Strategic Insights

Enabling a better future for medium – smallholding Indian farmers

Client: Confidential
Timeline: 5 weeks
Sample Size: 9
Locations: Villages in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh

The innovation team at a global management consultancy was engaged on a project for a client in the food and agriculture domain. Their client was keen to develop solutions geared towards enabling a better future for medium – smallholding farmers in India and Vietnam.

While in-house researchers from the management consultancy conducted research to inform innovation in SEA, they partnered with Anagram Research to conduct a quick research study about Indian farmers.

The overall research effort was quick (completed in about 5 weeks), in order to provide timely inputs and inspiration in context to the overall project timeline.

• Farmers participating in the study were recruited and scheduled in advance by professional recruiters, on the basis of a detailed participant recruitment screener.
  
  
• Detailed, 120 minute semi-structured in-context interactions were conducted with all participants.
  Quick research activities were used to break the monotony of discussion and elicit more thoughtful responses.
  
  
• Interviews were conducted in local / regional languages, with the help of a local language moderator and a simultaneous translator.
  A researcher was present at all interviews. The researcher’s role was to guide the moderator, observe and take notes and also probe participants when required.
  
  









• Rough notes, audio transcripts, video recordings and photographs were captured during fieldwork.
  
  
• Two levels of synthesis were completed.
  Quick synthesis captured immediate inferences and key observations.
  Detailed synthesis was conducted post fieldwork, using the affinity diagramming method.

Anagram Research created a detailed insights presentation that included an in-depth capture of the Indian farmers context as well as farmers goals, aspirations, attitudes and values.
The report highlighted similarities with the findings from the study conducted in Vietnam, as well as insights distinct to Indian farmers.
In addition, Anagram Research presented a set of research-based opportunity spaces and overarching guidelines.

Insights from the Anagram Research study helped the innovation team build empathy, and in turn strengthen and guide product decisions and innovation directions proposed to the agri-business client.