Africa Projects

Current Projects

Making Insurance Fully Available for Women in Northern Kenya

MRR Innovation Lab researchers are testing Family Insurance, which is built on the technical foundation of IBLI but provides coverage in “family” units that pay for household needs during droughts that threaten families’ wellbeing.

Crop Insurance Innovations to Build Trust in Financial Services for Agriculture in Ethiopia

MRR Innovation Lab researchers are testing innovations that improve the accuracy and responsiveness of index insurance, including crop simulations that incorporate farmers’ management practices and a picture-based insurance that contributes to fail-safe audits.

Measuring Resilience in the Presence of Poverty Traps

This MRR Innovation Lab project refines the technical definition of development resilience and proposes a measure for resilience that takes potential poverty traps into account.

From Climate Change to Conflict: Mitigation through Insurance in East Africa?

This project tests whether insurance and conflict-mitigating interventions can reduce conflict within households, and within and between pastoralist communities in the drylands of Ethiopia and Kenya.

Digital Innovations to Improve Market Access for Horticultural Produce in Malawi

This ALL-IN project is testing information and communications technology (ICT) interventions that create a virtual marketplace to connect horticultural sellers to buyers and a platform that provides agricultural extension services to farmers remotely.

Subsidizing Learning About Resilience-building Agricultural Technologies in Mozambique

This MRR Innovation Lab project in Mozambique is testing short-term subsidy and training programs for rural households to learn about stress-tolerant maize bundled with index insurance.

The Distributional Impacts of Large-Scale Land Transactions in Ethiopia

This ALL-IN project is measuring the impacts of large-scale land transactions in Ethiopia and identifying the communities and households who benefit and those who does not.

Adapting to Climate Risk with Mutual Weather-Index Crop Insurance in Nigeria

This Feed the Future ALL-IN research team is developing and testing a Sharia-compliant takaful mutual insurance contract that triggers payments in the event that there is a weather anomaly.

Digital Literacy, Output Market Access, and Demand for Rural e-commerce in Nigeria

In Nigeria, a Feed the Future ALL-IN research team is providing digital literacy training so farmers can use their mobile phones to access e-commerce to sell their harvest.

Linking Financial and Agricultural Innovations for Women Farmers’ Resilience in Nigeria

This Feed the Future ALL-IN project is testing interlinked credit, index insurance and cultivation of stress-tolerant maize varieties to strengthen women’s productivity, income and resilience.

Shea processing in Ghana - photo courtesy USAID in Africa

Reducing Poverty among Women by Strengthening the Shea Value Chain in Northern Ghana

This Feed the Future ALL-IN project tests credit and formal repayment contracts in Northern Ghana, which may increase the sector’s profitability and overall shea supply while empowering women to receive the full benefits of their work.

Pairing Small-scale Irrigation and Index Insurance to Manage Risk and Expand Access to Credit in Northern Ghana

An ALL-IN research team in Ghana is testing an innovative bundle of supplemental irrigation and a complementary index insurance product to expands farmers’ overall drought protection.

Digital Communication to Reinforce Nutrition and Household Resilience in Northern Ghana

This Feed the Future ALL-IN project tests whether nutrition-related messages by mobile phone reinforce the impacts of earlier development programming on families’ nutrition and resilience.

The Impact of Irrigation on Improved Productivity and Market Value for Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana

This new ALL-IN study measures the socio-economic impact of Ghana’s government policy initiative dubbed “One Village, One Dam” (1V1D) implemented in Northern Ghana since 2017.

Strengthening the Resilience and Empowerment of Women Smallholder Farmers in Uganda

In Uganda, new ALL-IN research is testing a comprehensive approach to supporting women to improve their on-farm productivity, increase their resilience to shocks and enhance their overall empowerment.

Soil Testing for Soil Acidity Management on Smallholder Farms in Kenya

This ALL-IN project in Kenya is testing practical ways to encourage farmers to test their soils and to apply appropriate soil amendments, including an estimate of farmers’ willingness to pay for soil testing.

Impact of Agro-Weather and Market Information on Productivity and Resilience in Farming Communities in Kenya

An ALL-IN research team has launched a comprehensive study to provide the first evidence from a national program on the impact of weather and market advisories on farmers’ decision making, including for women and poor families.

Empowering Local Decision Making to Improve Land Management in Malawi

MRR Innovation Lab researchers are putting small-scale farmers in the lead in designing the most productive community incentive structures for adopting sustainable land management practices in Malawi.

