Last Mile Extension and Market Access Solutions: Impact Evaluation of OCP School Lab and Village Input Fairs in Côte d'Ivoire
Summary
Last-mile problems are a feature of rural economies where the poorest farmers often have the least access to extension advice and access to markets. This study evaluates the separate and combined effects of two existing last-mile solutions. The OCP School Lab (OSL) integrates a half-day extension training with soil quality measurement and information provided to rural villages. The Village Input Fair model (VIF) creates rural input markets by organizing ag-dealers during the post-harvest period, when farmers are more liquid and planning input purchases for the next season, to facilitate input purchase orders. Independently, extension or market access may increase farmer input demand, knowledge, yields, and welfare. This evaluation is motivated not only by finding the most effective way to create last-mile solutions, but also by OCP staff observations of farmer feedback in response to the OSL program. Namely, farmers often ask of OSL staff, “How do we act on the soil quality information?” Bundled, the OCP School Lab and Village Input Fairs may further increase the key outcomes by resolving two missing markets: that of agricultural information and that of market access.
What is OCP School Lab (OSL)?
OCP School Lab (OSL) is an agricultural extension initiative led by OCP Africa (as part of the OCP Nutricrops ecosystem) that delivers mobile soil testing and farmer training directly to rural communities. Through traveling laboratories, the program conducts soil analysis and provides tailored fertilizer recommendations adapted to local crops and soil conditions, complemented by interactive training on good agricultural practices and soil fertility management.
“The OCP Africa School Lab has raised awareness among more than 1 million farmers (as of end 2024) about the importance of soil analysis, promoting the use of scientific tools to enhance agricultural productivity.” OCP Group Sustainability Integrated Report 2024.
What are Village Input Fairs (VIFs)?
Village Input Fairs (VIFs) are temporary, village-level input markets originally evaluated in Mali through a randomized controlled trial under the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI). The VIF model is a one-day agricultural input fair organized in rural villages where farmers do not have direct access to agricultural inputs. The innovation is distinguished by four research-based insights on building markets: time, place, commitment, and trust. At VIFs, farmers use their post-harvest liquidity (time) to place purchase orders directly with agro-dealers who organize the fair in their village (place) with a 10 percent deposit (commitment). During the planting season, the market clears with inputs delivered and purchase orders paid which is verified by a third party through our digital platform and onsite verification (trust).
Evidence from Mali showed that post-harvest VIFs with flexible payment mechanisms increased fertilizer demand by 20–28 percent, particularly among smaller and less-connected farmers, highlighting the importance of timing and liquidity in addressing last-mile market constraints.
OCP x VIF
Building on this evidence, the VIF and the OCP models are now being adapted and integrated into broader last-mile initiatives in Côte d’Ivoire (this study) and Senegal, to strengthen input access and farmer inclusion.