In the Northern Andes, one of the riskiest agriculture climates in the world, farmers use sharecropping to obtain seed, their most costly input. With survey data from Peru, this paper calculates that the cost of seed, when it is provided though sharecropping, is two times higher than the market...

Using survey data from Peru, this article evaluates the impact of a pilot farmer-field-school (FFS) program on farmers' knowledge of integrated pest management (IPM) practices related to potato cultivation. We use both regression analysis controlling for participation and a propensity score...

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs for education are known to be effective in increasing educational achievements among the rural poor. Using panel data from the Progresa experience with randomized treatment, we show that there is strong state dependence in school attendance. Short term...

Using grants programs to induce poor parents to send their children to school has received considerable attention as an instrument to break the inheritance of poverty. Yet, the cost of these programs tends to be quite high so that increasing their efficiency is an important issue that needs to...

Improved water harvesting and soil erosion control using the remarkably simple practice of contour stone bunding is shown to increase grain yields by 41% in low rainfall regions of Burkina Faso. Empirical results show that yield increases in food crops help foodbuying farm households import...