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BEHAVIORAL THEME
OVERVIEW
As a result of support by AgriFin to its growing partners aimed at expanding access to digital financial services for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there have been some fundamental changes observed among smallholder farmers with respect to their adoption and behavior. From this Agile Impact Study, we have observed the following impacts of AFA and its partners:
Gender Inclusion
• Increased women representation is seen in both agents and direct users or beneficiaries
○ Outstanding in-person skills have allowed women agents to play an increasingly critical role in reaching out to potential users within the community and beyond to promote the value of digital or technology-based products. In some cases, the women agents have contributed to the major sales growth for some partners.
○ Largely urged by the motivation to gain economic independence, women farmers have demonstrated enthusiasm in adopting new ways of handling farming. Over the past few years, there has been a growing trend of women farmers onboarded and retained on the digital services extended out to them.
○ Continuous effort to expose women to up-to-date information and technologies will help sustain the impact.
Digital Transformation
• Sufficient onboarding and user-centric design are keys to adoption and user retention
○ Digital farming has became a common concept for more and more smallholder farmers through various products and services provided by AFA’s partners. From planning and planting to selling products and risk mitigation, smallholder farmers have been embracing digital solutions throughout the entire farming cycle.
○ Sufficient onboarding has proved to be essential for encouraging adoption, especially when it involves in-person demonstration or contacts for further consultation (e.g. agents).
○ Products that speak to farmers’ most urgent needs and the simplicity of the interaction process are more likely to attract farmers. Some partners have therefore tailored product design to meet the needs of different farmer segments.
THEMATIC AREAS
Adoption of Technology for Improving Efficiency
• Technology-based mechanisation is increasingly used during the planting phase of the farming cycle
○ Smallholder farmers have benefited enormously from technologies that have significantly reduced the time on manual farm work including land preparation and fetching water.
○ The growing mobile penetration in SSA has enabled smallholder farmers to easily access or order such services via phone.
Awareness of Risk Mitigation
• There have been an increase in awareness of multiple mechanisms to cope with risks and external shocks
○ Weather insurance has been adopted by more smallholder farmers as a way to mitigate potential losses. It becomes more
preferable/attractive when bundled with loan products.
○ Loans, including mobile loans, are widely adopted as a coping mechanism for emergencies, urgent farm needs and external shocks. Since harvest income and savings are the top reported sources for repayment, it is vital to sustain the virtuous circle of improving farm outcomes through the digital solutions provided for smallholder farmers.
○ Faced with uncertainty or unpredictability, farmers have also adopted new habits of seeking information and advice from trustful sources via SMS.
Financial Inclusion
• Smallholder farmers have increasing access to loans and credit for purchasing farming related products
○ Access to loans (including mobile loans) has been made much easier for small farmers by various actors on the ground.
○ Smallholder farmers who meet certain financial criteria further enjoy the benefit of using credit or (pay-as-you-go) payment schemes to invest on their farms by purchasing inputs or technology-based machines.