IRB Approval Number
786PAD20