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Agricultura

Nos centramos en la mejora de los sistemas agrícolas en el mundo en desarrollo. Nuestros afiliados estudian maneras de ayudar a los agricultores a adoptar prácticas y tecnologías que son rentables o ambientalmente sostenible y programas con el potencial de vincular mejor a los agricultores a los mercados. El sector está copresidido por Craig McIntosh (UC San Diego) y Tavneet Suri (MIT). Hay 67 evaluaciones aleatorias en 23 países.

Tres cuartos de las personas en condición de pobreza en el mundo viven en zonas rurales y la gran mayoría de ellos depende directa o indirectamente de la agricultura. Ciertastecnologías, como semillas mejoradas y mejores prácticas agrícolas, tienen el potencial de mejorar la vida de éstas personas mediante incrementos en las cosechas, mejores precios, menores riesgos agrícolas y una nutrición mejorada. Sin embargo, pocas personas usan estas tecnologías a pesar de estar disponibles. Investigaciones rigurosas han demostrado diferentes formas de mejorar la adopción de estas tecnologías nuevas, como compromisos de ahorro, los cuales ayudan a los granjeros a financiar sus insumos. Otras investigaciones están buscando mejores formas para que los granjeros administren el riesgo, diferentes formas de resolver fallas en el mercado de créditos, mecanismos alternativos para dar a comunicar conocimientos agrícolas y formas de promover prácticas agrícolas que beneficien al medio ambiente.

Policy Insight

Building farmers' resilience to climate change

In the face of weather shocks, improved agricultural technologies and techniques, financial services, and social assistance programs can improve the resilience of small-scale farmers. These tools can help farmers prevent crop losses, avoid consumption cuts or sales of productive assets, or even...

Blog

J-PAL and UM6P launch new agriculture research lab to improve food security and support evidence-informed decision-making in sub-Saharan Africa

On October 10, J-PAL in partnership with University Mohammed VI Polytechnic launched the UM6P-J-PAL Agricultural Lab for Africa. Chaired by Tavneet Suri (MIT, J-PAL Agriculture sector Co-Chair), the lab will be hosted at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Rabat, Morocco, with the goal of...

Blog

Using insurance and climate-smart technologies to help farmers cope with weather-based risk

An urgent policy priority, both to increase farmers’ own productivity and profits and to contribute to stabilizing food security throughout these regions, is to provide accessible forms of risk protection. J-PAL’s updated Policy Insight reviews 23 randomized evaluations on common interventions...

Policy Insight

Leveraging index insurance to protect farmers from weather-based risk

When designed well, insurance does protect small-scale farmers from adverse weather events, but farmers have low demand for these products at market prices. New technologies and climate-smart agricultural practices can reduce farmers’ risk exposure and increase their climate resiliency. More...

Blog

Celebrating the DAISI Regional Scholars Program—Two-years strong

The Regional Scholars Program has taken center stage at the Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI) nearly two years after its launch. The DAISI Regional Scholars Program is integral to DAISI and promotes research opportunities for scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa and...

Evaluation

Are Rainwater Harvesting Techniques Profitable for Small-Scale Farmers? The Adoption and Impact of RWH Techniques in Niger

In Niger, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing training and conditional or unconditional cash transfers on farmers’ adoption and use of an environmental technology, their resulting land use, agricultural production and profitability, and labor allocation...

Policy Insight

Improving agricultural information and extension services to increase small-scale farmer productivity

Agricultural extension services can be improved by leveraging tools like information and communication technologies, trainer incentives, or social learning to support small-scale farmers’ decisions to invest in new, profitable practices. Extension programs that target both male and female members of...