Support for Agrodealers improves business and access to farm input

Agrodealers are an essential part of the agricultural value chain system, but their business can be lucrative or daunting depending on which side of the coin you flip. Pacifique Uwayisaba, and mother of two, has experienced the downside of this. She has been an agrodealer in Ngororero District for the last 9 years since 2009, and her business first registered growth, but later slowed down, making losses due to low profits and delays in the delivery of goods.

“I had to close 20 out of my 25 outlets to cut on losses and stay afloat. I used to stock 2,500 tons per year, now this has shrunk to 700 tons,” she explained. Her woes resulted from operating in a disorganized business environment with no clear guidelines to follow.

The introduction of (APTC), Agro Processing Trust Corporation, as a one distribution agency also meant that the 100Rwf per kilogram that agrodealers gained had to reduce to 30 Rwf. The arrangement also had other side-effects. Agrodealers in a particular locality were required to wait for others to place their orders, making some run out of stock and fail to deliver on time what smallholder farmer what to buy in time for a particular season.

Pacifique Uwayisaba makes inventory of fertilizers before distribution

“My clients would find when I have run out of stock while waiting for other agrodealers to make their order to have a single delivery. This was hurting my business and I lost many clients to my rivals,” Uwayisaba observed.

Not out of options, Uwayisaba joined agrodealers being organized by Hinga Weze in ten districts of Gatsibo, Bugesera, Rutsiro, Nyabihu, Karongi, Nyamasheke, Nyamagabe, Kayonza, Ngoma, and Ngororero. With funding from USAID and Feed the Future, Hinga Weze is mobilizing Agro-Dealers to provide affordable and easily accessible inputs as one of the mechanisms to sustainably increase smallholder farmers’ income and increase the resilience of Rwanda’s agricultural and food to a changing climate.

The first step for Hinga Weze was to arrange for agrodealers to get certified. Uwayisaba has been sensitized on the 2012 Organic Law governing agrochemicals as well as the Ministerial Order of 2016 regulating agrochemicals and is now sensitizing others. So far Hinga Weze has assisted 212 agrodealers to comply with the agrochemical law out of 240 Agro-Dealers that operating in the 10 districts. Uwayisaba is among the 7 agrodealers already certificated in April 2018 by the regulating body RALIS (Rwanda Agriculture Livestock Inspection and Certification Services).

To improve on profit margin, Hinga Weze carried out an assessment on the fertilizer subsidies and pricing impact that established losses agrodealers incur in business. Lobbying on their behalf, profits on agro inputs have been revised, increasing the profit margin by 10Rwf per kg from 30Rwf francs to 40Rwf.  This includes 2Rwf for the farmer promoter.

“1 felt empowered when I was given the certificate, and this new profit margin means I can increase my annual stock up again to 1,000 tons,” observed Uwayisaba.

Hinga Weze is mobilizing agrodealers to form cooperatives, building on 30 already registered countrywide. As head of agrodealers in Ngororero, Uwayisaba is borrowing a leaf from Nyamagabe Agro-Dealers’ cooperative that now has distribution rights around the district. Her group is now requesting to have the same distribution rights, thereby increasing the profit margin by 3Rwf per kg allocated as distribution fee.  The sky is the limit for this enterprising woman.

Didacienne Mukandaruhutse, a farmer, widow and mother of five, lives in a region of eastern Rwanda that faces constant drought. As a result, putting enough healthy, balanced and diversified food on the table to ensure her children had the required nutrients for healthy growth was difficult, as was supporting her family to cultivate their small plot of land.

To help improve her family’s nutrition intake, Mukandaruhutse joined together with other farmers in Bugesera District, Rukumberi Sector to attend trainings on good agriculture practices organized by the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze activity, which aims to sustainably improve agricultural productivity, increase smallholder farmers’ income and improve the nutritional status of Rwandan women and children.

The practical trainings focused on helping farmers acquire skills to implement nutrition-sensitive agriculture initiatives that build resilience to the harsh effects of climate change.

