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The effect of demonstration plots and the warehouse receipt system on ISFM adoption, yield and income of smallholder farmers: a study from Malawi’s Anchor Farms

Last registered on August 23, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The effect of demonstration plots and the warehouse receipt system on ISFM adoption, yield and income of smallholder farmers: a study from Malawi’s Anchor Farms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001816
Initial registration date
November 30, 2016

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
November 30, 2016, 5:39 AM EST

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

Last updated
August 23, 2019, 10:21 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Malawi
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Annemie Maertens
Affiliation
Sussex University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Hope Michelson
PI Affiliation
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2014-07-01
End date
2020-01-01
Keywords
Agriculture
Additional Keywords
Social Learning, Extension, Markets
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The Anchor Farm Model (AFM) of Clinton Development Initiatives (CDI) was established in 2008, and is designed to increase agricultural production, income and food security through promotion of the adoption of yield-enhancing integrated soil fertility management practices (ISFM) - and soybean production in particular - by smallholder farmers in central Malawi. To reach this goal, CDI disseminates production knowledge and improves farmers’ access to markets and storage. In this research study, we use the random assignment of 250 villages into various treatment arms to establish the impacts of these interventions on farmers’ welfare. Using detailed panel data, we identify the channels through which impacts take place and explore heterogeneity across households. The latter allows us to draw lessons for SSA with the goal of increase ISFM adoption across the continent.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Maertens, Annemie and Hope Michelson. 2019. "The effect of demonstration plots and the warehouse receipt system on ISFM adoption, yield and income of smallholder farmers: a study from Malawi’s Anchor Farms." AEA RCT Registry. August 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1816-5.0
Former Citation
Maertens, Annemie and Hope Michelson. 2019. "The effect of demonstration plots and the warehouse receipt system on ISFM adoption, yield and income of smallholder farmers: a study from Malawi’s Anchor Farms." AEA RCT Registry. August 23. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1816/history/52218
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The Anchor Farm Model (AFM) of the Clinton Development Initiative (CDI) aims to increase agricultural production, income and food security through adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management practices (ISFM) - and soybean production in particular - by smallholder farmers in Malawi. To reach this goal: (i) CDI disseminates production knowledge through the use of demonstration plots, lead farmers and farmer field days; (ii) CDI improves farmers’ access to input markets, in particular credit and seed markets through CDI’s contract with seed companies and intermediary role in the credit market; (iii) CDI provides access to structured output markets through its established relationship with international soybean buyers. CDI primarily works with farmers in groups, organizing farmers into clubs of 10 to 20 members. Each club elects a leader who is provided with inputs and trained at the AF in soy production, ISFM techniques, postharvest practices and receives information on commodity markets. CDI aims to scale-up this project across the country. In this scale-up, CDI aims at both improving the current set of interventions as well as adding new interventions.
Intervention Start Date
2014-09-01
Intervention End Date
2018-09-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Income (agricultural), yield (of maize, soy and groundnut), adoption of integrated fertility and soil management practices and knowledge and beliefs
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We use a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate the impacts of AFM’s access to credit-based demonstration plots and warehouse receipt system. In Fall 2014, we selected two Extension Planning Areas which had not been covered by CDI before: Mthumtama in Kasungu district and Chibvala in Dowa district. We randomly selected 250 villages out of 303 villages present in these two EPAs (excluding villages with less than 50 farming households) and randomly assigned these villages into a treatment and a control group. Villages in the treatment group were exposed to CDI’s extension activities during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 agricultural season. In 2016, we – again randomly – subdivided the villages in the treatment group into two groups. Only one group will be exposed to CDI’s marketing and storage activities throughout the next two seasons. We evaluate the effects of the CDI interventions midway – in 2016 – and at the end – in 2019.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
250
Sample size: planned number of observations
2500
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
65
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Illinois
IRB Approval Date
2014-08-31
IRB Approval Number
14914
Analysis Plan

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