Improving Smallholders’ Resilience to Climate Change: A Randomized Evaluation in Liberia

Smallholder farmers are among those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Adoption rates of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices in sub-Saharan Africa, where the twin challenges of food security and poverty are pervasive, remain particularly low. Existing evidence associates low adoption of new techniques with long training sessions and complex modules. Scaling training programs is expensive when extension agents must physically visit farmers. This study will aim to address these challenges in two ways: in the first phase, a randomized study, researchers will evaluate dosage by measuring the impact of a longer CSA training versus a shortened version. The second phase will involve an evaluation that tests the effectiveness of delivering CSA training using low-cost, video-based learning. The study will be implemented in partnership with BRAC Liberia, leveraging an ongoing project aimed at improving climate change adaptation of smallholder farmers.