At SPRING, I worked to apply behavioral insights into everything that I did. This is an example of how we applied behavioral insights to aspects of a project that I was involved with August 2016-May 2018.
In Odisha, India there are three main seasons – rainy, wet, and dry. These seasons dictate the food in the market, the jobs available, families’ income, and everyone’s health. During the rainy season, men migrate for labor, during the wet season, women and men plant in the field, and during the dry season, families work together to harvest. Seven out of twelve months, food is hard to find in the market. Three out of twelve months, a family’s income is higher than its expenditures.
Imagine trying to change a habit when you are working long days in dry heat, with little food in the market, and more family needs than resources available. The likelihood that you’ll try something new is low.
At SPRING, we thought about this all the time. What does a farmer’s day look like? How does this vary throughout the year? Who is the farmer? What are the farmer’s desires?
To do this, one of the tools that we used was a seasonal calendar. Mapping a community’s seasons, labor, income, food availability, and health throughout a season showed us what farmers are doing and when they have the bandwidth to think about how to improve given practices for the next year.
We considered all of this when we designed community video dissemination strategies. We thought about how and when to speak to farmers, when to speak to farmers, and what to speak to farmers about so that the likelihood they would adopt new behaviors that improved their livelihoods was as high as possible.
We know that when anyone is strained, their cognitive functioning decreases. A study in 2013 found that farmers’ IQ is 10 points lower immediately before harvest. Immediately before harvest, a farmer’s bandwidth – the capacity of his or her brain to perform basic functions, like weigh a choice – is extremely limited. Right before harvest, farmers in Odisha resort to less desirable foods, eat less frequently, and consume lower quantities; they’re often borrowing food or money. In some cases, farmers collect wild foods to eat and to sell. At this point in the year, as a farmer, your energy and bandwidth are strained. The likelihood that you are thinking rationally is low, and your future self, whether it’s next month or next year, is not of concern.
The bandwidth of a farmer can vary greatly over the course of a year. With SPRING, we ensured that this was taken into account as we thought about how and when we spoke with farmers.
In Odisha, we met community members where they were. We conducted formative research to identify priority practices, we worked with local partners immersed in the context, and we designed our activities based on the lives of those with whom we worked.
Together, with local community members, we promoted practices through community videos. We determined what behaviors were feasible, how to promote given behaviors, and when to promote them. We shared community videos when viewers had the bandwidth to ask questions and make decisions about how to incorporate a practice into their lives. We ensured that the practices promoted in the video corresponded with the season. Local partners guided viewers from preparing for these practices, to action, then to forming habits.
“We all have our own agricultural practices. We did not ever imagine that this was important for nutrition.”
Our success hinged on our partnerships and communication with the farmers. Together, we worked towards making food available in the market and income higher than expenditures 12 out of 12 months of the year. And, to do this, we carefully considered how and when to communicate because, when speaking to your future self, timing is everything.