“Acquiring knowledge by practice about maternal infant and young child nutrition was a life-changing and eye-opening experience for me, my community and even my children. We now know that it is possible to ensure proper nutrition for a smallholder farmer with limited production’’ Mukandaruhutse said with a smile.

In the past, when Mukandaruhutse needed nutritious vegetables, she would buy them from the market not knowing they could easily be produced in her own garden. “Establishing a home garden was simple because the community trainers who supported us offered practical skills so that we could learn by doing,” she explained.

Mothers in Nyabihu district feed their babies after cooking sessions with nutritious food prepared by community health workers

Hinga Weze operates its nutrition-sensitive agriculture activities in 10 districts, training farmers in essential nutrition concepts, maternal feeding practices, optimal complementary feeding practices, cooking practices and the establishment of kitchen or home gardens to diversify diet at the household level. Trainings also introduced basic budgeting principles to increase household savings for the purchase and consumption of nutrition foods.

Hinga Weze aims to reach a 40% increase in the percentage of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet (MAD), and a 40% increase in the prevalence of women of reproductive age (15-49) consuming targeted nutrient-rich value chain crops. In the first three months of their nutrition activities, Hinga Weze trained 17,912 households on nutrition-sensitive agriculture through Farmer Field Schoosl and Community Farmer promoters. In addition, 1,484 home gardens were established and Hinga Weze distributed fruit vegetable seeds (watermelon, carrots, beetroots, red and yellow onions, cabbages, amaranths, spinach) to 200 farmers, including Mukandaruhutse, as part of their support to households.

“I look forward to saving the money which I used to spend on vegetables for my family, as well as meeting our family’s dietary requirements from my home garden, which I planted after acquiring knowledge on proper nutrition,” she shared.

Rwanda has registered commendable expansion in the financial sector in the recent past, enabling players in the sector to grow as well. Despite this positive trend, most women continue to miss out, are excluded or underserved. Their worst ordeal is the existence of non-financial barriers like operating in rural settings, low financial literacy and bias towards women as not being bankable enough But there is now hope for women venturing in.

Phoebe Nyirafeza proudly stands at the entrance of her business shop in Karongi

Like most women, Phoebe Nyirafeza, a resident of Karongi District, has faced the lows and highs of succeeding ins usually reserved for men. Faced with the pressure of fending for the family after her husband retired in 2011, Phoebe started a small factory called DAZI that processed maize flour locally known as Kawunga. Maize is abundantly produced in Karongi and this seemed an opportunity to add value to a commodity that was readily available and had market locally She produces a mixture of porridge products, of mixed cereals and cracked corn to feed domestic animals.

However, all was not smooth since her business depended on the quality of yield and seasonal hazards, and this made high quality maize scarce. Being credit-shy worsened her situation, making it hard to raise enough capital to maintain keep her business afloat Suddenly her prominence as a shrewd business woman around Rubengera Sector where she resides started to fade as business went decreased.

“This business has been challenging because I needed money to pay suppliers and to buy the best maize grades, yet prices have shot up,” Nyirafeza says with a frown on her face. The hard fact of seeing her business worth 28 million in capita lgo down was a rude awakening, Opportunity came when Hinga Weze assessed her business, offered training on record keeping, and linked her to INKUNGA Micro- Finance that provided credit worth 106,000,000 million RWF in September2018. “From the first installment of 20 million RWF, I managed to restock raw materials and repair machines. Production has already improved.”

As a USAID/Feed the Future-funded project, HW facilitates farmers to access finance, linking them to financial service providers. This is part of its wider goal of sustainably increasing smallholder farmers’ income, improving the nutritional status of women and children, and increasing the resilience of Rwanda’s agricultural and food systems to a changing climate. Hinga Weze intends to transform 560,000 smallholder farmers in ten districts.

Phoebe Nyirafeza proudly displays her improved stock in the rented warehouse

By providing technical assistance to lenders to develop farmer-friendly loan products and build capacity for Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs), Hinga Weze has enabled agribusinesses to thrive. In Karongi alone, 155 women have been assisted to receive loans worth 127,417,000 RWF. Like Nyirafeza, they are encouraging other women in agribusiness to improve on business record keeping, apply for credit and make their businesses thrive.

