Private-Sector Agripreneur Spurs Banana Revival in Malawi

Private-Sector Agripreneur Spurs Banana Revival in Malawi

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When most people think of farming, they may immediately see visions of tractors, plows, and harvesters. But as one USAID Farmer to Farmer (F2F) engagement in Malawi, facilitated by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), clearly illustrates, successful farming today often has more to do with access to far more sophisticated technology beyond mechanization. For Frankie Washoni, a farmer in Lilongwe, Malawi, F2F partnerships which bring knowledge and free capacity support to communities and businesses, were key in scaling his business to meet the needs of his community.

Pests and diseases are common threats to crops in every country around the world, and Malawi is no different. Since the mid-1990s, smallholder farmers in the southeast African country have seen banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) wreak havoc in their plantations. According to the Malawian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, over that period almost 70 percent—more than 30,000 hectares—of Malawi’s total banana production area was lost due to the disease, which is transmitted unknowingly through infected banana suckers—shoots from the plants’ roots that are used for new plantings.

As plantations continued to dwindle in the 2000s, consumer prices increased steeply, causing traders to rely on banana imports from neighboring Tanzania and Mozambique. While the higher prices inspired some Malawian farmers to attempt to set up new banana farms, finding BBTV-free planting material proved an insurmountable challenge.

Hortinet Foods Limited, a farming business owned by Mr. Frankie Washoni, maintains 6,000 BBTV-free banana plants on 7 of its 17 acres. Since founding Hortinet in 2012, Washoni maintained good management practices to keep BBTV out of his operation, helping him to become one of Malawi’s few sellers of BBTV-free banana plantlets. While he initially used revenues from the plantlet business to supplement the income from his banana sales to grocery stores, he soon realized that the overwhelming demand for his BBTV-free banana suckers represented a significant new business opportunity: “[Accessing] banana seed remains a big problem, and we saw an opportunity to bridge the gap and eventually slow down the banana imports into the country,” Washoni said. “We decided to invest in tissue culture technology to mass-produce good-quality and disease-free planting material.”

After establishing the first private tissue culture laboratory in Malawi with $55,000 in investments, Washoni turned to the CNFA’s Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer program to request a volunteer expert in tissue culture laboratory operations and management. By August 2019, Dr. John Griffis, Professor of Horticultural Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University, was on the scene, helping Hortinet set up the new lab, ensuring that it had all necessary equipment, and designing a layout to facilitate efficient operation. He also trained seven up-and-coming lab technicians—four young men and three young women—in areas such as biosafety and risk mitigation.

His work was not done. In December 2019, Dr. Griffis returned to the new Hortinet facility to help establish standard operating procedures and protocols for lab operations and to train the team in how to initiate the trial cultures that would pave the way for a larger production. The results of the two consultations exceeded expectations. Four months after Dr. Griffis’ second visit, Hortinet had already produced 20,000 banana plantlets out of a recent order for 40,000 banana plantlets from the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute to smallholder farmers who previously lost their plantations—especially in the main banana production areas in Malawi’s southern and central regions.

Based on the success resulting from the two Farmer to Farmer engagements, Hortinet now is investing in additional equipment that will allow it to triple its production capacity—forecast to reach 1 million banana plantlets a year at full capacity. Washoni notes that the limited knowledge he had acquired online prior to the interventions by Dr. Griffis had left him technically “very weak,” and would not have equipped him to reach such high levels of production. “Dr. Griffis equipped us with skills and protocols we could not get from our own research,” Washoni said.

Thanks to Washoni’s entrepreneurial enthusiasm and CNFA’s Farmer to Farmer facilitation, the future looks bright for Malawi’s banana producers. As for Hortinet, the company is now exploring tissue culture propagation for potato and pineapple!

Supporting Women-Led Agribusiness Development in Gilgit-Baltistan

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Immense potential for agricultural productivity lies in mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), where 90 percent of households are agricultural landowners. However, horticulture and livestock-based smallholders experience post-harvest losses because of limited access to agricultural technologies and quality inputs. In addition, innovative agribusinesses that manufacture new tools and products in other provinces lack the ability to make new technologies available to farmers and dealers in GB due to constraints such as logistics, limited knowledge of business expansion, and the lack of marketing and sales skills.

In partnership with key agribusinesses, PATTA is addressing these constraints by providing business opportunities to women and extending support for their use of agricultural technologies. Fareeda Begum, a 47 years-old woman farmer from the village of Oshikhandass, was able to sell 70 bags of cattle feed and promote the products to other women farmers through PATTA-supported awareness-raising sessions. “PATTA is developing our linkages with different agricultural technology companies which is not only benefiting me as an entrepreneur but [is] also advantageous for other women farmers of my village,” explained Fareeda Begum.

