Reaching Gambian Farmers Through CATI

The Gambia has a predominantly agricultural economy, with farming and livestock supporting a large share of rural households. Groundnuts remain an important cash crop, while rice, millet, maize and vegetables contribute to food supply. Along the River Gambia, access to water creates opportunities for rice cultivation and horticulture, but farmers still contend with changing rainfall, soil conditions, limited inputs, post-harvest losses and challenges getting produce to profitable markets.

These realities make timely agricultural data important. Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) gives research teams a way to stay connected with farmers beyond a single field visit. Through structured phone interviews, CATI Africa can gather farmers’ views on crop production, irrigation, input use, market conditions, post-harvest challenges and the support they receive, helping organizations see how agricultural programs are performing in practice.

Supporting Agricultural Research, Monitoring and Evaluation

For agricultural research and M&E, CATI helps researchers and organisations to:

• Compare farmers' experiences across rain-fed and irrigated production
• Understand challenges affecting rice, groundnut, and horticultural production
• Track access to seeds, fertiliser, irrigation, and extension support
• Capture farmers' experiences with storage, transport, and produce markets

In The Gambia, agricultural research also needs to look at what happens after crops leave the farm. Poor storage, limited processing capacity, and difficulty reaching markets can reduce the value farmers receive from their production. Telephone interviews can help organisations identify these issues directly and understand where agricultural support could have the greatest impact.

Across The Gambia, organisations can use CATI for:

• Rice and irrigation research along the River Gambia
• Groundnut production and value-chain studies
• Horticulture and vegetable farming assessments
• Post-harvest loss and market access research

CATI Africa brings telephone research closer to the agricultural communities whose experiences matter most. For organisations working on food security, farmer support, agricultural markets, and rural development in The Gambia, our CATI approach provides a practical way to collect farmer-level evidence, follow up on programme activities, and understand changes across farming seasons.