Date:  October 2018

Place: Tsholotsho (Mayeza Village, Ward 11)

In February 2017, tropical cyclone Dineo destroyed community assets throughout Western Zimbabwe, including communities in certain wards of Tsholotsho District. The heavy winds and precipitation resulted in heavy flooding, especially around river banks, that damaged buildings and fields and created streams and gullies. Some community members’ households were so thoroughly damaged that they had to be temporarily relocated to Sipepa Rural Hospital and Sipepa Primarily and Secondary Schools. Community members also reported losing their property, livestock, and personal documents (national identification card and health cards). The Amalima program works with Village Saving and Lending (VS&L) groups, like the women of Thembisa VS&L Group, to improve access to savings, especially for women, to build community resilience to shocks. Through assistance from the USAID-funded Amalima program, members of Thembisa VS&L group have been able to raise funds to construct flood proof housing to better protect themselves against future flooding.

The Thembisa VS&L group is a 10 member, all female group which has used VS&L group funds to invest in floodproof housing. The group originally formed in 2009 as a savings and lending group to address a challenge faced by many communities’ members – poor access to funds for important household expenses. The group started out by having each member contribute $10 USD monthly. Members could then borrow from the group fund when an expense came up which exceeded the amount they had available, like school fees, medical costs, or funeral expenses. Then in 2015, the group received training from Amalima on the VS&L model and learned to not just contribute monthly to a group fund, but also to provide loans with interest to further increase their group fund.

In 2016, the group joined a disaster risk reduction training. By being based in a lower lying area and near the banks of the Manzamnyama River, their ward is located in a flood prone area. While the most recent flood was in 2017, there have also been reports of heavy floods in 1978, 2001, and 2013. Amalima’s disaster risk reduction training is focused on hazard identification, mapping, ranking and coming up with mitigation measures, and the plan to implement the various activities. After completing the training, community members create plans to prioritize what work needs to be done by the community to reduce the risk of disasters. These activities include constructing fire guards; removing harmful invasive plants like Lantana Camara and Opuntia; and rehabilitating dams by de-silting, clearing the dam wall of vegetation, and protecting the catchment area.

After receiving the DRR training, Thembisa VS&L group saw the challenges faced by community members when the 2017 floods hit. While no members of the VS&L had their home destroyed, their property was still hurt and several of their neighbors’ homes were destroyed. In response, the group decided to use their group savings towards supplying each member with a reinforced home to protect against future floods. Using funds raised through their group income generating project and VS&L fundraisers, each member is provided a pre-selected set of materials and labor valued at $1,105, as listed below:

• Bricks (valued at $200)
• Roof trusses (valued at $260)
• Metal roofing or thatched roofing (valued at $120)
• Cement (valued at $225)
• Labor provided by a builder (valued at $300)

To date, six members have received the full package of materials and labor. Four members are still outstanding, however the group aims to raise the rest of the funds needed to supply the outstanding members by the end of January. Without the funds generated through their Amalima-supported VS&L activities, the members say they would not have had the funds to build these disaster resistant homes.

The accomplishment of the Thembisa VS&L group has inspired other VS&Ls in the area to also invest in floodproof housing. As other community members are seeing the outcomes of Thembisa VS&L’s initiative and hard work, they are also saving to build their own flood proof housing. For example, Zamimpilo VS&L has completed construction of two floodproof houses and is in the process of constructing two more floodproof houses. The other 7 groups in the village are in the process of saving up funds for construction of their flood proof structures.

