Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Innovations for Poverty Action

Titre : The Impact of Group-Based Grain Storage Schemes on Farmers’ Savings and Incomes in Kenya

Région /Pays : Kenya

Date : 2015-2016

Résumé
Globally, many rural farmers lack access to effective savings and storage devices. This issue is particularly acute for rural farmers who receive income as a lump sum at harvest but have ongoing expenditures throughout the year. Researchers worked with existing savings clubs in Kenya to study the effect of two interventions on savings : the provision of communal crop storage devices and the provision of savings accounts earmarked for farm purchases. Researchers find that the products were popular : about 56 percent of farmers took up the products. Respondents in the maize storage intervention were 23 percentage points more likely to store maize (on a base of 69 percent), 37 percentage points more likely to sell maize (on a base of 36 percent) and (conditional on selling) sold later and at higher prices. Researchers found no effects of the individual input savings intervention on input usage, likely because baseline input adoption was higher than expected.

Présentation _ In many rural areas in Africa, prices for staple foods like maize experience predictable, sizeable fluctuations throughout the year, from post-harvest lows to pre-harvest peaks. However, farmers are unable to reap financial gains from selling their crops later in the season, when prices are usually higher. Providing farmers with a way to store grains after harvest may enable them to sell when prices are higher and thereby increase their income.

A second problem is that farmers typically receive the bulk of their income after harvest, and tend to gradually draw on this over the rest of the year to cover their expenses. However, in the absence of financial accounts, saving money can be challenging. As a result, farmers may not have sufficient resources to purchase inputs required for farm reinvestment, such as fertilizer and other crop-enhancing technologies. Recent research indicates providing households with savings accounts can increase their cash savings. However, there is limited evidence regarding how savings services can be most effectively provided to farmers, who face unique constraints.

To fill these gap, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation with existing savings clubs in Kenya to study the effects of two interventions : provision of savings accounts earmarked for input purchases like fertilizer ; and provision of group-based crop storage devices.

Taille de l’échantillon  : 2015-2016

Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA)