Survey Firm for Farmer Chat Evaluation Midline Survey

Job Description:           

Digital Green, in collaboration with local partners, is piloting an AI-powered mobile application, Farmer.Chat, designed to improve the speed and efficiency of agricultural extension services. The application aims to empower extension workers and farmers by providing personalized advisory services that can be accessed through voice, text, images, or videos in local languages. The platform delivers location- and crop-specific information, including weather updates, enabling farmers to make faster and more informed decisions while promoting climate-smart agricultural practices. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a baseline evaluation to document the status of key outcome and impact indicators prior to the program’s expansion phase and now plans to conduct a midline survey to systematically assess the impact of FarmerChat.

The midline study will cover approximately 2,995 sample households across 599 villages in Nakuru County. The survey will collect information on household background characteristics, farmers’ use of digital tools, and the adoption of agricultural practices. Data will be collected using tablets equipped with a survey application. IFPRI is seeking a qualified survey firm based in Kenya to conduct the midline data collection.

In addition to the household survey, the midline data collection will include the implementation of a short “video nudge” intervention for a subset of sampled households. At the end of each survey interview, enumerators will show a short video (approximately 15 minutes) to the respondent using a tablet and facilitate a brief follow-up discussion using a structured guide. The video is designed to encourage reflection on agricultural opportunities and practices and forms part of the broader evaluation design. The survey firm will therefore be responsible for ensuring that enumerators are adequately trained to administer this component, that the videos are preloaded and functioning on all tablets, and that implementation protocols are followed consistently across treatment villages. In addition, the survey firm will assist farmers in treatment villages with updating the FarmerChat application to the latest version. The midline survey, including the video-based intervention and related activities, is estimated to take approximately 2 hours per household in total.

Scope of work:

The selected firm will coordinate and implement a face-to-face quantitative survey with farming households across 599 villages in Nakuru County, Kenya. As noted above, the survey will consist of in-person interviews with both male and female farmers using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). The study will cover approximately 2,995 households (five households per village).

In addition to the survey interview, enumerators will administer a short video-based intervention at the end of the interview in a subset of villages assigned to this component of the study. The video will be shown to respondents using the survey tablets and will be followed by a brief structured discussion facilitated by the enumerator. All data collection activities should be completed by mid-May 2026. The survey instrument and the list of specific study locations will be provided by IFPRI.

The responsibilities of the survey firm will include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Survey Preparation

• Translate the survey instrument into relevant local languages, as needed.
• Obtain all required ethical approvals, research permits, and other local authorizations.
• Procure and prepare a sufficient number of tablets for CAPI-based data collection.
• Program, test, and finalize the CAPI questionnaire for field administration.
• Integrate video playback functionality into tablets to support the video-based intervention.
• With guidance from IFPRI, prepare a field implementation manual prior to enumerator training, which will serve as the basis for quality assurance.

2. Enumerator Recruitment, Training, and Pretest

• Recruit, hire, and manage enumerators to conduct data collection, ensuring a mix of male and female interviewers with appropriate language skills.
• Facilitate and ensure smooth implementation of a five-day enumerator training and a two-day survey pretest in collaboration with IFPRI staff.

3. Fieldwork Implementation and Monitoring

• Develop a de