Evaluation of a results-based monetary prize competition for the scaling of new agricultural technologies in Indonesia

Decision-maker’s challenge

AgResults Indonesia Aquaculture Challenge Project is a multi-donor funded initiative that seeks to overcome agricultural market failures by offering results-based monetary prizes to competing private actors for the development/scaling of new agricultural technologies. AgResults projects need external evaluators to determine on a scientific basis if each Pay-for-Results (PfR) prize competition achieves its objectives.

Impact opportunity

In Indonesia, the competition can potentially strengthen the country’s aquaculture sector by encouraging smallholder farmer adoption of on-farm technologies such as feeders and aerators. By incentivizing private sector sales of aerators and feeders, the competition aims to increase productivity, boost farmer income, and strengthen value chain relationships between aquaculture input providers and farmers. In addition, the competition will also encourage hatcheries to receive IndoGAP certification for a separate prize. It takes systematic evaluations, however, to determine whether the competition is meeting these goals.

Our approach

As the independent evaluator for the AgResults Indonesia Aquaculture Challenge Project, IDinsight will measure the impact of the prize competitions on uptake of innovative solutions to increase incomes of smallholder farmers, and the effectiveness of the prize competition as a whole. IDinsight will apply the following approaches in our work:

• Use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods
• Assess whether Challenge Projects produce private sector behaviors or social outcomes that are better or different than without PfR incentives
• When possible, compare outcomes of prize competitions against outcomes of traditional “push” approaches
• Analyze cost-effectiveness of Challenge Projects and the sustainability of results

The results

This project is ongoing, and results will be published periodically.