Search our database of 1,200+ summaries of randomized evaluations conducted by our affiliates in 96 countries. To browse key policy recommendations from a subset of these evaluations, visit the Policy Publications tab above.

Displaying 1-8 of 100

Long-Term Diffusion and Impact of Flood-Tolerant Rice in India

In India, researchers leveraged a randomized evaluation of the distribution of a new seed variety to assess how the new seed spread within communities and social groups. They found that local social structures, such as the jati-caste system, influenced the extent of seed adoption. In particular...

Overcoming Barriers to Fertilizer Use in Kenya

Jonathan Robinson
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering coupons, facilitated discussion groups, and measuring spoons on fertilizer usage, fertilizer knowledge, and agriculture-related discussions amongst farmers. While discussion groups alone had no impact on fertilizer use...

Promoting Agricultural Technology Adoption in Rwanda

In Rwanda, researchers worked with TechnoServe to evaluate the impact of an agronomy training program on farmers’ knowledge and use of best practices in coffee-growing. Preliminary results suggest that the trainings helped some farmers improve their coffee-growing practices, but that the practices...

Cash Transfers and Market Access to Increase Household Welfare in Rural Liberia and Malawi

Dahyeon Jeong
Naresh Kumar
David Park
Alan Spearot
In Liberia and Malawi, researchers partnered with Innovations for Poverty Action, GiveDirectly, and USAID to evaluate the impact of an unconditional cash transfer and market access program on food security, spending, income, resilience to health shocks, intimate partner violence, and psychological...

Mobile Phone-Based Extension Services and Agricultural Advice for Cotton Farmers in Gujarat, India

Researchers introduced a mobile phone-based agricultural extension service to evaluate its impact on knowledge and adoption of effective farming methods among cotton farmers in Gujarat, India. They found that the service was highly effective in nudging farmers to adopt a number of recommended...

Household Risk Strategies and Conditional Cash Transfers in Nicaragua

Patrick Premand
Renos Vakis
Researchers tested the effect of a basic CCT program, as well as two complementary interventions, on households’ vulnerability to irregular weather patterns. Providing households with vocational training or capital grants to generate non-agricultural income helps improve consumption and resilience...

Opportunities to Improve the Expansion and Impact of Agricultural Lending in Mali

Researchers evaluated the impact of additional investments in agriculture on income for subsistence farmers. In rural Mali, giving some farmers unrestricted cash grants led to significantly higher productivity and profits, suggesting farmers would invest more in their farms if they had more capital.