AGRA Village-Based Advisors Evaluation: Phase 2 Report

The VBA program recruits respected lead farmers from local communities to train those in their community on good agricultural practices and other income-generating activities. VBAs also connect farmers to input providers and off-takers and thus have the opportunity to generate income and even start their own agri-enterprises. In this matched comparison retrospective impact evaluation, we surveyed 6,777 farmers in Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria.  We 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.