Challenge

In 2016 Producers Direct launched 3 Centres of Excellence; core partnerships which provide a physical hub for farmers to access training, learn from demonstration farms, and help forge a direct relationship with smallholder farmers. A model which quickly gained success and traction.

By 2020 Producers Direct had reached over 600,000 farmers and had established 7 Centres of Excellence across the globe. As farmer numbers grew Producers Direct needed to maintain the seamless farmer experience that the CoE method was built upon, maintaining a high rate of training adoption.

Solution

Climate Edge supported Producers Direct’s goals of introducing a novel farmer-facing technology channel that was simple to implement, adaptive to their needs, and provided trackable insights. Climate Edge worked with Producers Direct to translate valuable elements of physical training into condensed SMS content to support the delivery of training at scale. Followed by targeted surveys to monitor engagement remotely and affordably.

Producers Direct were able to register farmers through SMS invitations within days, allowing them to act quickly during a time of high growth, without sacrificing quality.

Results

Producers Direct have maintained an exceptional user experience for their farmers, and have achieved higher than average engagement rates from their training.

Initially launching in SIREET, a Kenyan based Centre of Excellence, Producers Direct experienced a 21% user subscription rate from farmers invited, with 68% of farmers implementing the training effectively (up from 10% when attending physical training alone) and 78% farmer satisfaction rate.