Agroindustrial project analysi

36 AGROINDUSTRIAL PROJECT ANALYSISondary sources. Primary sources include the product's consumers,producers, distributors, and field experts. Secondary sources-suchas government feasibility reports, industrial publications, loan analyses,census data, and international agency studies-can also beuseful.DATA COLLECTION. Data can be collected formally or informally.Formal data collection techniques consist of an explicit research design,a statistical sampling, and standardized information-collectionprocedures such as telephone, mail, or direct interview surveys. 5Informal collection methods can include talking to a few consumersor distributors or examining company data or competingproducts. Sometimes marketers conduct controlled experiments totest such aspects of a marketing plan as price or promotion. Econometricmodeling-which will be discussed later in the chapterisa research tool used to forecast demand. The financial and managerialresources of agroindustrial SSI's are often too limited to conductthorough market research, and this function may have to becarried out through government assistance to the entire industry orsector.DATA ANALYSIS. Data analysis requires interpretation of the informationto fit specific informational needs-for example, thetesting of product concepts, characteristics, pricing, or promotion.Before making the final analysis, however, marketers and projectanalysts should verify all sources and collection methods becausethe quality of the findings depends on the reliability of the data.The value of market research information should be weighedagainst its cost so that the researcher will collect an adequateamount of quality data at the least cost. Such data should enablebetter decisions, which will in turn generate economic benefits inexcess of the cost of the data collection and analysis. Locating thepoint of least cost and maximum benefit requires judgment. Thedecisionmaker must assess the probable effects on sales or costsof more market research and compare these effects against theincremental data costs. Perfect information is never possible, and5. Direct surveys and interviews appear most feasible in developing nations,given the sometimes limited coverage and other deficiencies of postal andtelephone services.