CNFA works in countries all over the world to improve farmer incomes, promote enterprise development and enhance food security. One of our most effective tools is our Agrodealer Model.

In Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Mali, Ghana and Zimbabwe, CNFA builds networks of village-level agrodealerships, one-stop-shops that serve as a key link in the value chain by offering smallholder farmers with access to agricultural inputs, services, financing and output marketing. With access to these improved products and services, smallholder farmers are able to increase their farm productivity and household food security. Agrodealer development and strengthening programs have four primary components:

• Training and capacity building
• Facilitating access to financial services
• Output marketing, processing and value adding services
• Policy advocacy

Building Agrodealer Capacity to Serve Farmers

CNFA begins by strengthening the business and technical skills of agrodealers to better serve smallholder farmers. CNFA’s rigorous training program, which includes both business and technical training modules, gives agrodealers the tools they need to build and maintain successful businesses and impart valuable technical knowledge to their farmer customers. Once agrodealers complete the training program, they are formally certified, which gives them access to a variety of financial tools and can even qualify them to participate in nationwide voucher systems where applicable.

Improving Access to Financial Services

Access to finance is another crucial element in agribusiness growth. In CNFA’s agrodealer development programs, certified agrodealers gain access to credit guarantees that mitigate risk for banks and other financial institutions and matching grants to promote investment in new business start-ups, value addition enterprises and output marketing ventures. As appropriate, CNFA also works directly with banks and microfinance institutions to facilitate access to credit for smallholders.

Improving Processing and Adding Value to Farm Production

CNFA also equips agrodealers to participate in the agriculture value chain as an output marketing hub. Because so many rural smallholder farmers lack the appropriate channels through which to sell their outputs, agrodealers provide a critical link in the value chain by offering farmers market prices for their outputs. Agrodealers can offer a wide variety of services, from storage to transport to milling and packaging.

Advancing Agricultural Policy Advocacy

CNFA programs seek to promote a favorable agricultural policy environment that benefits smallholder farmers and agrodealers. Through local and national agrodealer associations, CNFA-certified agrodealers are becoming leaders in national agricultural policy.

In order to foster the sustainability of its agrodealer programs, CNFA also strives to develop strong local institutions. In each country, CNFA has created local affiliates that work alongside the programs and then become independent enitities that continue to serve their contry’s agrodealers long after the programs close. The ultimate result of all of these activities is a strong network of independent agrodealers capable of helping their farmer customers increase production, add value and improve their incomes, which provides a strong basis for sustainable agricultural growth and long-term food security.

CNFA agrodealer development by the numbers:

• 16 million: the number of people benefiting from CNFA's agrodealer strengthening programs in Africa
• $60.3 million: value of outputs being sold by agrodealers
• $150 million: value of improved inputs sold through CNFA agrodealers
• 280,000: number of smallholder farmers attending market creation activities such as exhibitions, demonstrations and field days