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Income from wheat on a smallholder farm in India

You run the case. Read the prompt, answer questions from the notes below, and share data only when the candidate asks for it or gets stuck. Score at the end.

Case timer

00:00

Target length:

1. Read the prompt aloud

Read it slowly, then pause. Let the candidate ask questions before they structure.

A farmer in Madhya Pradesh grows wheat on 2 hectares. The yield is 3.5 tonnes per hectare and the price received is INR 25,000 per tonne (an illustrative price). Costs per hectare are: seed INR 4,000, fertilizer INR 7,000, crop protection INR 3,000, irrigation and power INR 5,000, machinery hire INR 6,000 and hired labor INR 5,000. What is the farmer's net income from the crop? What if the yield rises by 20 percent with the same costs?

2. Answers to clarifying questions

This case has no scripted clarifying answers. Answer from the prompt, and say "assume what you think is reasonable" if the prompt does not cover it.

3. A model structure

Compare the candidate's structure with this one. A different split can be just as good if it is clean and fits the problem.

Net income = hectares x (yield x price minus cost per hectare)
- Revenue = hectares x yield x price
- Costs = hectares x sum of input costs per hectare
- Sensitivity: yield

4. The working, step by step

Each step shows how a strong candidate works it out. Share a new fact from it only when the candidate asks or is stuck, and let them do the math: the result in the dark box is what they should reach.

Step 1: Revenue
What a strong candidate does: 2 hectares x 3.5 tonnes x INR 25,000.
Revenue (INR): 2 × 3.5 × 25,000 = 175,000
Step 2: Costs
What a strong candidate does: Input costs add up to 30,000 per hectare.
Total costs (INR): 2 × (4,000 + 7,000 + 3,000 + 5,000 + 6,000 + 5,000) = 60,000
Step 3: Net income
What a strong candidate does: Revenue minus costs.
Net income (INR): 175,000 - 60,000 = 115,000
Step 4: Net income with 20 percent higher yield
What a strong candidate does: Revenue rises by 20 percent; costs stay the same.
Net income with higher yield (INR): 175,000 × 1.2 - 60,000 = 150,000

The recommendation to listen for

At the end, say: "The CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?"

The crop earns about INR 115,000 for a season, before counting the family's own labor or land rent. A 20 percent higher yield adds INR 35,000, a 30 percent rise in income, because costs stay the same. That is why better seeds, soil testing, timely fertilizer and irrigation are high-value levers, as are a second crop in the year and better prices through collective selling.

Risks a strong answer names: Weather can cut yields sharply; Prices at harvest may be below the illustrative price; Higher yields may need more inputs in practice.

Score the candidate

Score each criterion from 1 to 5. A 2 or a 4 sits between the descriptions.

This case has no exhibit. Score Exhibit reading on how the candidate used the data you gave them: did they pick out the number that matters and say what it means?

Structuring

1: No clear structure, or a memorized framework that does not fit the problem.
3: A sensible structure, but with some overlap, a gap, or no clear priority.
5: A structure built for this problem, with no overlap and no gaps, a stated hypothesis, and a clear first step.

Math

1: Frequent errors, no units, or needed heavy help to finish.
3: Right answers but slow or messy working, or one error caught late.
5: Accurate and clearly narrated, with units, a sense check, and what the number means.

Exhibit reading

1: Read the chart aloud without finding the number that matters.
3: Found the key number but gave only part of the so-what.
5: Pulled the right number quickly and said what it means for the case.

Synthesis

1: Summarized what was done, with no clear answer.
3: Gave an answer, but with weak reasons or no next step.
5: Answer first, then two or three reasons with numbers, the main risk, and next steps.

Communication

1: Hard to follow: long silences, no signposting.
3: Clear most of the time, with some rambling.
5: Calm and concise, signposted each step, and checked in with the interviewer.

Total

0 out of 25

Score all five criteria to see the band and the feedback template.