During this first phase of research, we explored drivers of purchasing decisions in local markets.
My role: Conduct background research on consumption, purchase, and selling practices of local context. This research involved the review of 60 documents, as well as 5 remote key informant interviews.
Design research tools to investigate relevant local community practices. This involved creating a market retailer interview guide, a market observation guide, and a focus group discussion guide that included a card sort exercise.
Oversee pre-test of research tools in research context (rural Ethiopia).
Overview
Areas of investigation: Purchasing practices of consumers, specifically the decision-making associated with preparing for market purchases and trade-off decisions faced once purchasing food products in the market + selling practices of market retailer.
Research goal: Uncover what consumers are purchasing + begin to understand drivers of these purchases + discover interaction between consumer and retailer + identify retailer supply and sale practices.
Photo credit: Fieldwork team
Research tools
Literature review + interviews: Our research was rooted in the local context — a specific area of rural Ethiopia. This area has been home to previous agriculture, health, and nutrition projects. Before designing our research tools, we reviewed the literature of related studies, project reports, and news items. We also spoke with individuals who had worked on projects related to our study question. This review revealed gaps in research and helped us to refine our domains of inquiry.
Card sorts + focus group discussions: Participants of our card sorts and focus group discussions were customers of our target markets and selected in partnership with local community contacts. Because our research is ultimately informing the domain of infant and young child feeding (IYCF), each participant was a parent of a 6-23 month old.
Interviews with retailers: We interviewed retailers of specific locally available animal-sourced foods. These retailers were based in our target market. We spoke to at least 2 retailers of each type of animal-sourced food.
Market observations: The markets that we observed were determined by the market’s location, accessibility, and size. In concert with our local partners, we determined that our research markets and participants were representative of our target research area.
Learning
Background research findings: Animal-sourced food consumption is low among children 6-23 months of age, likely due to limited income. Mothers usually prepare food and feed children, while fathers typically make food purchases in the market. Despite research in the region for years, little examines interactions inside of markets.
Field research findings: Retailers are client and product experts. Of the locally available animal-source foods, eggs were the most affordable, desirable, and easy to prepare.
We designed the next round of research to test egg marketing strategies – gathering insights from consumers and retailers.
Surprise: Did you know that about 80% of the population in rural Tigray, Ethiopia fast about 115 of the 365 days of the year?
“…the way of handling client matters. We handle our clients peacefully and politely. Even if some clients become aggressive because of personal problems, our facial expression remains smiling and probably such type of handling may make them wonder to choose our product. For example there were customers who purchased…without observing its quality; this indicates that they trust me.”
Reflections
Research methods: The card sorting method was new for each one of our research assistants. After the pre-testing, all ten research assistants’ eyes were bright – they were learning beliefs about local foods that they had never heard before!
Informing the field: Across the field of nutrition in development, there has been little focus on what is happening within local markets. This research – both its methods and findings – will inform the field of nutrition in developing contexts.
Field research (round 1) team photo