IDEO.org and Juhudi Kilimo have joined forces to design new ways of providing agricultural training and support to the farmers in rural Kenya. 

Opportunities for Design

Field research conducted by the IDEO.org team pointed to a few crucial insights:

• Small mistakes when trying new techniques have a long lasting negative impact. 
  
• Information is available, but often biased. 
  
• Successful peers and farmer-to-farmer learning are the best agents for change. 
  
• Connecting to local resources enables farmers to turn ideas into reality.
  
• Farmers trust experience and expertise.
  
• The Juhudi Kilimo brand inspires trust.

In coordination with other innovative microfinance products, Juhudi Kilimo is interested in further supporting their borrowers who are branching out into new ventures. Farmers investing in new technologies and new agricultural approaches are often missing knowledge that would help them maximize their return on investment. So IDEO.org set out to test this hypothesis, and to ask: How might we provide technical information to farmers to help them maximize their investments in a way that is scalable and efficient?

What We Designed

Based on learnings from our prototypes, the team developed a design for a two-part platform to INSPIRE and SUPPORT farmers in adopting new, better farming practices. 

INSPIRE - To inspire farmers most effectively, a series of short videos highlighting Juhudi Kilimo success stories will be produced and screened with members monthly. The videos will explain "in plain Swahili" a new venture or technique that a farmer has successfully employed on their farm. The videos will portray the farmer in a relatable yet experienced light, with hurdles, profits, and losses included. 

SUPPORT - Once farmers are inspired, they’ll need additional support to practice new techniques on their own. Juhudi Kilimo’s HelpLine will do just that— with experts answering farmers’ questions and connecting them with local sources of information and resources. 

The success of Juhudi Kilimo’s training initiative will rely on these systems—Farmer Videos and the HelpLine—working together to ensure that farmers have the information, inspiration and support needed to make improvements to their farms, and, ultimately, their lives. 

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