VS&L Group Builds Resilience for their Families and Communities

Thembisa VS&L group with floodproof housing

Date: October 2017

Place: Mangwe District (Kwite Village, Ward 1)

Rebecca Nondo is a 33- year-old mother of three living in the Mangwe district of Zimbabwe, where access to year-round access to food is limited. In the Matabeleland South province, where Mangwe is located, 44 percent of the population experience food insecurity during the peak hunger period of February to March. In addition, 2.8 percent of children under five in Mangwe experience acute malnutrition. The USAID-funded Amalima Program aims to improve the food security of households in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe by providing a monthly ration of  corn-soy blend and fortified vegetable oil to beneficiaries like Rebecca. Pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children-under-two are eligible to receive the supplementary ration as part of the program’s efforts to reduce stunting and malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s development.

Amalima also promotes improved maternal and child health, and nutrition through Care Groups – community-level meetings led by a trained volunteer and attended regularly by eight to ten caregivers to discuss issues including infant and young child feeding practices, the importance of antenatal care visits, exclusive breastfeeding infants during the first six months of life, supplementary feeding for children 6-24 months, and types of locally-available, nutrient-rich foods that are part of a healthy diet.

Rebecca decided to join her local Care Group after being approached by a Care Group Volunteer at an Amalima distribution. She was pregnant with her third child, and had never received formal instructions about how to raise a healthy child. She was especially interested in learning about proper feeding practices for her young children of varying ages. This was a particular point of stress for Rebecca; she didn’t feel confident about what type of food was best to provide, or the right portion size of a meal. Sometimes she would wait until her child was crying to know that they were hungry.

From Left to Right: Cousin Dineo Nngowa, Care Group Member Rebecca Nondo, Grandfather Luke Ndlovu, and group leader Gloria Dube

Through participation in Care Group activities, Rebecca learned about meal preparation and feeding schedules for her children. She frequently uses the Amalima recipe book, which was created to help caregivers prepare diverse and nutritious meals for her family. The recipes feature locally available vegetables, which she sources mostly from her home garden. Recipes also specify preparation times, quantities of individual ingredients needed, and how much each recipe will produce.

Rebecca’s participation in the Care Group has impacted the whole family. Rebecca’s father-in-law, Luke Ndolvu, has become an advocate for her participation in the Care Group because he clearly recognizes the improvement in her ability to care for and respond to the needs of her children. While explaining the impact of the Care Group, he explains, “If a child is not well, [she] now knows how to respond.” Gloria Dube, Rebecca’s Care Group leader, makes regular home visits to the household where she works with the other family members as well to encourage the adoption of new, improved health practices that as easily implemented at home. Rebecca’s father-in-law now also feels capable of caring for the children when she is away, and her cousin has applied some of the practices to her own family to raise healthier children.

According to Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee’s 2018 Rural Livelihoods Assessment, the number of food insecure households in Matabeleland North and South are expected to double in the 2018/2019 season as compared to projections from the 2017 Rural Livelihood Assessment for the 2017/2018 season.[1] This increase in projected food insecurity can be contributed to the changing environmental, political and economic climate in the country which impacts the availability of food, access to food, the safe and healthy utilization of food and stability of food availability, access and utilization. The USAID-funded Amalima program is seeking to address and help stabilize this changing level of food security by providing monthly food rations to mothers and care givers in Matabeleland North and South. While distributing food rations addresses immediate nutritional needs, they are not a sustainable strategy towards the program’s objective of reducing stunting for children under five by improving nutrition, expanding and diversifying agricultural production, increasing household income and reducing risk of disasters by improving resilience. Amalima is targeting ration recipients and encouraging them to participate in all Amalima activities to adopt behaviors that can continue after

Living in Southwestern Zimbabwe, Blessed Mhlanaga is responsible for taking care of her household and  three children, ranging in ages from 11 months to eight years. Each day, Ms. Mhlanga must clean her home, care for her children, purchase or produce food for her household, cook for her family, and gather the water and firewood necessary for household chores. While Ms. Mhlanga works hard to balance her responsibilities, she has experienced challenges in attending to her home while also being attentive to her children. In early 2014, Ms. Malanga attended a ward meeting where she first learned about Amalima, including the fact that pregnant and lactating women and children 2-23 months were eligible to receive a monthly food ration. After delivering her second children, Ms. Mhlanaga signed up to receive rations as a lactating mother.

Amalima is currently working at 87 food distribution points to provide a monthly ration of 5.5 kgs of Corn Soya Blend Plus (CSB+) and 1.38 kgs of fortified vegetable oil per month for pregnant and lactating women; and 3 kgs of CSB+ and 0.92 kgs of oil per month for children 6-23 months. These food baskets supplement the diet of either the mother or child under two years and provide necessary nutrients that are not easily accessible to vulnerable families. During food distributions, Amalima encourage ration recipients to participate in its other activities by inviting recipients to join and providing a taster of lessons promoted in activities by having existing groups provide pre-distribution “edutainment” in the form of dance, songs or drama that center around a key lesson or promoted behavior.

Ms. Mhlanga was invited to join a Community Health Club by a Community-based Volunteer, who trains club members following a Participatory Health and Hygiene Curriculum, and then joined a Care Group to learn about good childcare practices. In her involvement with the Community Health Club, Ms. Mhlanga attended trainings sessions with other recipients on health and sanitation and constructed hygiene-enabling structures in her home, such as a latrine and multiple hand washing stations. To continue supporting health in the household, the Community-based Volunteers Amalima staff encourages members join other Amalima groups, including Care Groups, and farmer groups during the training sessions to continue improving the health and hygiene of their families. While receiving lessons as a Community Health Club member, Ms. Mhlanga joined a Care Group to learn how she could better care for her children, especially her second child who was five months old at the time.  In explaining why she wanted to join another group she said, “being a part of a group means you are learning from each other and are sharing the work instead of doing it alone.”

In her role as a Care Group member, Ms. Mhlanga learned about important infant and young child feeding practices and shared experiences with other care givers. The Care Groups are supported by a Lead Mother who provides monthly lessons following four Care Group modules and conducts home visits with each member to provide one-one-one support and reinforce the lessons. During these lessons, Ms. Mhlanga was taught to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months, not feeding the infant any water or porridge, and breastfeed until the child was satisfied. Ms. Mhlanga learned to take her time when feeding her children, instead rushing to continue with household chores. Through the home visits, the Lead Mother was able to provide suggestions on how to better adopt the promoted behaviors. The home visits also play an important role in reaching other family members, who can influence whether the mother adopts behaviors, by talking to them directly and explaining what was discussed in the group lessons.

While attending Care Group trainings with her third child, Ms. Mhlanga also joined a Conservation Agriculture group after receiving the healthy harvest training. Within the Care Group curriculum, Amalima includes training on the importance of creating a nutritious and diverse plate and training on producing food for home consumption. During this training, Lead Mothers stress the value of participating in productive agricultural activities for household consumption and household income to purchase food necessary to prepare nutritious meals. Ms. Mhlanga just joined the conservation agriculture farmer group in the past year, but has already received training on conservation agriculture and begun preparing her fields alongside members in her farming group.

Since joining a CHC, Care Group and Conservation Agriculture group, Ms. Mhlanga has experienced a mental shift from trying balance her household chores and caring for her children to prioritizing her children, especially the infant who needs more attention. From her involvement in the Care Groups, she has since noticed a big difference between her oldest child, who was born four years before she joined Amalima, and her second two children, who were raised while participating in Amalima trainings. The eldest is more slender and would cry nonstop as an infant, while her older two children are more plump and cry less because they are feed more often. From her involvement with the Community Health Club, her children are enthusiastic to follow in her example of improve hygiene, using the tippy tap constructed during her Community Health Club lessons and helping to keep the homestead clean and orderly. From her involvement in the Conservation Agriculture farmer group, Ms. Mhlanga looks forward to her harvest of sorghum, millet, groundnuts and roundnuts, which she will use primarily to her feed her family and will sell the rest.  Ms. Mhlanga plans to continue participating in Amalima groups, even after the program has closed out, since she believes it is important to continue improving her household. Looking back on her involvement with Amalima she explains, “It is not receiving the porridge and oil, but the lessons taught in my Care Group meetings, CHC training and CA trainings which has been the most valuable.”

