Agro-dealers and adoption of flood tolerant rice in Odisha

Last registered on March 22, 2017

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Agro-dealers and adoption of flood tolerant rice in Odisha

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0002121

Initial registration date

March 22, 2017

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 22, 2017, 5:45 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

India

Region

Odisha

Primary Investigator

Name

Elisabeth Sadoulet

Affiliation

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Kyle Emerick

PI Affiliation

Tufts University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2017-03-15

End date

2020-06-01

Keywords

Agriculture

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

What makes agricultural extension fail in developing countries? In particular, are agricultural extension services offered to the wrong people? Will technology diffuse faster if extension is offered to seed dealers rather than directly to farmers? These questions are important because agricultural extension is generally viewed as under-performing in developing countries. New and innovate approaches need to be tested in order to incrase the rate at which improved technologies diffuse to farmers. The improved technology being studied in the experiment is Swarna-Sub1, an improved rice variety that is nearly identical to Swarna (Eastern India's most popular rice variety). The difference between Swarna-Sub1 and Swarna is that Swarna-Sub1 is more flood tolerant. The objective of this study is not to test the efficacy of Swarna-Sub1, as this has been done in previous work. Rather, this study aims to test two alternative mechanisms to make Swarna-Sub1 diffuse faster.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Emerick, Kyle and Elisabeth Sadoulet. 2017. "Agro-dealers and adoption of flood tolerant rice in Odisha." AEA RCT Registry. March 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2121-1.0

Former Citation

Emerick, Kyle and Elisabeth Sadoulet. 2017. "Agro-dealers and adoption of flood tolerant rice in Odisha." AEA RCT Registry. March 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2121/history/15318

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2017-05-01

Intervention End Date

2020-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The main objective of the intervention is to increase adoption. We will therefore measure adoption once during each of the next 3 seasons. These surveys will measure both agricultural practices and the types of seed varieties used by each farmer. Our main outcome of interest is whether the farmer is cultivating Swarna-Sub1, i.e. the seed that was distributed to testing either to farmers or dealers.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

This is a randomized control trial carried out in 72 blocks of Odisha state of India. The blocks are located in the flood-prone areas of the coastal belt of Odisha. 36 of the blocks are "control" blocks. In each control block we will partner with local agricultural extension officers to identify up to 40 farmers to receive a minikit of Swarna-Sub1.
The extension model will be modified in the 36 treatment blocks. Based on a list of registered dealers in the state, we will identify up to 10 per block to receive the same seeds and information that farmers were provided in the control blocks. Dealers can test the seeds as they wish. The objective of this intervention is for dealers to learn about the variety's quality and then pass that information on to their customers. Importantly, dealers have the incentive to pass this information along, while farmers in the control group don't benefit directly from telling other farmers about the variety.
Randomization done in office by computer

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

Randomized control trial carried out at the block level in Odisha state of India

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

72 blocks

Sample size: planned number of observations

30680

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

36 of the blocks are "control" blocks, 36 are treatment. In each control block we will partner with local agricultural extension officers to identify up to 40 farmers to receive a minikit of Swarna-Sub1. In the 36 treatment blocks, we will identify up to 10 dealers per block to receive the same seeds and information that farmers were provided in the control blocks.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB