Tools & Guidance

Households who choose to adopt new agricultural technologies have a limited amount of labor they can invest in making those technologies productive and profitable. As part of a broader randomized controlled trial (...

In many developing countries, microfinance institutions (MFIs) are well established throughout rural areas, with high functioning savings groups already in existence. These groups of about 15-30 members usually meet...

Increasing access to credit can spur the adoption of more productive technologies, but may require reducing risk for both smallholder farmer and lender. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), we investigated how...

Ecuador and several other Andean countries have prioritized the establishment and strengthening of agricultural insurance markets for smallholder farmers at risk of poverty. At the request of the Ecuadorian...

Risk management and resilience are becoming a focus for how to support and empower agricultural households who are vulnerable to weather-related shocks. Index insurance has shown tremendous promise where conventional...

An agricultural index insurance contract’s quality is hidden. On its surface, farmers considering a policy or national governments seeking to subsidize coverage have no way to know whether a product has the potential...

In an experimental game in Tanzania, we tested how a small individual collateral requirement would affect the decision to borrow and individual effort under a group loan. A 20-percent collateral increased individual...

Livestock—the principal store of wealth and source of livelihood for pastoralists living in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) of the Horn of Africa— face tremendous risk from the frequent and catastrophic droughts...

Catastrophic weather shocks, such as severe drought or flood, are an important cause of poverty among rural households in developing economies. As the risk of these shocks is forecasted to increase, national social...

Some development programs are designed on the premise that they can trigger lasting changes in poverty or food security. An intervention in eastern Uganda to increase the use of improved seed varieties and basic...