Market Sales & Payment Plans: Two ways we encourage farmers to save for agricultural inputs

myAgro operates a store in Dialakorba village that’s only open during the weekly Saturday market, which serves as a regional market for all neighboring villages. The market hosts vendors from over 40 villages who sell homegrown produce and goods. It is also a social meeting place for locals from dozens of other villages who come to shop, sell and meet old friends.

Since we own and operate this store ourselves, myAgro staff can use it to test the impact of new strategies before launching them elsewhere. Our recent trials are based on increasing our clients’ payments towards their layaway accounts by employing behavioral economic techniques we learned from our friends at ideas42.

The technique we tested this week was to have our farmers fill out a calendar with their myAgro field agent to create a personalized payment plan for the remaining 7 weeks before our payment deadline.

We trained farmers earlier this week on how to fill out their calendar and design their payment plan – and the results were enlightening. Several farmers said they didn’t realize the planting period was coming up so soon. Better yet, seeing the calendar – and it’s end date – made a number of farmers plan on finishing their packets that week, on market day. This was another reason we wanted to open a store during market day – to make it incredibly easy for farmers to buy layaway cards when they have liquidity, right after selling their goods at the market.

Samake and her myAgro agent pose for a photo as she makes her final payment toward this year’s harvest.

Samake, the farmer pictured above, came over and bought a 5000 CFA (~$10) card in between running sales at her own market stand. That was the last payment she needed to entirely complete her package! Samake now has enough in her myAgro account for a 1/16 hectare of fertilizer and peanut seed. This is the first year Samake joined myAgro, and after making her final payment she said, “I’m excited to try myAgro and I hope for a good harvest.” After smiling for her picture, and being congratulated by the myAgro team for finishing her goal, she rushed back to her stall to make a few more sales that day.