Smallholder farmers worldwide face difficult challenges, including finding a reliable source of essential inputs like seed and fertilizer. Facilitating access to these inputs helps farmers increase yields and see higher profits from their crops, which allows for reinvestment and greater long-term growth. CNFA creates private enterprise-based models for expanding input supply to smallholder farmers. Alhough tailored to local needs and resources, they share basic guiding principles. First, sustainable input delivery systems are cerated to strengthen rural agrodealers, the last link in the supply chain to farmers. CNFA then promotes training in business and financial management to ensure the long-term commercial viability of participating retailers, mobilize commercially sustainable credit and collaborate with local companies and agricultural extension services to deliver production and product training to farmers.
CNFA has developed input supply development networks in Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine. Although tailored to local needs and resources, they share basic guiding principles:
- Create sustainable input delivery systems.
- Strengthen rural retailers (also called stockists or agrodealers), the last link in the supply chain to farmers.
- Develop active partnerships with and support of interested and qualified input supply companies in designing and executing a development strategy.
- Promote training in business and financial management to ensure the long-term commercial viability of participating retailers.
- Mobilize commercially sustainable credit.
- Collaborate with local companies and agricultural extension services to deliver production and product training to farmers.
Because rural farm inputs are central to agricultural development, strengthening networks of rural farm input retailers often provides an opportunity to improve farmer access to market information, increase opportunities for farmers to market their produce, reduce the cost of inputs and improve communication to political decision makers about the needs of input retailers and of broader rural development.
Related Projects
Afghanistan: Community Development Agriculture
Afghanistan: Afghanisan Farm Service Alliance (AFSA)
Georgia: Agribusiness Development Activity
Kenya: Kenya Agrodealer Strengthening Program (KASP)
Malawi: Malawi Agrodealer Strengthening Program (MASP)
Mali: Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali (ASPM)
Tanzania: Tanzania Agrodealer Strengthening Program (TASP)
Moldova: Agribusiness Development Project (ADP)