Solve Agri Pak limited, a Punjab-based agribusiness company offering products and services in the dairy and livestock sector was unable to enter new geographical territories due to lack of access to local dealers and limited business expansion opportunities. Seeing the investment potential for agricultural technologies in GB, Solve Agri Pak realized the importance of finding a gateway to launch special products and commercialize best agricultural management practices in the GB region. In 2018, Solve Agri Pak partnered with the four-year USAID-funded Pakistan Agricultural Technology Transfer Activity (PATTA) to increase Solve Agri Pak’s capacity to expand, leverage new investments, and match farmers’ needs in GB. Since then, PATTA has provided several investment opportunities to 37 agribusinesses including Solve Agri Pak, and helped them promote their products in demonstrations, field days, expos, and linkage building initiatives with local dealers and other key actors across Pakistan.

In June 2019, PATTA’s support helped Solve Agri Pak establish a new business in GB, opening its very first franchise called ‘Darwaish and Sons’, and achieve agricultural technologies sales of $9,803. Between June and September 2019, Solve Agri Pak introduced livestock products such as semen, feed and minerals, and invested approximately $3,070.

Ghulam Raza, the franchise owner of ‘Darwaish and Sons’, earned a profit of $515 within three months of opening the business franchise, buying cattle feed from Solve Agri Pak, and selling it in local markets. “We are new in the agriculture technology business. PATTA has not only helped us to develop our linkages with Solve Agri Pak but also assisted us in reaching local farmers in GB. We have also collaborated with women farmers and entrepreneurs,” said Ghulam Raza. Fareeda Begum is one of the farmers who established a sub-dealership with Darwaish and Sons through PATTA and Solve Agri Pak, benefitting and empowering her and other women farmers.

USAID PATTA will continue to create lucrative entrepreneurial opportunities for women through the development of linkages with agricultural technology businesses so that agriculture is more vibrant and inclusive in GB. The project centers women as change agents and is creating opportunities for their equal access to resources and facilitating business development linkages, so they are not left behind by the benefits of agricultural business expansion. PATTA’s targeted assistance and customized technical support to agricultural technologies enterprises and women-led businesses, will not only improve their competitiveness but also support technology promotion and farmers’ adoption of innovative management practices.

Agri-Management Group of Georgia LLC

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AMGG property before the project implementation – August, 2019

AMGG property – January, 2020

Hazelnut Husking, Drying and Storage Facility in Village Eniseli, Kvareli Municipality, Kakheti Region.

Agri-Management Group of Georgia (AMGG) LLC, established in December 2018, is located in Eniseli village, Kvareli municipality, Kakheti region. The area is well known for growing hazelnuts due to its fertile soil and amenable climate. Currently, total hazelnut orchard area in these villages exceeds 4,000 hectares and average yield equals more than 4,000 tons, almost the 7% of the country’s total production.

Mr. Dimitri Aleqsidze, Director of AMGG LLC, graduated from Tbilisi State University and Paris University, is an economist and Jurisprudence specialist, and has more than 6 years of experience in hazelnut sector.

The total cost of the project is $340,000 and is jointly financed by the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA), covering 50% of project costs,  AgriGeorgia/Ferrero, with the grant of EUR 50,000, USAID/G-HIP with the grant of USD 50,000 and partner and is good example and showcase of cooperation of Georgian Government,  Donor Program and private sectors.

Existence of this facility is very important to secure the quality of hazelnuts and consequently incomes of smallholder growers. Farmers can approach AMGG LLC and procure fee based drying and/or storage services to reduce post-harvest losses and improve the quality of their harvest.  This HDS facility is capable of drying 1,000 tons and storing up to 500 tons hazelnut per year.

  • Program Investment of $50,000 – Procurement of 95 hp tractor and 2 t/h capacity hazelnut cleaning machine, procurement of electric pallet stacker, and procurement of safety equipment.
  • AgriGeorgia/Ferrero investment of $ 55,500 – Construction of the HDS Facility.
  • Partner Co-Investment of $234,500 – Procurement of construction materials, construction of 750 square meters building, and procurement of drying equipment. 

 

Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestle Maize Quality Improvement Partnership

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Overview:

The $1.3 million Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestlé Maize Quality Improvement Partnership (M-QIP) (2017-2020) enhanced the quality and safety of maize and soybeans available to Nestlé’s food processing factories while supporting USAID’s goals of revitalizing Nigeria’s agriculture sector and improving nutrition along these cereal value chains. The partnership utilized a “whole-of-supply-chain” approach to enhance the quality, safety and transparency of the Nestlé supply chain. 

Approach:

  1. Strengthened the Capacity of Smallholder Farmer Suppliers: To catalyze better conduct and performance in the maize and soybean value chains in Kaduna State,M-QIP’s activities focused on the three main stakeholder groups within the supply chains: smallholder farmers, intermediaries and input retailers.
  2. Strengthened Capacity of Local Organizations: With the support of the Nigeria Youth Service Corps program and local extension agents, M-QIP cataloged and mapped the many associations and cooperatives that played a role in improving the yield and product quality of smallholder farmers in the maize and soybean growing regions and along market routes, specifically near Nestlé’s current sourcing areas and storage networks. Through this process, CNFA kick-started and sustained engagement through the M-QIP program with all stakeholders, including Nestlé corporate employees, farmers’ associations, government extension service providers and community leaders.