Care group member, Blessed Mhlanga, with her youngest child

[1] Figures from the ZimVAC 2017 Rural Livelihood Assessment projected XX households in Matabeleland North and South to be food insecure in the 2017/2018 agriculture season, while figures in the ZimVAC 2018 Rural Livelihood Assessment projected 415,340 households in Matabeleland North and South to be food insecure in the 2018/2019 agricultural season. Full reports can be found here: https://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-vulnerability-assessment-committee-zimvac-2017-rural-livelihoods-assessment and https://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-vulnerability-assessment-committee-results-2018.

The Health Center Committee for Madlambuzi clinic

Zimbabwe boasts a well-connected system of rural health clinics run by the Ministry of Health and Child Care that provide services such as baby deliveries and out-patient treatments. Amalima encourages at least three prenatal visits for pregnant and lactating women; however, some of the clinics lack the necessary facilities to promote good hygiene practices for the patients. Amalima addresses the need for improved sanitation and hygiene facilities by constructing toilets, flush systems, and handwashing stations at clinics across Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South. In the Bulilma district (Ward 11), Amalima worked closely with the community, the Rural District Council, clinic staff, and the Health Center Committee to bring running water and improved sanitation facilities to the Madlambuzi clinic.

This clinic provides medical services, including out-patient treatments and baby delivery procedures, to over 5,000 people per year, an average of 20 patients per day. The clinic is also home to a medical lab which performs malaria and tuberculosis testing for patients and the three surrounding clinics. For a clinic of this size, the government recommends at least 100 liters of water available each day for the day-to-day functions of the clinic. However, in 2012 the clinic’s water system broke down. The clinic was forced to rely on water from an onsite borehole that could only pump 200 liters (about 10 buckets) of water at a time before running dry, making it necessary to wait for two hours before drawing more water. With the clinic’s day-to-day operations constrained, clinic patients had no choice but to fetch their own water from water sources that were unsafe for medical purposes. As described by clinic client Mrs. Dube, “My relatives had to walk for 30 minutes [to a nearby dam] to get a 20-liter bucket of water for my baby’s delivery.”

Moreover, the clinic only had two toilets, which were used by both clinic staff and the general public. With so many people using only two toilets and no water for handwashing, it was difficult for clinic staff to maintain good sanitation practices. When asked about the impact on hygiene and sanitation, clinic nurse Ms. Ndlovu recalls how these conditions, “compromised health standards at the clinic and negatively impacted health outcomes in our community.”

In response to the need for better facilities at the clinic, the Amalima team collaborated with local stakeholders to find a solution. Through Amalima’s Food for Assets activity, community members provided labor for constructing six new latrines and two handwashing stations at the clinic. Workers were compensated with 60 kilograms of sorghum and 4 kilograms of lentils for every 15 days of work. Since the borehole onsite could not provide sufficient water, the clinic made an agreement to source water from a well already in use at a nearby school.  Amalima installed nine solar panels for the borehole pump and installed a10,000-liter tank for water storage. Villages in the surrounding area also served by the clinic each donated a roll of fencing to secure the new facilities.

Four of the six toilets constructed at Madlambuzi clinic, including two disability-friendly latrines

Since March 2017, the clinic has had fully functional toilets, running water, and handwashing stations, and patients are no longer required to provide their own water for procedures. lients are no longer responsible There are six new toilets, including two toilets for clinic staff, and four for the clinic clients. In addition, two of the public latrines feature a wider doorway, a handrail, a toilet seat, and space for a wheelchair to turn around for clients with disabilities.  Stepping stones are placed to lead the user from the latrine to the handwashing station to help remind people to wash their hands.  According to the clinic’s Environmental Health Technician, Mr. Ndebele, the latrines and handwashing stations with running water “have improved our ability to prevent the spread of infection onsite at the clinic”

To support the Health Center Committee in its role to conduct ongoing maintence of the new facilities, Amalima provided training on community based management as well as operations and maintenance of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure.  Cmeet regularly to verify that the facilities are functioning properly, monitor water user practices, and raise any needed funds to make repairs to the facilities.

