Bundling of inputs and services for sustainable smallholder agriculture: the concepts, theoretical arguments and bundle designs using conjoint analysis

ABSTRACT

Product bundling is receiving increasing attention in sustainable agricultural development as a means to ensure access to and enhance the uptake of, agricultural technologies by smallholders. Yet, the how and why of bundling for smallholders are not well-understood. The current paper, therefore, brings bundling theory from the marketing literature to the smallholder context. We use a conjoint experiment, a proven marketing technique for designing new products, services and bundles, to design agricultural input and service bundles for soybean-producing smallholders in rural Ethiopia. The empirical findings from 252 smallholders suggest that product bundling enhances smallholders’ preferences and hence intentions to adopt technologies but that bundles must be designed carefully following a smallholder-centric approach. Drawing on our findings and the literature, we delineate the different steps that need to be taken to develop bundles for the successful uptake of new technologies by smallholders.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable agriculture
• smallholder-centric
• conjoint analysis
• preference
• adoption
• bundling
• bundle design
• grain legumes
• rhizobium inoculants

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for funding provided through a grant to Wageningen University in support of the project N2Africa: Putting Nitrogen Fixation to Work for Smallholder Farmers in Africa (www.N2Africa.org).

Ethics statement

The ethical clearance for this study has been obtained from the Social Sciences Ethics Committee of Wageningen University & Research under review number 2022-168-Ingenbleek-retrospective.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Notes on contributors

Tamiru Amanu Abetu

Tamiru Amanu Abetu is a postdoctoral researcher at Wageningen University and Research. Tamiru's area of research interest is on smallholder farmers' decision making processes, in particular on the role of user-centric and participatory co-design of product and service bundles on farmers' innovation adoption.

Paul T.M. Ingenbleek

Paul T.M. Ingenbleek is associate professor in marketing. His work focuses on the interface between strategic marketing and sustainable development in agro-food, with a specific interest in sub-Saharan Africa and other emerging market contexts. He cofounded the Sustainable Market Innovation Hub at Wageningen University to co-create knowledge on the re-design of market systems for sustainable development.

K.E. Giller

K.E. Giller is Emeritus Professor of Plant Production Systems at Wageningen University. Ken's research focuses on smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular on soil fertility and the role of nitrogen fixation in tropical legumes. Ken earlier held professorships at Wye College, University of London, and the University of Zimbabwe.

Ivo A. van der Lans

Ivo A. van der Lans is senior lecturer with a broad expertise in consumer behaviour and quantitative research methods. His area of interest is individual choice processes and the pros and cons of different quantitative research methods for studying substantive issues in consumer behaviour and marketing, and social sciences in general.

Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel

Endalkachew Wolde-meskel is a Senior Scientist at ICRAF (World Agroforestry). His main research focus is on soil fertility, C & N transformation and N fixation, and intensification of crop-livestock systems. Endalkachew earlier held a scientist position at ILRI International Livestock Research Institute) and an Associate Professorship at Hawassa University, Ethiopia. He has been a visiting scientist and researcher at various universities in Europe and N. America.