T OULOUSE S CHOOL OF E CONOMICS

M ICROFINANCE , L AND AND L ABOR

Solar Irrigation for Improved Water Management:

A Randomized Control Trial in Niger

Authors: Supervisor:
Kadidja S IDIB É Pepita M IQUEL -F LORENSA, Ph.D.
Stefan P REUSS

05/04/2020
Contents

1 Introduction 2

2 Country Context 2

2.1 Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2.2 Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.3 Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Solar Irrigation 4

3.1 Irrigation as a Means of Climate Adaptation in the Sahel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.2 The Benefits of Solar Irrigation for Niger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.3 Previous Interventions in Niger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4 Program Description 6

4.1 Treatment A: Irrigation System Lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4.2 Treatment B: Cash Crop Subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

5 Research Design 9

5.1 Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.2 Assignment to Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.3 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

6 Empirical Analysis 11

6.1 Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

6.2 Balance Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

6.3 Attrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

6.4 Treatment Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

7 Cost Estimation 13

7.1 Farmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

7.2 Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

7.3 Government Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

8 Concluding Remarks 15

Acronyms

FAO Food and Agricultural Organization

SPIS Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems

1
Treatment A Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Calendar Jan (…) May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec Jan (…) May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec Jan (…) Apr May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec
Crop (parcel 1)
Millet Millet Millet
Crop (parcel 2) Groundnut Groundnut Groundnut
Regular return 415 415 415
Cost of lease -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20
Interest repayment -90 -90 -90
Cash flow (groundnut) 0 0 415 415 415 415 325 325 325 325 720 710 700 (…) 510 490 470 (…) 410 805 785 765 (…) 595 575

Treatment B
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Calendar Jan (…) May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec Jan (…) May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec Jan (…) Apr May Jun Jul (…) Nov Dec
Millet Millet Millet
Crop Groundnut Groundnut Groundnut
Subsidized return 530 530 530
Cost of lease -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20 -20
Interest repayment -90 -90 -90
Cash flow (groundnut) 0 0 530 530 530 530 430 430 430 430 950 930 910 (…) 740 720 700 (…) 640 1150 1130 1110 (…) 940 920
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