Resilience in the Aftermath of Disaster in Mozambique

The MRR Innovation Lab is expanding an ongoing RCT to learn how communities recover from a disaster like Cyclone Idai and whether the program made communities more resilient and to extend USAID research on resilience measurement.

Better Borrowing to Promote Access to Water and Improve Dairy Farming in Kenya

MRR Innovation Lab researchers are testing financial contracts for rain collecting water tanks, including a layaway savings plan, an asset-collateralized loan and a hybrid option that enables farmers to save towards the loan’s deposit.

Optimal Design of Revenue Insurance Contracts in Ghana

This project is testing the complexity and utility components of a hypothetical agriculture revenue insurance offering that would insure smallholder farmers against both weather and price shocks.

Assessing Seed System Resilience with Structured Genotyping in Uganda

An MRR Innovation Lab research team is leveraging recent advances in DNA fingerprinting to test maize and bean seeds from across supply chains in Uganda to identify leaks responsible for low-quality seeds reaching farms, creating an opportunity to enhance seed system resilience.

Assessing the Impact of Digital Loans for Agriculture in Kenya

An MRR Innovation Lab research team is collaborating with partners in the digital finance and agriculture sectors in Kenya in a feasibility study to design and offer digital agricultural loans backed by weather index insurance.

Irrigation, Property Rights and Land Markets for Resilient Growth in Rwanda and Senegal

This MRR Innovation Lab project in Rwanda and Senegal explores how stronger property rights and better functioning land and labor markets can maximize the potential of large-scale irrigation projects to generate agricultural growth and resilience in rural communities.

The Value of Linking Farmers to Maize Value Chains in Rwanda

In Rwanda, MRR Innovation Lab researchers are measuring the impacts of connecting farmers in maize cooperatives to large-scale processors to provide a stable market for newly harvested maize while increasing the quantity accepted for purchase.

Do No Harm: The Welfare Effects of Behavioral Index Insurance Interventions in Ethiopia

MRR Innovation Lab researchers are testing a “behaviorally smart” intervention with index-based livestock insurance in Ethiopia to maximize the welfare of all households by measuring their preferences and beliefs and providing tailored advice on the decision to purchase insurance.

A Randomized Evaluation of an Integrated Graduation and Contingent Social Protection Program in Kenya

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will investigate the impacts of the Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) Graduation Program and Index-based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)—alone and in combination—at the level of individual household outcomes as well as in terms of local poverty measures.

Completed Projects

Smoothing Seasonal Hunger through Planning in Zambia

This expansion of an ongoing project in Zambia expansion tests whether a low-cost planning intervention improves savings, shifts how families distribute household resources and whether the intervention changes how families make decisions at the next harvest.

Developing Advanced Index-Insurance Products for Ghanaian Smallholder Farmers

This project will develop improved index insurance policies for small-scale farmers to create stronger demand and impact for index insurance in Ghana, with a particular focus on improving the accuracy of how well products predict actual crop losses.

Pathways for Ensuring Access to Assets: Land Tenure Reform and Beyond in Liberia and Uganda

This project will analyze the social, economic and institutional barriers that women face in accessing and controlling assets, including land, in Liberia and Uganda.

Understanding the Impact of Idiosyncratic Shocks on Farm Productivity and Household Asset Building and Protection in Ethiopia, Ghana and Bangladesh

Risk and poverty are key, inextricable concerns in Bangladesh, Ghana and Ethiopia. The research will focus on the impact of idiosyncratic risk on asset poverty and the mechanism available to redress it.

Natural Capital and Poverty Reduction in Malawi and Uganda

This project will document the ways in which natural capital serves as informal insurance and a safety net against income variability and transitory shocks.

Tailoring Contract Farming to Smallholders: Experimental Evidence on Enrollment Impact, Insurance Provision, and Communication Technologies in Kenya

The research proposes three field experiments in Kenya to evaluate the potential of contract farming schemes to increase smallholder welfare.

Demand and Supply Constraints to Improved Sorghum Technology Adoption and their Gender-Differentiated Effects in Burkina Faso

In this project, researchers are working with sorghum breeders and agro-input suppliers in Burkina Faso to compare alternative mechanisms to encourage adoption of improved seed and fertilizer micro-packs.

Complementarities of Training, Technology, and Credit in Smallholder Agriculture in Senegal and Uganda

This project includes field studies of short- and long-term impacts of two innovative agricultural development programs based on this model that target smallholder, mainly women farmers, in Uganda and Senegal.

A Multiple Interventions Approach to Increasing Technology Adoption with a View Towards Scaling-Up in Mexico

This project implements an experimental evaluation of the Trust Funds for Rural Development’s (FIRA’s) Technological Guarantee Program (TGP) targeted a Mexican maize smallholders and extends the project design to farmers in Kenya.

