The objective of this SIKIA Market Survey was to validate the commercial added value of the information services of the project to rice farmers and agribusinesses. The survey explored interest, willingness and ability of smallholder farmers to actively use and pay for informational services on several levels: Listening to radio broadcasts (mainly weather forecasts); registering themselves to additional information services; interacting with agribusinesses through the information platform; and actively using the information for decision making regarding their agricultural interventions. The motivation for exploring the local agribusinesses was to determine their willingness to pay (through subscription) for informational services including interactive access to farmer group database. Large agribusinesses (mainly international with local presence) were also included in the survey to determine their willingness to pay (through subscription) for informational services in addition to helping to further develop the information service platform.
