Scaling Success: Farmer-Centric Innovation in Action

In the evolving landscape of sustainable agriculture, innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. Last week in Vietnam, the Experience-Driven Design Workshop, held under the umbrella of the Grow Asia Innovation Challenge, brought together a diverse group of changemakers across the agriculture ecosystem to reimagine how solutions for smallholder farmers are developed—with them at the center.

Backed by Grow Asia and supported by IFAD, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Visa, Thai Wah, and The Sustainable Smallholder, this hands-on, Human-Centred Design (HCD) training challenged participants to rethink their approach to problem-solving—from ideation to execution—through the lens of empathy, trust, and lived farmer realities.

With representation from public institutions, startups, and technical experts spanning disciplines from regenerative agriculture to financial inclusion, the workshop emphasized not only the power of co-creation, but also the value of integrating grassroots insights with innovation strategy. A site visit to a rice cooperative in Can Tho further grounded discussions, offering firsthand understanding of both the barriers and opportunities faced by smallholder farmers today.

The result? A high-impact, insight-rich exchange that reaffirmed a critical truth: real innovation starts with trust, and trust begins with understanding.

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The Experience-Driven Design Workshop brought together a vibrant cohort of 14 participants, representing a blend of backgrounds from both public and private sectors. With 4 representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations and 10 participants from innovative startups, the workshop facilitated a rich exchange of ideas and expertise. Participants included CEOs, directors from fields such as agricultural science and business development, and technical managers focused on gender equality and financial inclusion, creating a multidisciplinary environment ripe for collaboration.

Mr. To Viet Chau, Deputy Director General of International Cooperation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, inaugurated the workshop, underlining the importance of fostering dialogue among diverse stakeholders and highlighting the leadership's commitment to innovation in agriculture.

Insights from Farmers

A key component of the workshop was a visit to a local rice cooperative in Can Tho, founded over a decade ago and officially registered in 2021. This cooperative, now comprising 130 members across 360 hectares of rice farmland, provided invaluable insights into the challenges and aspirations of smallholder farmers.

Participants gleaned several key points from their interactions with farmers:

• Knowledge Accessibility: The cooperative's strong leadership facilitates access to agricultural knowledge

• Business Mindset: Farmers exhibit a willingness to share risks and adopt new technologies, provided they can see clear benefits

• Technology Hesitance: While open to innovation, farmers expressed caution towards new technologies without established trust and visible advantages

• Service Provider Gaps: There are weak linkages with service providers, and farmers often lack engagement with technical experts

• Data Credibility: A significant gap exists in data transparency and credibility, impacting market linkages and price controls

These insights underscored the need for solutions that address the specific pain points of farmers, such as soil health analysis and challenges in validating new technologies.

Developing Innovative Solutions

The workshop focused on developing solutions to enhance the smallholder ecosystem, including:

• Creating standardized quality certifications to improve traceability and transparency

• Developing easy-to-use applications that support risk-sharing mechanisms to prevent income loss

• Building farmer trust to encourage the full adoption of innovative technologies

Key thematic discussions included:

1. Importance of Storyboarding: Visualizing processes to communicate effectively with stakeholders

2. Iterative Development: Emphasizing user feedback for continuous product refinement

3. Progression Over Perfection: Advocating for the release of functional products that can be improved over time

4. Time-Constrained Creativity: Utilizing deadlines to stimulate innovative thinking

5. How-might-we: A structured design approach to clarify goals and maintain project focus

6. Group Dynamics: Fostering open discussions and collaboration to enhance innovation

7. Training Adaptation: Tailoring training methods to suit diverse audiences, particularly farmers

8. Building Trust: Leveraging team dynamics for effective problem-solving

Reflective Insights and Future Collaboration

Throughout the workshop, participants engaged in personal reflections, sharing how the experience reshaped their thinking and approaches to their work. The consensus emphasized the value of collaborative unlearning and learning, and the wealth of diverse experiences shared among peers. Many attendees expressed a desire to maintain connections for future collaboration and support.

As the workshop concluded, participants left with actionable insights and a renewed commitment to iterative processes, collaborative approaches, and adaptive strategies tailored to meet the needs of various stakeholders in agricultural contexts.

This workshop highlighted the critical intersection of experience-driven design and agricultural innovation, paving the way for a more collaborative and informed approach to solving the challenges faced by smallholder farmers.