Direct Benefit Transfers for Electricity (DBTE) to Farmers in Andhra Pradesh

Last registered on March 23, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Direct Benefit Transfers for Electricity (DBTE) to Farmers in Andhra Pradesh
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017663
Initial registration date
January 15, 2026

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
March 23, 2026, 7:05 AM EDT

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
Nicholas Ryan
Affiliation
Yale University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Anant Sudarshan
PI Affiliation
University of Warwick

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-06-01
End date
2027-01-31
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Agriculture is a source of livelihoods for billions of smallholder farmers around the world. Agriculture generates environmental feedback: smallholders are both vulnerable to climate change and, through their adaptation to climate shocks, a cause of further environmental degradation. In India, for example, extreme heat impacts crop yields and increases dependence on irrigation for reliable water access. But farmers’ use of irrigation, which is unregulated and powered by heavily subsidized fossil electricity, draws down groundwater levels and increases greenhouse gas emissions on the electricity grid. In responding to climate change farmers make the problem worse.
Our project studies how policy can break this feedback while ensuring farmer livelihoods. We design and evaluate a policy—direct benefit transfers for electricity (DBTE)—to pay farmers for power and water conservation. We have partnered with the government in Andhra Pradesh, India to roll out this policy for farmers in several districts of the state. We hope to generate robust evidence on a cost-effective policy solution that promotes sustainable resource use without compromising farmer welfare.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ryan, Nicholas and Anant Sudarshan . 2026. "Direct Benefit Transfers for Electricity (DBTE) to Farmers in Andhra Pradesh." AEA RCT Registry. March 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17663-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-01
Intervention End Date
2026-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key performance indicators are:
Farmers enrolled: Take-up rate (%) among eligible farmers. Measured in administrative data.
Subsidy transferred (INR per farmer per month): Net payments to farmers for energy savings. Measured in administrative data on bank transfers.
Electricity consumption (in MWh). Measured at the cluster level by feeder energy injection and the farmer level for enrolled farmers only. Administrative data on meter readings.
Cost of supply (INR per farmer per month): Cost of energy supply for agricultural electricity consumers to the government. Administrative data.
Water conservation. Measured by surveys of farmer irrigation practices (such as furrow irrigation, micro irrigation etc), crops grown, and estimated water consumption (frequency of irrigation, area irrigated, intensity of irrigation).
Agricultural profits. Survey data on farmer inputs, outputs and profits.
Other farmer welfare outcomes: Because farmers are eligible to obtain cash incentives when water consumption is reduced, it is plausible that there are other benefits that accrue to households. Our surveys will collect data on select non-farm expenditures.
Farmer satisfaction: The government is interested in farmer satisfaction with DBTE relative to the status quo. Our survey will ask about satisfaction with the program.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We evaluate DBTE through an individual-level randomised design for farmers. All participants have meters that reliably measure electricity consumption. The sample selection also takes into account groundwater level and size of electricity feeder.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
N/A
Randomization Unit
Unit of randomisation is at the farmer-level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
6537 farmers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
3918 farmers
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institute of Financial Management and Research
IRB Approval Date
2020-11-25
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan