Chimborazo Rural Investment Project: Irrigation Component Impact Evaluation
Peer Reviewed
Date issued
August 2020
Subject
Productivity;
Agricultural Productivity;
Food Security;
Impact Evaluation;
Agriculture and Food Security;
Indigenous People;
Irrigation Infrastructure;
Investment Project;
Household Income;
Rural Development
JEL code
O13 - Agriculture • Natural Resources • Energy • Environment • Other Primary Products;
Q12 - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets;
Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure • Land Reform • Land Use • Irrigation • Agriculture and Environment;
Q54 - Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming;
O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
Country
Ecuador
IDB series
Impact Evaluations
Category
Technical Notes
This paper evaluates the impact of irrigation improvement works to benefit indigenous communities in the highlands of Ecuador, largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. The findings suggest that the program increased access to irrigation, investment in productivity enhancing agricultural inputs, and cultivation of crops that required irrigation, and crop productivity. The impact on household income was estimated to be positive, although, due to lack of precision, we cannot reject the hypothesis of it being equal to zero. Finally, the program significantly increased food security by reducing the number and the frequency of “food insecurity” events. Robustness checks confirm the validity of the main results.
NO