Effectiveness of Sustainable Land Management Training for Maize Farmers in Benin

Last registered on December 26, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effectiveness of Sustainable Land Management Training for Maize Farmers in Benin
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017452
Initial registration date
December 13, 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
December 26, 2025, 2:19 AM EST

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
Friederike Lenel
Affiliation
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Esther Adimi
PI Affiliation
Laboratoire d'Analyses et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Économiques et Sociales (LARDES)
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PI Name
Michel Atchikpa
PI Affiliation
Laboratoire d'Analyses et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Économiques et Sociales (LARDES)
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PI Name
Modeste Dohou
PI Affiliation
Laboratoire d'Analyses et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Économiques et Sociales (LARDES)
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PI Name
Lisa Murken
PI Affiliation
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-12-03
End date
2026-12-31
Keywords
Agriculture, Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
O13, Q12, Q24, Q54
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We evaluate the effectiveness of a sustainable land management (SLM) training program implemented by a local NGO in Pèrèrè, north-eastern Benin. The region faces severe land degradation and declining soil fertility due to reduced rainfall, intensive farming practices, and increased use of chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers. The intervention targets 800 maize farmers across 25 villages and will take place from February to May 2026, prior to the onset of the rainy season. The program includes intensive training sessions on specific SLM practices, as well as practical follow-up on a plot identified by each farmer as particularly degraded. The 25 participating villages are randomly selected from the 50 maize-producing villages in Pèrèrè. We study the impact of the training program on knowledge and adaptation of SLM practices, as well as soil fertility and maize yields of a pre-identified plot.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Adimi, Esther et al. 2025. "Effectiveness of Sustainable Land Management Training for Maize Farmers in Benin." AEA RCT Registry. December 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17452-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
From February to May 2026, before the onset of the rainy season, a local NGO will deliver a series of training modules to maize farmers in 25 villages in the district of Pèrèrè in Benin. The training aims at promoting soil rehabilitation and improved land management. Through the training modules, farmers will learn specific sustainable land management (SLM) techniques to restore soil fertility and will receive practical support to implement selected practices—such as constructing stone barriers, establishing tree hedges, planting fertilizing species, and producing and applying organic inputs—on a plot they identify as particularly degraded. The training will be conducted at the village level and will target 38 maize farmers per village, with approx 1/3 female and 2/3 male farmers.
Intervention Start Date
2026-02-15
Intervention End Date
2026-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
(1) Knowledge of SLM techniques
(2) Implementation of SLM techniques on the pre-identified plot in the 2026 agricultural season
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
(1) Knowledge of SLM techniques
Knowledge will be measured through an index constructed from responses to topic-specific questions on the practices covered in the training. As the training curriculum is not yet finalized, we assume that relevant practices include:
· production and application of organic inputs (fertilizer and pesticides),
· intercropping,
· planting tree hedges, and
· installing earthen or stone barriers.
The baseline questionnaire already includes knowledge questions on soil fertility and each of these practices (three questions per topic), which will allow construction of consistent knowledge indices across survey rounds.

(2) Implementation of SLM techniquesImplementation of each practice on the pre-identified degraded plot will be measured using:
a) Farmer self-reports, and
b) Objective verification, including enumerator field observations and satellite imagery.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
(1) Perceived agency to improve soil fertility
(2) Soil quality of the pre-identified plot
(3) Maize yields of the pre-identified plot
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
(1) Perceived agency to improve soil fertility
Farmers are asked about their level perceived agency when it comes to improving the fertility of their soil. An index will be constructed based on 2 questions covering perceived agency in the context of farm adjustments in general, and 3 questions covering perceived agency in the context of improving soil fertility specifically.

(2) Soil quality of the pre-identified plot
Enumerators take measures on color, structure, pH-value and soil life when visiting the pre-identified plot, which in combination provide an indicator for the quality of the soil.

(3) Maize yields of the pre-identified plot
Maize yields will be measured based on
a) Farmer self-reports, and
b) Objective verification, including enumerator field observations and satellite imagery.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study involves 50 maize-producing villages in the district of Pèrèrè, Benin. In January 2026, 25 villages will be randomly assigned to treatment during a public lottery. Farmers in treatment villages will be invited to participate in a sustainable land management (SLM) training program implemented by a local NGO during February–May 2026.
Within each village, the implementing NGO aims to train approximately 38 maize farmers, with roughly one-third women. In October 2025, farmers expressing interest in the program were registered, and the NGO applied predefined eligibility criteria to identify the target group. Due to demographic constraints and gender norms in some villages, it was not always possible to reach the targeted share of female farmers.
A baseline survey will take place in December 2025, before randomization, and an endline survey is planned for December 2026.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Public lottery
Randomization Unit
village level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
50 villages
Sample size: planned number of observations
1600 maize farmers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800 maize farmers in treatment (training)
800 maize farmers in control (no training)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethical Commitee University of Goettingen
IRB Approval Date
2025-10-27
IRB Approval Number
N/A
IRB Name
Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie
IRB Approval Date
2025-11-21
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan