Problem Identification

Defining research questions and objectives.

Whether or not the tricot method is suitable for your project should be based on knowledge of local farming. Tricot is a methodology for introducing agronomic innovation. It is most useful in situations where farmers are experiencing agronomic challenges or where they are dissatisfied with product quality of their harvests. Tricot should only be used when it is believed that agronomic innovation can be part of the solution.

A thorough problem analysis must first be done. By discussing with experienced field agents and members of your target group about their needs and aspirations, you should ask: Is there a pressing problem that can be solved through agronomic innovation? If yes, Which technology should be considered (for example: crop varieties, irrigation technologies, fertilizer dosage, tillage systems)?

Which technologies will be tested?

Researchers should be considering and proposing technologies that have the potential to solve local problems and can be easily adopted by farmers. The more you know about the agronomic problems experienced by the target group, the more precisely you can select the technology options. As a start, a total number of 8-12 technology options is recommended. A good way to select these from an even larger pool is by conducting focus group discussions with a core group of local farmers from diverse locations.

Which criteria will be evaluated?

Maybe one technology option provides higher yields, but another one is less labor-intensive. Both criteria can be important, and there may be many more aspects that matter. You will need to define the criteria to be evaluated by the farmer-researchers. These can be defined by consultation with experienced field agents and local future users of the new technologies, both women and men of all ages. Many criteria can be evaluated, but it is recommended to pick no more than ten criteria. With more criteria, farmers may be discouraged by the complexity of observation. The key question must be: What really matters to the farmers? Most importantly, farmers should be asked to give their opinion about the overall performance of their technology options. Also, they should be asked why they prefer the best option. This is an open question and it is therefore possibe that farmers mention criteria that had not been considered beforehand.

How will data be collected?

Tricot uses the Open Data Kit (ODK) Collect app as the main way to collect data. The ODK Collect app is available free of charge on Google Play Store and can be installed on any Android smartphone or tablet. It allows implementers to register participating farmers, and field agents can collect farmers’ observation data for each of the criteria. When field agents gather the data collected by farmers in the field, the data will be stored on the device until an internet connection is available. All data is then sent to the ClimMob server for storage and analysis. During different steps of the project, ODK forms will be automatically generated by the ClimMob software or will be available on the ClimMob website for download. Other data collection methods can be made available (interactive voice response, Whatsapp). Contact the ClimMob team (climmob.net) for more information.

Understanding the target farming system.

In which area will the project be conducted?

For practical reasons, it is best to work in a defined region. If the project is spread across an entire country it can be hard to stay in touch with the local field agents and to assemble farmers for the initial training.