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Quality premium transmission and quality upgrading – evidence from Ugandan dairy value chains

Last registered on September 12, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Quality premium transmission and quality upgrading – evidence from Ugandan dairy value chains
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016750
Initial registration date
September 09, 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
September 12, 2025, 10:26 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Uganda
Region
southwestern region

Primary Investigator

Name
Bjorn Van Campenhout
Affiliation
Ifpri
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sarah Wairimu Kariuki
PI Affiliation
CIMMYT
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PI Name
Jordan Chamberlin
PI Affiliation
CIMMYT
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PI Name
Richard Ariong
PI Affiliation
IFPRI
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-09-14
End date
2025-11-30
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
Uganda, dairy value chains, quality-based price premium, price pass-through, value chain upgrading
JEL code(s)
O13, Q13, L15, D82, C93
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
Abstract We study whether quality premiums at milk collection centers can transmit incentives upstream and upgrade compositional milk quality in Ugandan dairy value chains. Building on prior work that installed approximately 150 milk analyzers and raised testing without consistent quality-based price differentiation, we partner with MCCs and small processors to randomize trader eligibility for a per-liter quality premium tied to butterfat and solids-non-fat. Randomization occurs at the trader level with blocking by MCC or processor. The primary trader outcome is an Anderson index of compositional quality measured by analyzers during deliveries in the final study week. The primary farmer outcome is the volume-weighted farmgate price from the last three sales, used to assess pass-through. Secondary trader outcomes cover prices received from MCCs, prices paid to farmers, sourcing practices, and trading intensity and allocations. Secondary farmer outcomes include production investment and management practices, post-milking handling and cooling, and marketing allocation and payment terms.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ariong, Richard et al. 2025. "Quality premium transmission and quality upgrading – evidence from Ugandan dairy value chains." AEA RCT Registry. September 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16750-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We partner with milk collection centers (MCCs) and processors to introduce a randomized quality premium for traders who aggregate raw milk from smallholders and deliver to MCCs. Traders are randomly assigned within MCC or processor blocks to treatment or control. Treated traders are eligible for a per liter bonus tied to compositional quality measured at intake with milk analyzers. A baseline threshold is set for butterfat and solids non fat (SNF). For every 0.1 percentage point above the threshold in either component, the trader earns UGX 10 per liter. Premiums are additive across butterfat and SNF. No penalties apply below the threshold. Payments are recorded in an app and settled by the MCC on the usual payment cycle. The intervention runs for one month, with daily analyzer testing at intake, calibration checks using a reference analyzer, and light touch monitoring of adherence. Control traders deliver under business as usual pricing.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-10-15
Intervention End Date
2025-11-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
at trader level: compositional milk quality (index); at farmer level: milk price
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Primary trader outcome: An Anderson index of compositional milk quality at MCC intake, built from analyzer readings on butterfat, solids-non-fat (SNF), added water, protein, and density (CLR). We use all deliveries in the final study week, compute volume-weighted means per trader to obtain a single observation aligned with the randomized unit, standardize items using control-group moments, align signs so higher means better quality, and aggregate to the index. Butterfat is reported separately as a key secondary within the same family.

Primary farmer outcome: Volume-weighted farmgate price (UGX/liter) during the study window, measured in the endline survey from the last three sales prior to interview. For each farmer we compute a volume-weighted average price and link the farmer to the modal trader supplied during the intervention. This outcome captures pass-through of the MCC premium from traders to farmers.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Trader level: prices and pass-through (prices received from MCC and prices paid to farmers), sourcing practices (field testing, acceptance thresholds, pickup rejections), trading intensity and allocations (volumes, delivery frequency, seller concentration) - Farmer level: production investment and feeding practices, sourcing practices, trading intensity and allocations
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We evaluate whether downstream quality premiums transmit incentives upstream in Ugandan dairy value chains. The unit of randomization is the trader who aggregates milk from smallholders and delivers to a milk collection center (MCC) or small processor. Traders are randomly assigned within MCC or processor blocks to treatment or control with approximately equal allocation. Treated traders are eligible for a per liter bonus tied to compositional quality measured at intake by milk analyzers. A threshold is set for butterfat and solids-non-fat; for each 0.1 percentage point above the threshold in either component, a UGX 10 bonus is paid. Premiums across components are additive. Control traders operate under business-as-usual pricing. The intervention runs for about one month, with analyzer readings recorded in an app and payments settled on the usual cycle.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization is done in the field by the ODK software on a tablet computer
Randomization Unit
the intervention is randomized within MCCs at the trader level, which also leads to cluster assignment at the farmer level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
100 traders
Sample size: planned number of observations
100 trader and 5 farmers per trader (so 500 farmers)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 traders and 250 farmers connected to 50 treated traders
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
see pap
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IFPRI
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-23
IRB Approval Number
DSGD-22-1057
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