Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar

This paper studies access to and adoption of improved seeds and the diffusion of this information in a remote area in central Madagascar. The analysis is based on panel data gathered from 2009 to 2014 for 390 households in three villages. In 2013 a randomized treatment control design was applied in...

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Main Authors: Bosch, Christine, Zeller, Manfred, Deffner, Domenica
Format: Conference Paper
Language:Inglés
Published: African Association of Agricultural Economists 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146356
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author Bosch, Christine
Zeller, Manfred
Deffner, Domenica
author_browse Bosch, Christine
Deffner, Domenica
Zeller, Manfred
author_facet Bosch, Christine
Zeller, Manfred
Deffner, Domenica
author_sort Bosch, Christine
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper studies access to and adoption of improved seeds and the diffusion of this information in a remote area in central Madagascar. The analysis is based on panel data gathered from 2009 to 2014 for 390 households in three villages. In 2013 a randomized treatment control design was applied in which 50% randomly selected households from the panel received 1.5 kapoaka (0.6 kg) of improved bean seeds (Pois du Cap/Morombe/Phaseolus lunatus). The beans were especially bred for dry regions and purchased at Fofifa (National Center of Applied Research and Rural Development). Of those households receiving, 50% randomly selected households were given information on how to store, plant and cultivate the seeds, as the distributed variety was unknown in the region and not available in the villages. These three groups are compared with respect to baseline characteristics, bean adoption, cultivation, information exchange with other farmers and diet diversity. 55% of the households that received seeds cultivated them, with an average yield of 3 kg. As non-compliance and spillovers exist, next to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), intention-to-treat (ITT) and local average treatment effect (LATE) is estimated. Additionally, willingness to pay (WTP) for improved bean seeds is estimated via the contingent valuation method (CVM). In order to ask the WTP, households were explained the benefits of improved bean seeds, which resulted in a WTP of 171% of the price of beans purchased on the local market.
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spelling CGSpace1463562025-11-06T05:20:04Z Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar Bosch, Christine Zeller, Manfred Deffner, Domenica seed systems seed beans experimental design This paper studies access to and adoption of improved seeds and the diffusion of this information in a remote area in central Madagascar. The analysis is based on panel data gathered from 2009 to 2014 for 390 households in three villages. In 2013 a randomized treatment control design was applied in which 50% randomly selected households from the panel received 1.5 kapoaka (0.6 kg) of improved bean seeds (Pois du Cap/Morombe/Phaseolus lunatus). The beans were especially bred for dry regions and purchased at Fofifa (National Center of Applied Research and Rural Development). Of those households receiving, 50% randomly selected households were given information on how to store, plant and cultivate the seeds, as the distributed variety was unknown in the region and not available in the villages. These three groups are compared with respect to baseline characteristics, bean adoption, cultivation, information exchange with other farmers and diet diversity. 55% of the households that received seeds cultivated them, with an average yield of 3 kg. As non-compliance and spillovers exist, next to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), intention-to-treat (ITT) and local average treatment effect (LATE) is estimated. Additionally, willingness to pay (WTP) for improved bean seeds is estimated via the contingent valuation method (CVM). In order to ask the WTP, households were explained the benefits of improved bean seeds, which resulted in a WTP of 171% of the price of beans purchased on the local market. 2016-11-09 2024-06-21T09:06:45Z 2024-06-21T09:06:45Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146356 en Open Access application/pdf African Association of Agricultural Economists Bosch, Christine; Zeller, Manfred; Deffner, Domenica. 2016. Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar. Invited paper presented at the 5th International Conference of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. https://purl.umn.edu/249286
spellingShingle seed systems
seed
beans
experimental design
Bosch, Christine
Zeller, Manfred
Deffner, Domenica
Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title_full Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title_fullStr Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title_full_unstemmed Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title_short Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar
title_sort are seed distributions effective evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural madagascar
topic seed systems
seed
beans
experimental design
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146356
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AT deffnerdomenica areseeddistributionseffectiveevidencefromarandomlycontrolledexperimentwithimprovedbeanseedsinruralmadagascar