Mixed Methods Evaluations of AGRA’s Village-Based Advisor Program

Mathematica conducted an evaluation of the VBA program in three phases. Phase 1 covered five program countries— Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania—and addressed the effect of the program on VBAs themselves, the systems change in which they are embedded and which they influence, and the prospects for the sustainability of the program using a mixed-methods approach. Phase 2 assessed the impact of the CBA program on farmers’ yields, income and resilience in Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria through a rigorous matched-comparison design.  The final phase entailed a formative evaluation of AGRA’s nascent digital VBA program in Mozambique and Nigeria.

• In Phase 1 we found that the VBA program was effective in extending the reach of public extension programs and that half of VBAs earned additional income from the program. While VBAs expanded input suppliers’ market share and reach, market transactions were still limited by high prices, lack of access to credit, and poor infrastructure.
• In the second phase, our matched comparison impact evaluation found modest impacts on agricultural practices and input adoption for VBA trained farmers.  Yields per hectare did not increase; however, VBA farmers were cultivating larger areas and had greater total production of focus crops, suggesting that VBA farmers were focusing on extensification rather than intensification of their agricultural enterprises. We found a strong impact on household income in Mozambique and suggestive trends in Nigeria, which may have been driven by productive investments by VBA farmers in the early years of the VBA program, larger land area under cultivation and greater access to markets. Finally, among VBA farmers, those with higher levels of engagement with VBAs experienced higher yields and household-level outcomes.