In addition to the facilities at Madlambuzi clinic, Amalima has rehabilitated WASH facilities at 27 clinics across Matabeleland North and South provinces with a total of 154 toilets, 17 flush systems, and 52 handwashing stations since 2014.

Overview:

The USAID-funded John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program (2018-2023) is implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) in Southern Africa (Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and the Eastern European country of Moldova. CNFA’s current F2F program aims to connect 394 mid-to senior-level U.S. volunteer experts with farmer groups, agribusinesses, trade associations, agricultural finance providers and other agriculture sector institutions to facilitate sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production and marketing.

The F2F Program was initially authorized in the 1985 Farm Bill with the primary goal of generating sustainable, broad-based economic growth in the agricultural sector through voluntary technical assistance. A secondary goal is to increase the U.S. public’s understanding of international development issues and programs as well as international understanding of U.S.-sponsored development programs. For more information on the activities of the program worldwide, please visit https://farmer-to-farmer.org.

Volunteers:

CNFA recruits highly-trained, exceptionally qualified volunteers — with years of experience in their respective fields — who offer their time and energy to provide technical assistance to farmers and entrepreneurs. Volunteers should be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. See our Volunteer Page for more information on how to become a volunteer.

Program Approach:

CNFA’s approach builds on USAID’s continuous learning from the F2F program since its 1985 inception and CNFA’s decades of experience in F2F implementation. In each country, focal value chains are analyzed to identify critical leverage points for improvements in incomes and food security through volunteer technical assignments.

1. Increase Agricultural Sector Market-Driven Productivity and Profitability: The Program promotes the adoption of innovative agricultural techniques and technologies and supports improved marketing and business skills.
2. Improve Conservation and Sustainable Use of Environmental and Natural Resources: The Program leverages conservation agriculture and other practices to produce higher and more stable yields while reducing environmental degradation.
3. Expand Agricultural Sector Access to Financial Services: The Program’s efforts strengthen the financial management and business-planning skills of farmer organizations and agribusinesses.
4. Private Sector Engagement: The Program also partners with government and private sector stakeholders and supports organizational development by building local markets and networks.

Overview:

CNFA implemented the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in Southern Africa starting in 2008. From 2008 to 2018, the $7.9 million CNFA-implemented F2F Program operated in the countries of Angola, Malawi and Mozambique and aimed to generate rapid, sustained economic growth in the agricultural sector through short-term technical assistance provided by expert U.S. volunteers, including farmers, bankers, professors, civil servants and active and retired business people. Lasting two-to-four weeks, volunteer assignments focused on a range of topics, from training farmers’ associations in improved production techniques to teaching cooperatives better financial management and marketing.

CNFA volunteers were guided and supported by highly trained home and local teams. Through the storytelling of returned volunteers, F2F increased the broader American public’s understanding of international development issues and the critical importance of U.S. development programs.

Approach:

CNFA worked with agribusinesses, extension agencies, cooperatives and farmers to provide expertise on topics including crop production, post-harvest handling and marketing of seeds, cooperative and association development, business plan development, communications and marketing support and financial management.

1. Increased Agricultural Sector Productivity and Profitability: CNFA’s approach focused on increasing smallholder productivity and profitability by targeting high-potential value chains in each target country.
2. Improved Conservation and Sustainable Use of Environmental and Natural Resources: CNFA balanced increased agricultural productivity with improved conservation and sustainable resource use. Examples of volunteer roles include water management, integrated pest management (IPM), and integrated soil fertility management.
3. Expanded Agricultural Sector Access to Financial Services: CNFA linked smallholder farmer organizations and small and medium enterprises with credit via appropriate channels, including microfinance institutions, banks, supplier credit, leasing, equity investment and blended capital from investors.
4. Strengthened Agricultural Sector Institutions: CNFA strengthened farmer organizations, including cooperatives and associations, local NGOs, industry associations that support improved input supply, and agricultural universities.