Savings, Subsidies and Sustainable Food Security: A Field Experiment in Mozambique

This research explores the short- and long-run impacts of fertilizer subsidies on smallholder farmers in Mozambique.

Evaluating the Effect of Site-Specific Soil Information on Farmer Input Choices and the Relationship Between Poverty and Soil Quality in Tanzania

This project evaluates the impact of a rapid on-farm soil diagnostic kit developed by researchers and collaborators at Columbia University’s Agriculture and Food Security Center.

Rural Livelihoods and Institutional Reform in Small-Scale Fisheries in Tanzania

This project tests a novel approach to improving institutional performance by playing repeated experimental games, which may then alter patterns of coordination and cooperation for managing fisheries in Tanzania.

Health, Education, and Economic Interventions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Mozambique

This project evaluates the health and overall outcomes of the orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) of Mozambique.

Building Market Linkages for Smallholder Farmers in Uganda

This project aims to combine the market linkage services of a highly reputable private sector brokerage firm with high‐frequency data collection, an innovative digital trading platform and a set of contractual guarantees for smallholder farmers in Uganda.

Evaluating the Socio-economic Impacts of Western Seed’s Hybrid Maize Program in Kenya

This project evaluates the impact of Western Seed Company’s (WSC) hybrid maize program on the welfare of smallholder farmers in Kenya’s mid-altitude regions.

Smart Subsidies to Promote Peer Monitoring of Conservation Agriculture Compliance in Malawi

This project evaluates the impact of the agglomeration bonus incentive scheme on conservation agriculture compliance in Malawi’s Shire Valley basin.

Assessing the Value of Index Insurance for Herders: Comparing NDVI-based Insurance Products in Ethiopia and Kenya

This project examines a range of drought-related indices based on data sources and parameters used by HSNP and IBLI. This will help determine which index is most appropriate for an index insurance product that aims to protect households from drought related shocks.

Bundling Innovative Risk Management Technologies to Improve Nutritional Outcomes of Vulnerable Agricultural Households

This project evaluates new agricultural technologies that stabilize crop yields and rural incomes in the face of environmental shocks that historically have led to decreased food intake and irreversible, long-term negative impacts especially among young children.

Communication, Search, and Mobile Phones: A Telephone Directory Intervention in Tanzania

This project measures the impact of a listing in a paper telephone directory on outcomes for enterprises that support the agricultural sector in rural Tanzania.

Developing a Satellite-based Index to Predict Crop Yields in Smallholder Agriculture in Tanzania

This project develops an innovative satellite-based index which can reliably predict local crop yields.

Biometric and Financial Innovations in Rural Malawi: A Field Experimental Approach

This projects demonstrates how biometric technology, specifically fingerprinting, can help improve the functioning of rural credit markets in Malawi.

Understanding and Improving Financial Access for the Poor in Ghana

This project seeks to improve access for the poor by identifying mechanisms that create incomplete access, which innovations are effective at expanding access, and finally in looking at the welfare implications of expanded financial services.

Promoting Adoption of Improved Production Technologies via Coupled Credit and Insurance Contracts among Smallholders in Ghana

This three-year program of research, outreach, and education is designed to promote the adoption of improved production practices among Ghanaian smallholders by coupling index insurance with production loans.

Disseminating Innovative Resources and Technologies to Smallholders in Ghana (DIRTS)

The Disseminating Innovative Resources and Technologies to Smallholders (DIRTS) project seeks to understand the barriers that stand between these farmers and more profitable investments.

Using Index Insurance to Promote Investment in West Africa’s Cotton Industry

The purpose of this index insurance project is to protect West African cotton producers from crop yield volatility.

Index-Based Livestock Insurance in East Africa

This project develops and evaluates a risk management program to help East African pastoral households in drought-inflicted areas to cope with current and future climate risks.

Insuring Against the Weather: Integrating Generic Weather Index Products with Group-Based Savings and Loans in Ethiopia and Bangladesh

The research will focus on developing simple, flexible and inclusive index insurance products, and learning how to link them with savings or credit to reduce the impact of basis risk inherent in any index product.

Demand for and Productivity Impact of Weather Index Insurance in Ethiopia

This study reports the initial results from a pilot project using weather index insurance as a way to expand credit supply and, consequently, fertilizer demand by smallholders.

A Productive Safety Net for Northern Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands: The HSNP+ Program

This research project evaluated the impact of both the HSNP and PSN programs, which will help inform the design of future cash transfer programs.