Suchergebnisse

Livestock transfer programs have become an essential component of many non‐governmental organizations' (NGOs) strategies for reducing poverty among smallholders and subsistence farmers in less developed countries. Despite their prevalence, the literature surrounding the effectiveness of this class of productive asset intervention is only starting to emerge. In this paper, we examine an NGO‐sponsored goat transfer‐and‐training program in rural Haiti. Before realizing the ultimate program goals of improved health, greater levels of education, better housing, and more productive farms, beneficiaries must build sustainable herds of healthy goats. Our intent is to identify household characteristics correlated with success in the program. Therefore, we measure a set of outcomes related to herd health and growth, and explain their variation across beneficiaries by regressing them on a set of household variables. We use the results of the regressions to evaluate hypotheses informed by current literature in asset‐based poverty. Specifically, we find compelling evidence that the wealthiest beneficiaries build smaller, less valuable herds compared to poorer beneficiaries. We find equally compelling evidence that geography affects herd growth. In addition, we find that access to land significantly reduces kid mortality, a key to sustainable, profitable goat herding. Finally, we find some evidence that female beneficiaries experience lower kid mortality. To the extent that these findings hold in other contexts, NGOs can improve the targeting of livestock programs by screening beneficiaries on these criteria.

AbstractWe examine shocks experienced by rural Nepali households during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Households primarily experienced income and price shocks during a government‐imposed lockdown. During this time, households managed to effectively protect consumption, and mostly relied on credit (26%), asset sales (10%) and savings (8%). Debt levels nearly doubled, with limited changes to savings. We then leverage a long‐term randomized control trial (RCT) to assess whether beneficiaries of a livestock livelihood program are more resilient. Program beneficiaries are 6 percentage points less likely to take out new loans.

ABSTRACTMorocco's argan oil is now the most expensive edible oil in the world. Growing high-value argan markets have sparked a bonanza of argan activity. NGOs, international and domestic development agencies, and argan oil cooperatives have promoted the win–win aim of simultaneously benefiting locals and the argan forest. We test this win–win claim by surveying households before and after rapid appreciation in argan prices. The argan boom has benefited some rural households. Those well positioned to benefit increased their goat herds more than other households, which bodes poorly for forest impacts, and were more likely to send their girls to secondary school. While locals are keeping their goats out of argan trees during the harvest, they may also be resorting to more aggressive harvesting techniques. The boom has made households vigilant guardians of fruit on their own trees, but has not incited investments in longer term tree and forest health.