Did the e-voucher approach to Zambia’s Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) outperform the traditional FISP? Evidence from the Crop Forecast
DOWNLOADJanuary 3, 2020 - Nicole M. Mason, Auckland Kuteya, Hambulo Ngoma, Dagbegnon A. Tossou, and Katharine R. Baylis
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EmailNicole M. Mason, Auckland Kuteya, Hambulo Ngoma, Dagbegnon A. Tossou, and Katharine R. Baylis, 2020. Did the e-voucher approach to Zambia’s Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) outperform the traditional FISP? Evidence from the Crop Forecast, FSP Policy Brief 109, East Lansing: Michigan State University.
Key Findings
- Based on Zambia Crop Forecast Survey (CFS) data from before and during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 piloting of the e-voucher approach to the Farmer Input Support Programme (e-FISP), the results suggest that the e-FISP fell short of achieving some of its objectives, at least in the short-run and based on the outcomes that can be analyzed with the CFS.
- At best, the outcomes analyzed were not statistically different under the e-FISP versus the traditional FISP (for farmers’ purchases of unsubsidized fertilizer, use of herbicide, and field crop diversification); at worst, outcomes were worse under the e-FISP relative to the traditional FISP (for fertilizer and hybrid maize seed use, and the timeliness of and distance to FISP fertilizer for beneficiary households).
- These disappointing e-FISP results are likely due more to implementation challenges and lack of political will than to fundamental flaws in the e-FISP concept and design.
