Project description
Growing market access for farmers in East Africa
Agriculture plays a central role in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, encouraging economic growth and employing the majority of the labour force. However, limited access to input and output markets restricts technological improvements and agricultural productivity. The EU-funded AGRIMKT project envisages improving farmers’ market access in East Africa. The research consists of three related projects. The first will use a randomised experiment to assess the impact of contract farming on improving market access. The second will study how to increase the demand for crop insurance among small owners. The third will combine parcel-level proprietary data for three decades obtained from a large agribusiness enterprise with land registry data to study the impact of land market access on small owners.
Objective
Agriculture employs the majority of the labor force in many developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Increasing efficiency of agricultural production is a crucial step to foster economic development. Limited access to both input and output markets is widely considered a major obstacle to technology adoption and, in turn, to agricultural productivity.
In this proposal, I outline a research program that focuses on improving farmers market access in East Africa. The research builds on the expertise I have developed on these topics over the last ten years.
The research program consists of three related projects. In Project A, we will use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of a holistic approach to improve market access: contract farming. The prevalence of contract farming arrangements in the developing world is growing. However, so far, there is no experimental evidence on their impact. We have established a partnership with a large contract farming company in Kenya, which has agreed to randomize the order in which it will expand to new villages.
In Project B, we will study how to increase demand for crop insurance among smallholders. Building on previous successful experimental work, we will test i) whether offering pay-at-harvest insurance, as opposed to upfront premium pay, raises take-up, ii) which behavioral mechanisms may drive such response, and iii) whether pay-at-harvest can foster sustained insurance demand over multiple crop seasons.
In Project C, we will combine parcel-level proprietary data for three decades that we obtained from a large agribusiness company with land registry data to study the determinants and impact of land market access for smallholders.
The research program will generate new insights on how to improve access to key markets for agricultural producers. We expect the findings of the study will generate high interest among academics, development practitioners, and policymakers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8006 Zurich
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.