Partners:

Establishing Effective Partnerships to Control the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB)

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In Georgia, hazelnuts and other crops are under threat by the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB). Since 2016, USAID and CNFA have worked together to support the BMSB efforts of the Government of Georgia through the Restoring Efficiency to Agriculture Program (REAP), and today continue working together through the USAID Agriculture Program and the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project (G-HIP).

 

View video on partnership here.

Leveraging Public-Private Sector Partnerships to Protect Georgian Hazelnut Crop

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In Georgia, CNFA works with Trécé Inc. – a U.S. company based in Oklahoma that produces pheromone traps and lures – and other public and private sector partners through its USAID Agriculture Program and Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project to help monitor the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) pest which threatens hazelnut and other crops across the country.

 

View video on partnership here.

USAID Agriculture Program Promotes Public-Private Partnerships, Supporting Local Supply Chains

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In collaboration with McDonald’s Georgia, our USAID Agriculture Program is promoting public-private partnerships to empower farmers and improve supply chains in Georgia. The USAID Agriculture Program supports farmers and agribusinesses by assisting the implementation of internationally recognized food safety standards and practices, promoting various agricultural producers and food processors to enhance their operations, and improving the safety and quality of Georgian-produced products contributing to increased demand on local and international markets.

 

View documentary on partnership here.

USAID Yalwa

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Enhancing Markets and Nutrition in Niger

Overview:

The five-year USAID Yalwa activity strengthens the capacities of farmers, producer organizations, agribusinesses and rural households in the Maradi, Tillabéri and Zinder regions of Niger to meet the growing demand for affordable, safe and nutritious food. Yalwa means “fulfillment” or “blossoming” in the Hausa language.

USAID Yalwa supports USAID’s regional Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) program, which works with the Government of Niger to help citizens escape poverty and build resilience to natural, economic, and other shocks. USAID Yalwa includes a ground-breaking component on food market systems and follows five years of progress generated by the USAID-funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) program, also implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).

Program Approach:

USAID Yalwa’s market systems facilitation approach is based on collaboration with catalytic local actors and networks. Yalwa will work primarily through unions to provide services to producer groups (access to agro-inputs, finance, skills development, etc.), while building their capacity to provide services without project support. The approach leverages commercial investments to build long-term linkages between buyers and sellers, ensure delivery of inputs and services, and supply nutritious food. It also builds the skills of farmers, traders, and processors so they can earn a profit from their businesses, seek out nutritious foods, and become self-reliant.

Yalwa targets 102,700 farmers in over 387 villages, and 442 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by fulfilling the following purposes:

  1. Enhance performance of market  systems in the cowpea, small ruminant and poultry value chains.
  2. Increase the use of high-quality inputs and services such as seeds, fertilizers, and livestock and poultry feed, improving food production and storage and supporting improved marketing, production and access to finance and climate information.
  3. Increase local consumption of nutritious, safe and affordable foods by promoting demand and helping market actors to supply these foods to targeted populations.
  4. Promote inclusive markets for women and youth by identifying barriers to market participation and working with communities to encourage youth and women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.

Partners: 

USAID Yidgiri

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Enhancing Markets and Nutrition in Burkina Faso

Overview:

The five-year Feed the Future-funded USAID Yidgiri Activity (2020-2025) is designed to strengthen market systems for the agriculture sector, sustainably improve household incomes and enhance the nutritional status of women and children in Burkina Faso. By February 2025, USAID Yidgiri will improve the performance and resilience of these market systems by establishing profitable linkages between agriculture producers and buyers and facilitating access to local and regional markets, specifically in the cowpea, poultry and small ruminant value chains.

Aptly named Yidgiri, or “grow” in the Mòoré language, USAID Yidgiri is part of the second phase of the USAID Regional Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative, which supports vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso to effectively prepare for and manage recurrent crises and pursue sustainable pathways out of poverty. The Activity is implemented in the Centre-North, East and Sahel regions of Burkina Faso by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) in consortium with the Association Nodde Nooto (A2N) and the Research and Action for Development Group (GRAD).

Program Approach:

USAID Yidgiri strengthens the resilience of food market systems around cowpea, livestock and poultry value chains by building individual and institutional capacities among producers and agricultural market actors in Burkina Faso through three focus objectives:

  1. Enhanced performance of commodity market systems by establishing profitable market linkages between producers and buyers, improving livestock market system structure and governance and enhancing access to affordable financial products and services for market system actors, including farmers, producer organizations and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs).
  2. Increased utilization of quality inputs and services by supporting business clusters, organizing seasonal commodity fairs, facilitating partnerships between producer organizations and industrial and institutional buyers and facilitating access to financial services. USAID Yidgiri also works at the systems level to improve affordability and access to quality inputs, while educating farmers on the most efficient and effective use of available inputs and services for improved productivity in each of the three target value chains.
  3. Increased local consumption of nutritious, safe and affordable foods by supporting producers, processors and other market actors to increase supply and meet rising consumer demand, respond to consumer needs and preferences and improve safety standards. USAID Yidgiri’s social marketing approach is complimented by social behavior change (SBC) interventions that increase consumer demand and raise nutritional awareness at the community and household levels. Special emphasis is placed on building the technical capacity of processors and traders to supply and market healthy products and increasing the incomes of producers to be able to afford them.

Partners: