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General

Study Overview

Title:

Promoting linkages between social protection, agriculture, and food security in response to the COVID 19 pandemic in Mozambique

Study is 3ie funded:

No

Study ID:

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-67342a5587023

Initial Registration Date:

11/12/2024

Last Update Date:

10/29/2024

Study Status:

Ongoing

Location(s):

Mozambique

Abstract:

Among the various social protection tools that are part of the National Basic Social Security Strategy (ENSSB) of the Government of Mozambique (GoM), the Productive Social Action Program (PASP) targets vulnerable households with economically active members to participate in public works initiatives to deliver public infrastructure and services .

PASP has two main components: (i) labor-intensive public works (TPI) and (ii) support for income-generating initiatives (ADAGR). The first component focuses on initial asset accumulation, while the second supports beneficiaries in achieving sustainable self-sufficiency, ultimately allowing them to graduate from the program. However, the ADAGR was not fully implemented.

To pilot the ADAGR component of PASP, the GoM and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a project titled “Promoting Linkages between Social Protection, Agriculture, and Food Security in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mozambique.” This project provided cash transfers, productive assets, agricultural inputs, and technical training to selected PASP beneficiaries in two districts—Gurue in Zambezia province and Ribaue in Nampula province— to enhance their socioeconomic inclusion, resilience to shocks, and nutritional status.

This study aims to assess the project’s impact by comparing livelihoods, food security, and resilience between beneficiaries and a control group. Initially, beneficiaries were randomly selected from the PASP database in the two targeted districts, followed by random selection of a control group from the same database, with locality-level stratification to ensure comparability.

The study will use a panel dataset of approximately 1,400 households, interviewed in May 2023 and then again approximately two years later.

Registration Citation:

Categories:

Agriculture and Rural Development
Multisector
Social Protection

Additional Keywords:

Secondary ID Number(s):

Principal Investigator(s)

Name of First PI:

Elsa Valli

Affiliation:

FAO

Name of Second PI:

Lorenzo Moncada

Affiliation:

FAO

Study Sponsor

Name:

FAO

Study Sponsor Location:

Mozambique

Research Partner

Name of Partner Institution:

Center for Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (CEAGRE)

Type of Organization:

Research institute/University

Location:

Mozambique

Intervention

Intervention Overview

Intervention:

The project under evaluation randomly selected 700 beneficiaries among households that were (or had been) enrolled in PASP in the districts of Gurue in Zambezia province (Central Mozambique) and Ribaue in Nampula province (Northern Mozambique).

The project delivered three types of complementary benefits:

• Unconditional cash transfers
  • Delivered between December 2023 and March 2024
  • Beneficiaries received a total amount of 5, 250 MZN (corresponding to 5 months of benefits of the PASP programme) through a mobile money mechanism.
• Productive assets and agricultural inputs
  • Delivered between October 2022 and April 2023 and then, again between October and December 2023
  • Beneficiaries initially received e-vouchers for agricultural inputs worth 6,000 MZN in the 2022/23 season (4,000 in the main and 2000 in the secondary agricultural season). Subsequently, they were offered the option to receive further inputs worth 6,000 MZN in the main agricultural season 2023/24, conditional on the contribution of 100 MZN.
  • Beneficiaries could choose between seeds of various crops and vegetables and tools like machetes, hoes, and watering cans.
• Technical training to beneficiaries.
  • Delivered between February 2022 and December 2023
  • The training was delivered through the formation of Farmer Field Schools (FFS). The technical training encompassed agricultural practices and farm management, business plan development and management, financial literacy, and other subject matters identified as relevant through rapid assessment of beneficiaries’ needs.

Theory of Change:

The objective of this intervention is to graduate households from the PASP by fostering economic inclusion and resilience to shocks of vulnerable households with at least one economically active member. The project aims to achieve this by delivering a complementary package of support, including cash transfers, agricultural inputs, and technical training.

These components are expected to help households adopt improved agricultural practices, so that they increase, diversify, and make more resilient to shocks their production. In addition, the programme is expected to boost off-farm income of beneficiaries. In particular:

• Cash transfer are expected to provide immediate financial relief, allowing households to cover basic needs without depleting assets, even in the face of shocks. This stability should enable them to make new investments and take productive risks, like investing in new crops, production methods, or exploring new off-farm businesses.
• In-kind inputs such as seeds and tools are expected to provide households with the physical means to increase and diversify their production.
• Training provided through FFS is expected to build skills related to the management of farm and off-farm enterprises, so that households can optimize input use, implement resilience strategies, and identify business opportunities. The training component is expected to boost the effectiveness of the cash and in-kind inputs support by equipping households with the knowledge to maximize the benefits of resources provided.

