Insights and data library
By transparently sharing our data, insights, successes, and failures, we aim to provide a comprehensive portrayal of our overall impact. We think of impact as our "North Star", and rigorous measurement is the only way to know if we are heading in the right direction.
Publications
Poultry - Kenya (2015)
One Acre Fund consulted a range of experts to identify the most impactful interventions when considering the productivity of backyard poultry. These included the University of Queensland (Australia) and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).
Agronomic Survey Data (2016-2020)
MEL agronomic survey data from 2016-2020.
Soybean and Rhizobium
This report shares the results of soybean and rhizobium trial which was run with 82 farmers in 7 different cells to test the adoption rate and the ability to scale.
Kenya income and expenditure study
We tracked 400 farmers for a full calendar year, exhaustively surveying them about their spending and income.
Quality of Life Study in Kenya and Rwanda: Baseline Report
This reports sets the baseline for a longitudinal study we began in 2015 looking at the impacts of One Acre Fund program participation among our clients.
Measuring Social Return on Investment Before You Invest
Using a social return on investment framework, organizations can estimate the future impact, cost, and scale of programs before they begin, and allocate resources for greater impact.
Subcommittee Hearing: Food Security and Nutrition Programs in Africa
This is the written statement of a One Acre Fund's Global Senior Policy Analyst who stood before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations at the Subcommittee Hearing for Food Security and Nutrition Programs in Africa.
Rolling Distribution in Rwanda
In 2013, One Acre Fund Rwanda decided to trial the drop distribution method used by our Kenya
program. In 2014, Rwanda scaled up drop distribution across the entire country operation. This report shares why rolling distribution allowed One Acre Fund to grow its program in Rwanda and was an effective distribution method for years and how it became untenable.
Larger Group Size in Rwanda
One Acre Fund serves farmers in a group lending model. The hypothesis was that it might be easier, as well as less risky, to drive up clients per group than to form brand-new groups. This report shares why problems emerged and the lessons learned.
Scaling Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes
This report shares the results of research conducted side-by-side (Phase 2) trials of different improved orange sweet potatoes compared with local varieties, as well as trials to compare the relative effect of variety, fertilizer use, and planting method on sweet potato yields.
Managing Soil Acidity with Lime 2015 Trial Report
This report outlines the work of One Acre Fund to deliver lime and other soil acidity ameliorating tools to smallholder farmers in East Africa.
Smallholder farmers and business
This study looks at how pioneering companies and organizations have succeeded in enrolling smallholder
farmers in productivity-enhancing schemes, sustainably and at scale – either as buyers of produce or sellers of products, services or equipment.
Lessons from One Acre Fund’s First Uganda Pilot
In 2008, One Acre Fund conducted a pilot in eastern Uganda, which was its first pilot program outside of Kenya. This report details the lessons learned from the lack of success in this pilot program.
Kenya Custom Fertilizer Blends Trial
This report shares the results of custom fertilizer blend trials that were conducted on farmer fields in the long rain season of 2015 in western Kenya.
Getting the Counterfactual Right
In this memo, we share our experience addressing selection bias through experimenting with four different approaches: propensity score matching, randomized control trials, newly enrolled farmers, and difference-in-difference.
Pigeon Pea Research White Paper (2015)
One Acre Fund consulted a range of experts to identify promising best management practices for pigeon pea in East Africa. These include the International Centre for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).
Rock Phosphate (2014)
In Rwanda, One Acre Fund consulted a range of experts to identify commercially available, high-quality sources of rock phosphate. These organizations included the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI).
What to Read On Agriculture Microfinance
In this report One Acre highlights the books, videos, and papers that assisted the team to better understand the market opportunity for farm microfinance and the next steps.
2014 Country Specific Impact Report
This report provides a detailed breakdown of One Acre Fund's 2014 program impact by country.
When Less Impact Per Client = Greater Social Good
Why mission-driven organizations need a more nuanced understanding of why and how impact may fluctuate over time.
Creating Structures to Engage Policymakers in East Africa
This report defines a series of interim outcomes One Acre Fund hopes to achieve by engaging with policymakers in East Africa.
Effective Methods for Engaging Local Government White Paper (2015)
This whitepaper recommends that early attention be given to local government relations. Further, as trials turn into programs and organizations look to expand, strong local government relationships become essential to future growth.
Post-Harvest Home Storage (2014) Trial Report
This report shares the results of trials that One Acre Fund held to test home post-harvest storage.
One Acre Fund Impact and M&E Strategy
This strategy memo explains how One Acre Fund uses impact measurement to prioritize the highest impact products, phase out low-impact offerings, and constantly improve the products and services we offer.
