Technology Transfer to Small Farmers Program (PTTA) in Haiti: Implementation, Evaluation and Lessons Learned

Fecha
May 2018
EDITOR
Legovini, Elettra;De Salvo, Carmine Paolo
Smart subsidy programs have been advocated in many developing countries to encourage the adoption of modern inputs and increase agricultural productivity. Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa has shown that one-time targeted subsidies can be effective at increasing adoption of fertilizer and boosting agricultural productivity. Similarly, the Technology Transfer to Small Farmers Program (PTTA) in Haiti, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, provided vouchers to subsidize agricultural inputs, such as certain labor tasks, seedlings, fertilizer, pesticides, and other inputs. A series of evaluations deploying a variety of methods were conducted to test the program’s effectiveness on a series of agricultural and socio-economic variables. Agroforestry incentives attracted around two-thirds of the program’s budget, whereas the remaining third was devoted to annual crops. Main findings show that PTTA agroforestry subsidies were effective at increasing the total value of production of crops and at increasing agricultural income derived from the sales of these crops. These findings provide a strong justification for further iterations of similar programs geared towards agroforestry.