UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agriculture (UJALA)
UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agriculture (UJALA) supports research teams evaluating agricultural technologies and practices to improve small-scale farmers’ productivity, food security, and sustainability.
Funder: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
Due Dates: October 30, 2026, 11:59 PM EST (Researcher-led LOI) | December 18, 2026, 11:59 PM EST (Invited full proposal) | Rolling (Embedded evaluations) | January 27, 2027 (Anticipated notification) | March 22, 2027 (Funding decisions)
Funding Amounts: Up to US$75,000–US$300,000 pre-tax by study type; full RCTs may request an additional US$75,000
Summary: UJALA funds rigorous agricultural evaluations to improve small-scale farmers’ productivity, profitability, food security, and environmental sustainability.
Key Information: Research teams must include an eligible J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher as PI/co-PI; UJALA African Scholars may apply for pilots.
Description
The UM6P-J-PAL Applied Lab for Agriculture (UJALA) is a joint initiative of J-PAL and University Mohammed VI Polytechnic, hosted at UM6P in Morocco and embedded within OCP Nutricrops. It supports rigorous, policy-relevant research on agricultural technologies and practices, using OCP Nutricrops’ operational scale to help design, test, and scale evidence-based solutions for small-scale farmers.
UJALA supports two evaluation streams: embedded evaluations of OCP Nutricrops initiatives, and researcher-led evaluations with other implementing partners. Its agenda covers food-security subsidies, reduced dependence on imported food, barriers to technology adoption, input and output market access, and fertilizer customization. Particular emphasis falls on fertilizer adoption, soil health and fertility, and evidence that can inform agricultural policy, implementation, and scaling decisions.
