MCC Burkina Faso—Agriculture Development Project

MCC Burkina Faso—Agriculture Development Project

Published: Jan 15, 2021
Publisher: Mathematica
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Associated Project

Burkina Faso: Evaluation of the Agriculture Development Project

Time frame: 2016-2021

Prepared for:

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Authors

Christopher Ksoll

Yiriyibin Bambio

Daniel Roberge

Key Findings
  • Incomes of farmers that received land were up to 50 percent higher than a randomized control group of farmers that did not receive land.
  • Although farmers’ profits increased as a result of irrigation and increased cultivation in both rainy and dry seasons, these increases fell short of initial expectations.
  • Beneficiaries feel secure about their tenure, and are more likely to invest in their land, let land, and apply for a collateralized loan, than non-beneficiaries.
  • Maintenance of pumping stations is adequate, but water user associations (WUAs) struggle to maintain drains, particularly in sectors with rice plots, leading to an estimated remaining perimeter lifespan between 10 to 30 years.

Mathematica is evaluating the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Agricultural Development Project in Burkina Faso to understand the project’s effects on improved agricultural outcomes and land tenure security. This final performance and impact evaluation was designed to answer research questions on long-term beneficiary outcomes, the state and functioning of the infrastructure, and its economic value and sustainability. It relied on qualitative, quantitative and remote sensing analysis to answer the following sets of questions: (1) What are project results and impacts in terms of agricultural outcomes (area cultivated, agricultural productivity, profits and incomes)? (2) What are project results and impacts in terms of land tenure security, land conflict, and land markets? (3) What is the current state, functioning, and maintenance of the irrigation infrastructure? What is the expected lifespan of the perimeter given current levels of maintenance?

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