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Objective setting

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What is the main question?​

Tricot is suitable if many comparable options exist. It can be used for examples...

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.

to complete

  • selection of check
  • selection of candidates in multi-seasonal trials
  • selection the N of items (what is the goal of your trial?)

Which aspects will be evaluated?​

Maybe one technology option provides higher yields, but another one is less labor-intensive. Both aspects can be important, and there may be many more aspects that matter. You will need to define the aspects 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 aspects can be evaluated, but it is recommended to pick no more than ten aspects. With more aspects, 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 possible that farmers mention aspects 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. Enketo is a web-based tool used to upload data when the ODK application is not available. Other data collection methods can be made available (interactive voice response, Whatsapp). For example, in the near future, an AI-enabled application to record and translate languages (Sikia) will become available. Contact the ClimMob team for more information.

In which area will the project be conducted?​

Aspects should be related to Target Product Profiles (TPPs) in the case of variety evaluations. Define the area where the trial will take place. The area should represent the conditions of the target environment - the area were the tested options will be used if they perform well. For an explanation on how to selection locations, see the section on geographic sampling.