Over the last decade, billions of dollars have been invested in the development of new agricultural technologies, which have the potential to contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation amongst the poor. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the adoption of these promising agriculture technologies has been limited. Low adoption rates may be explained in part by credit constraints, which prevent many smallholder farmers from making the often large, initial investment in a new technology. A sizeable initial deposit or a guarantor is often required to receive a loan, restricting access for most. In developed countries, guarantor requirements are uncommon; instead, loans for purchase of houses, vehicles, and small business equipment often use the assets themselves as loan collateral.

Researchers found that a point-of-collection water chlorination system, in combination with encouragement from community promoters, dramatically increased access to safe water in Kenya. In response, IPA launched and incubated a program called Dispensers for Safe Water. The program is now part of Evidence Action, which is dedicated to bringing cost-effective and evidence-based interventions to scale. Today the Dispensers for Safe Water program is providing on-going access to chlorine to over 4 million people in Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda today.

Intestinal helminths—including hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and schistosomiasis—infect more than one in four people worldwide. Researchers evaluated the short-run impacts of a mass school-based deworming program in western Kenya, and found that deworming substantially improved health and school participation of treated children, as well as of untreated children in treatment schools and children in neighboring schools. Approximately ten years after treatment, researchers found that the program increased women’s educational attainment and men’s labor supply, with accompanying shifts in occupation choice. Twenty years after treatment, earnings, spending, and time spent working outside of agriculture had improved.