What the client needed
GIZ's Green Innovation Centres initiative, supported by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), works with smallholder farmers in the soybean, groundnut and dairy value chains in Eastern and Southern provinces to raise productivity, incomes and food security.
With more than 140,000 farmers trained, GIZ needed dependable annual data on productivity, gross margins and innovation adoption to track impact and refine how the programme is delivered.
How M31 Research delivered
M31 Research designed a mixed-methods survey combining household interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A sample of 890 farmers was drawn from the 140,000 trained, and the tools ran on Survey Solutions for real-time capture and validation.
Two field teams, each led by an experienced supervisor, were trained intensively for five days, then completed fieldwork in 22 days. They worked around the peak farming season, climate disruption and local customs, with daily high-frequency checks and supervisor spot checks to keep the data reliable.
What we delivered
- Sample of 890 farmers from over 140,000 trained
- 837 household surveys
- 72 key informant interviews and 24 focus group discussions
- Productivity, gross margin and adoption indicators
- Survey report with lessons and recommendations
What changed for the client
The survey showed clear progress in the adoption of conservation farming, agroforestry, farm hygiene, climate-smart breeding and herd health plans, with adopters reporting higher productivity and incomes. It also identified the constraints still holding farmers back, from climate shocks to access to quality inputs and finance, and pointed GIZ towards cooperatives, continued training and targeted investment.
Key findings and outcomes
- Farmers who adopted innovations reported higher productivity and incomes
- Dairy farmers showed stronger resilience and food security than legume farmers
- Cooperatives proved effective in improving access to markets and resources
- Climate shocks, input quality and finance remained key constraints
