Are Irrigation Rehabilitation Projects Good for Poor Farmers in Peru?

Datar, Gayatri; Del Carpio, Ximena V.

Are Irrigation Rehabilitation Projects Good for Poor Farmers in Peru?

Autores

Descripción

This paper analyzes changes in agricultural production and economic welfare of farmers in rural Peru resulting from a large irrigation infrastructure rehabilitation project. The analysis uses a ten-year district panel and a spatial regression discontinuity approach to measure the causal effect of the intervention. While general impacts are modest, the analysis shows that the project is progressive--poor farmers consistently benefit more than non-poor farmers. Farmers living in districts with a rehabilitated irrigation site experience positive labor dynamics, in terms of income and agricultural jobs. Poor farmers increase their total income by more than $220 per year compared with the control group, while rich farmers do not experience such an income gain. The results also show crop specialization patterns in the economic status of farm households; poorer farm households increase their production of staple crops, such as beans and potatoes, while non-poor beneficiary farmers cultivate more industrial crops. Findings from this evaluation have important implications for pro-poor policy design in the agricultural sector.

Palabras clave

ACCESS TO MARKETS, AGGREGATE POVERTY, AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES, AGRICULTURAL GROWTH, AGRICULTURAL LABORERS, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, BEANS, BENEFICIARY COMMUNITIES, CAPACITY BUILDING, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, CATCHMENT AREA, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, COASTAL REGION, COASTAL REGIONS, COCOA, COFFEE, COMMERCIALIZATION, CONFLICT, COTTON, COUNTERFACTUAL, CROP, CROP DIVERSIFICATION, CROP PRODUCTION, CROP SCIENCE, CROPPING, CROPPING INTENSITY, CROPPING PATTERNS, CROPS, CULTIVATION, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DISTRIBUTION OF WATER, DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS, DRAINAGE, DRIP IRRIGATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC POLICIES, EFFICIENCY OF LABOR, EXPORT CROPS, FARM, FARM HOUSEHOLDS, FARMER, FARMING, FERTILIZERS, GRAIN, GRAINS, HARVESTS, HECTARES OF LAND, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD HEAD AGE, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, IFPRI, IMPACT ON POVERTY, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME-GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES, INDUSTRIAL CROPS, INEQUALITY, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, INSURANCE, IRRIGATION, LABOR DEMAND, LABOR RESOURCES, LABOUR, MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS, NATURAL DISASTER, NATURAL RESOURCES, ORANGES, POOR, POOR FARM HOUSEHOLDS, POOR FARMERS, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POOR POLICY, POTATOES, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY ANALYSIS, POVERTY IMPACT, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY REDUCTION, PRODUCE, REGIONAL LEVELS, RURAL, RURAL AREA, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL FARMERS, RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, RURAL INSTITUTIONS, RURAL POVERTY, RURAL ROAD, RURAL ROAD REHABILITATION, RURAL ROADS, SMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION, SOIL QUALITY, SUBSISTENCE, SUGAR, SUGAR CANE, SUGARCANE, SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS, TARGETING, VEGETABLE PRODUCTION, WATER AVAILABILITY, WATER CATCHMENT, WATER SOURCE, WATER SUPPLY, WATER USERS, YIELDS