Evaluation of the Burkina Faso Agriculture Development Project: Design Report

This evaluation design report outlines the impact evaluation and the five performance evaluation Mathematica is designing and implementing to address research questions on project outcomes, implementation, and sustainability for the WMI and DA activities. Three of the evaluations investigate different aspects of the construction and sustainability of the Di perimeter: 1) the Di Lottery evaluation proposes a) an impact evaluation, and b) a methodological study. The distribution of some plots in the Di perimeter to applicants province-wide in a formal lottery process provides an opportunity to conduct an impact analysis of winning the Di Lottery using the framework of a randomized control trial (RCT). The methodological study compares the impacts from the RCT with those from a second rigorous design, a regression discontinuity (RD) design. The impact analysis through an RD is possible as applications for the lottery were first scored and only applicants with a score above a threshold were admitted to the lottery. 2) The Di perimeter evaluation studies the consequence of providing of irrigated land on the perimeter as compensation for persons displaced by the project and recalculates the Economic Rate of Return (ERR) of the perimeter, 3) the Sourou Operations and Maintenance (O&M) evaluation assesses technical assistance for O&M on the Di perimeter and existing perimeters close to Niassan.
The remaining three performance evaluations investigate: 4) the degree of integration of project activities, 5) the effects of IWRM project activities on water management and water conflicts and 6) the effects of the farmer training on agricultural practices and outcomes.  Our design will draw on a variety of quantitative and qualitative data sources. We will conduct household surveys crop cutting surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, site visits, document reviews, and analysis of administrative data.