Reaching Bissau-Guinea Farmers Through CATI

Farmers in Guinea-Bissau play an important role in the country’s food supply and rural economy, with rice, cashew nuts, groundnuts, cassava and other crops supporting household livelihoods. Rice farming is particularly important in the lowlands, while cashew has become a major source of income and an important export crop. However, farmers can face challenges with changing rainfall, limited access to inputs, poor roads, storage facilities and markets, making it harder to understand agricultural conditions through occasional field visits alone.

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) offers a way to keep that connection active. CATI Africa enables research teams to speak with farmers by phone about production, cashew and rice farming, access to agricultural services, household food needs and market conditions. This allows organizations to gather information during and beyond the farming season and follow up with respondents as agricultural programs progress.

Supporting Agricultural Research, Monitoring and Evaluation

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

• Understand the different challenges facing rice and cashew farmers
• Track access to seeds, tools, extension services, and agricultural inputs
• Examine how farmers sell and earn from their agricultural produce
• Monitor changes in household food production and income

Guinea-Bissau's dependence on cashew also makes it important to understand what happens beyond the farm. Farmers' access to buyers, prices, transport, and processing opportunities can influence the income they receive from their harvest. Telephone interviews can bring these experiences into agricultural research and help organisations identify where support is needed.

Across Guinea-Bissau, organisations can use CATI for:

• Cashew production and value-chain research
• Rice cultivation and lowland farming studies
• Farmer income and market access assessments
• Food security and rural livelihood research

CATI Africa provides a direct line to agricultural households in Guinea-Bissau, helping organisations gather timely information from the people who produce the country's food and commercial crops. Our telephone survey services support agricultural research, farmer programmes, and M&E with evidence that can inform better decisions around production, markets, and rural livelihoods.