Women field agents with limited digital literacy

• Improved digital competencies: Structured training and ongoing support can help women agents develop the digital skills needed to use AgentBI effectively.
• Greater professional recognition: Competency assessment, training records and performance tracking can make their field experience and professional achievements more visible.
• Improved career opportunities: Credentialing and career pathways can help qualified women agents access recognition and professional advancement as they strengthen their digital skills.

Women farmers in remote areas

• Improved access to agricultural services: Better coordination and deployment of field agents can help extend agricultural services to women in underserved communities.
• Greater trust and engagement: Assigning women agents where appropriate can strengthen trust and participation among women farmers, as demonstrated in EMBE field experiments.
• More consistent follow-up: Agent supervision and performance monitoring can help organisations identify underserved areas and improve the continuity of farmer engagement.

Women farmers without mobile phones

• Agent-assisted access to services: Field agents can register and support women farmers without requiring them to operate the AgentBI platform or own a mobile phone.
• Improved confidence in service delivery: Appropriate matching of women farmers with women agents can strengthen trust and engagement during face-to-face interactions.
• Access to agricultural information: Trained field agents can communicate information directly during visits, reducing dependence on personal digital devices.

Farmers in remote areas without mobile phones

• Improved last-mile outreach: Agent deployment and supervision can help organisations reach farmers who are geographically isolated and lack personal mobile communication.
• Agent-assisted registration and follow-up: Farmers can be registered and supported through field agents without personally using digital tools.
• Improved visibility of underserved communities: Geographic deployment planning and agent activity monitoring can help organisations identify gaps in service coverage and organise follow-up.

Women field agents with limited digital literacy

• Unfair performance assessment: Initial difficulties using digital tools may affect recorded performance, even when agents possess strong agricultural knowledge and field skills.
• Reduced career opportunities or job insecurity : If digital proficiency is treated as an immediate performance requirement, competent agents may be disadvantaged in recognition, promotion or retention.
• Unequal participation in training : Standardised training formats may not adequately address differences in digital experience and learning needs.

• For unfair assessment : Evaluate field performance separately from initial digital proficiency and allow a reasonable learning period.
• For career and job insecurity : Provide progressive digital capacity-building and coaching before making employment or advancement decisions based on digital performance.
• For unequal training participation : Assess individual training needs and offer practical, accessible training sessions with additional support where required.

Women farmers in remote areas

• Reduced engagement: Deploying agents without considering women farmers' preferences and local gender dynamics may limit trust and participation.
• Unequal service coverage: Performance targets based mainly on the number of visits or registrations may encourage agents to prioritise more accessible communities.
• Underrepresentation in programme results: If monitoring focuses on total farmers reached without examining participation by gender and location, limited outreach to remote women farmers may remain unnoticed.

• For reduced engagement : Consider recruiting and deploying women agents where this responds to farmers' needs, and consult women farmers on appropriate service arrangements.
• For unequal coverage: Adjust agent targets to account for travel time and geographic constraints, and establish appropriate outreach objectives for remote communities.
• For underrepresentation: Monitor participation by gender and location, and use the findings to adjust agent deployment and follow-up.

Women farmers without mobile phones

• Inaccurate or unverified information: Data entered by agents on behalf of farmers may contain errors or fail to reflect their needs if adequate confirmation procedures are absent.
• Missed communications: Women without phones may miss service updates if organisations rely primarily on direct mobile messages.
• Reduced participation: If agents do not consider women's preferences or circumstances when organising visits, some women may have fewer opportunities to engage with services.

• For inaccurate information : Confirm recorded information directly with farmers during registration and provide accessible procedures for correcting errors.
• For missed communications : Maintain face-to-face communication and agent-assisted follow-up for farmers without personal phones.
• For reduced participation: Consult women farmers on suitable contact arrangements and consider women agents where appropriate.

Farmers in remote areas without mobile phones

• Unequal attention from agents : When performance targets emphasise high numbers of visits or registrations, agents may give less attention to remote farmers who require longer travel times.
• Delayed follow-up : If agent visits are infrequent and farmers cannot be contacted directly by mobile phone, changes in their needs may not be identified promptly.
• Outdated or inaccurate records : Information entered by agents may remain uncorrected when farmers have limited opportunities to review or update it.

• For unequal attention: Set realistic performance targets that reflect travel time and monitor coverage of remote communities.
• For delayed follow-up: Establish regular outreach schedules and accessible local arrangements for contacting agents between visits.
• For inaccurate records: Include in-person verification and updating of farmer information during scheduled field visits.

Target group

Adoption barriers

Mitigation measures

Women field agents with limited digital literacy

• Limited digital skills: Insufficient familiarity with digital tools may make it difficult to complete training, enter field information or use performance-related functions.
• Limited access to appropriate learning support: Agents who need additional practice may struggle if initial training is too short or insufficiently adapted.
• Constraints on training participation: Depending on local circumstances, travel requirements or care responsibilities may limit some women's ability to attend training sessions.

• For limited digital skills : Provide practical introductory training, supervised exercises and progressive learning opportunities.
• For insufficient support : Offer individual coaching, refresher sessions and additional time to develop digital proficiency.
• For participation constraints : Organise training at accessible locations and times, considering participants' availability and responsibilities.

Women farmers in remote areas

• Limited availability of suitable agents : In some communities, the absence of agents with whom women feel comfortable interacting may reduce their participation.
• Infrequent outreach: Long travel times may limit opportunities for women farmers to meet agents and receive follow-up services.
• Inappropriate visit arrangements: Visit times or locations may not accommodate women's agricultural and household responsibilities.

• For agent availability: Consider women farmers' preferences when recruiting and assigning agents, including the deployment of women agents where appropriate.
• For infrequent outreach: Plan regular visits to remote communities and adapt agent workloads to geographic conditions.
• For unsuitable arrangements: Consult women farmers and schedule visits at accessible times and locations.

Women farmers without mobile phones

• Limited access to direct digital communication: Farmers without phones cannot independently receive mobile-based notifications or use optional self-registration channels.
• Dependence on agent availability: Registration, information exchange and follow-up may depend more heavily on opportunities for direct interaction with agents.
• Limited opportunities to verify information: Without a personal phone, farmers may have fewer options to review information recorded on their behalf between visits.

• For digital communication: Maintain agent-assisted registration and provide essential information through direct contact.
• For dependence on agents: Organise accessible in-person registration and follow-up opportunities.
• For information verification: Introduce verbal confirmation and accessible correction procedures during agent visits.

Farmers in remote areas without mobile phones

• Limited opportunities for direct contact: Distance and lack of personal mobile communication may make it difficult to reach agents between visits.
• Dependence on scheduled field visits: Access to registration, information and follow-up may be delayed when outreach visits are infrequent.
• Limited opportunities to update records: Farmers may struggle to communicate changes in their circumstances or service needs when agents are not present.

• For limited contact: Establish accessible community contact points or locally appropriate communication arrangements.
• For dependence on visits: Schedule regular outreach and adjust agent deployment targets to account for travel time.
• For record updates: Include farmer information verification and updating in routine field visits.