Project aims and objectives

This PhD project aims to contribute to sharing knowledge and building climate resilience among farmers in sub-Saharan Africa by conducting an impact evaluation in collaboration with m-Omulimisa of the knowledge-sharing platform that is operating in Uganda. Working with experts, the PhD candidate will be adopting a mixed methods approach drawing on an overall contribution analysis framework to unpack the multiple causal drivers that may explain the success or otherwise of the platform. The proposed contribution analysis approach encompasses quantitative and qualitative elements. The quantitative part draws on a survey across villages in northern Uganda sampling villages that benefit from the knowledge-sharing platform and a control group. This resembles a randomised controlled trial but of necessity includes a non-random element (i.e. the villages where the platform is in place). The quantitative survey will be complemented by performance stories which are a participatory approach used to teasing out the experiences of farmers and other stakeholders regarding the perceived success of the innovation. The quantitative and qualitative elements of the methodology will be complementary allowing a better understanding of the causal drivers that explain how and why our innovation works (and could be made better) in improving farmers’ investments and their decision-making process in making investments. This research has the potential to directly feed into scaling up the platform across sub-Saharan Africa, as well as contributes to the policy discourse on tech-led solutions to bring about climate resilience among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.