As a result, beneficiaries are expected to adopt new agricultural practices and business strategies, leading to increased, diversified, and stabilized incomes and improved access to food—both through their own production and market purchases. In turn, these outcomes are expected to strengthen beneficiaries' overall resilience, socioeconomic inclusion, and food security

Multiple Treatment Arms Evaluated?

No

Implementing Agency

Name of Organization:

FAO

Type of Organization:

Foreign or Multilateral Aid Agency

Program Funder

Name of Organization:

FAO

Type of Organization:

Foreign or Multilateral Aid Agency

Intervention Timing

Intervention or Program Started at time of Registration?

Yes

Start Date:

10/01/2022

End Date:

03/31/2024

Evaluation Method

Evaluation Method Overview

Primary (or First) Evaluation Method:

Difference in difference/fixed effects

Other (not Listed) Method:

Additional Evaluation Method (If Any):

Matching

Other (not Listed) Method:

Method Details

Details of Evaluation Approach:

The impact evaluation will be based on household survey panel data. The treatment  group was randomly selected from a database of PASP beneficiaries, and the control group from the list of remaining PASP participants, stratifying by year of enrollment in PASP . As the treatment group was selected prior to the design of the study, the study team did not have full control of the selection process.

For this reason, the impact evaluation will use a quasi-experimental approach. The impact will be estimated with a difference-in-difference (DiD) methodology to control potential unobserved and time-invariant differences between treatment and control groups. In addition, the DiD will be implemented in combination with the Inverse Probability Weighting Regression-Adjustment (IPWRA) approach to further increase the comparability of the two groups and enhance the robustness of the impact estimates.

Outcomes (Endpoints):

Intermediate Outcomes

• Adoption of Agricultural Practices: use of improved agricultural practices related to irrigation; use of crop residues; land preparation techniques; crop rotation; and use of fertilizers. Adoption of these practices will be measured individually and summarized through a standardized weighted index (SWI).
• Agricultural Production and Diversification: diversification of production and commercialization of agricultural products including crops, vegetables, fruit, livestock and livestock products. Engagement in the production and commercialization of agricultural products will be measured individually and also summarized through a SWI. In addition, a crop diversification index will be used (Shannon index).
• Business Diversification: participation to off-farm businesses and wage labour. Participation in off-farm income generating activities will be measured individually and summarized through a SWI.
• Asset Accumulation: ownership of productive assets, such as agricultural tools, livestock, and agricultural land. Ownership of productive assets will be measured individually and summarized through a SWI.

Final Outcomes

• Household Income: measured in terms of i) farm, off-farm and total household gross income; ii) income diversity index (Shannon index); iii) a SWI summarizing the previous measures.
• Food Security: measured through i) the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), ii) the Food Consumption Score (FCS), iii) number of meals per day and iv) a SWI summarizing the previous measures.
• Resilience to Climate Shocks: Standardized weighted average of 11 likert scale items eliciting subjective resilience of households.

Unit of Analysis:

Household

Hypotheses:

The following hypotheses will be tested, using the outcome indicators outlined above:

• The project under evaluation increased adoption of improved agricultural practices
• The project under evaluation increased diversification of agricultural production
• The project under evaluation increased off-farm income diversification
• The project under evaluation increased productive asset ownership
• The project under evaluation increased household income
• The project under evaluation increased household food security
• The project under evaluation increased household resilience to climate shocks

Unit of Intervention or Assignment:

Household

Number of Clusters in Sample:

NA

Number of Individuals in Sample:

1400

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Treatment: 700; Control: 700

Supplementary Files

Analysis Plan:

Other Documents:

Data

Outcomes Data

Description:

The primary data set for measuring outcomes is a household survey panel dataset collected from approximately 1,400 households. This survey, conducted at two points in time—initially in May 2023 and approximately two years later—captures detailed information on household composition, income, food security, agricultural practices, asset accumulation, resilience to shock, credit and savings, access to information and participation in the project under evaluation.

Data Already Collected?

No

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Treatment Assignment Data

Participation or Assignment Information:

Yes

Description:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Data Analysis

Data Analysis Status:

Study Materials

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Registration Category

Registration Category:

Prospective, Category 1: Data for measuring impacts have not been collected

Completion

Completion Overview

Intervention Completion Date:

Data Collection Completion Date:

Unit of Analysis:

Clusters in Final Sample:

Total Observations in Final Sample:

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

Findings

Preliminary Report:

Preliminary Report URL:

Summary of Findings:

Paper:

Paper Summary:

Paper Citation:

Data Availability

Data Availability (Primary Data):

Date of Data Availability:

Data URL or Contact:

Access procedure:

Other Materials

Survey:

Survey Instrument Links or Contact:

Program Files:

Program Files Links or Contact:

External Link:

External Link Description:

Description of Changes:

Study Stopped

Date:

Reason: