Low productivity in agriculture and environmentally unsustainable farming practices are pressing development challenges. The 2009-2011 Malawi Agricultural Development Program Impact Evaluation examines social network based strategies to promote innovative sustainable land management technologies to smallholder farmer. It aims to provide clear evidence as to what are the most effective ways to communicate the information necessary to improve smallholder productivity and increase the amount of farmland that is sustainably managed. The Impact Evaluation focuses on agricultural extension, and tests different strategies for sharing information about two specific SLM technologies - pit planting and compost making - with smallholder maize farmers in 8 districts in Malawi. There are three randomized elements in this evaluation: type of communicator (extension worker or village-level volunteer), gender of the communicator, and whether the communicator received performance-based incentives. The survey data include 3 rounds of indoor interviews, which contain regular farmers questionnaires, lead farmer/peer farmer questionnaires, and extensionists questionnaires, plus 2 rounds of on-farm monitoring, from 2009-2011.
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