How do we better understand farmers if we are not asking for feedback?
Farmer feedback is critical, it helps the myAgro team understand the farmer in their own context . A great example of this is what the myAgro team did in Senegal. We gave qualitative surveys to each of our early adopter farmers. We asked questions about their experiences with myAgro, the most important aspects of the program to them, our most effective marketing techniques and their greatest obstacles to making payments.
This survey showed us, among other things, that our field agents are our one of our greatest assets. They were consistently listed as the most important in building trust in the program, promoting enrollment, and encouraging savings. Many of the farmers appreciated that the agents were hired from within the local community.
We also found that local success stories and seeing pictures of successful members is a powerful trust builder. This year, to encourage confidence in the program and promote enrollment, we are focusing on sharing farmer stories and photos from our early adopters in Senegal.