From April 19-24, Mrs. Dinnah Kapiza, a Malawian agrodealer who owns four successful rural input supply shops, visited the U.S. to share her story with representatives from foundations, government agencies, NGOs and the private sector. She focused particularly on the role agrodealers can play in sustainable agricultural growth and food security.

She began her visit by speaking before the Global Philanthropy Forum in Redwood City, Calif., where she addressed attendees as a panelist discussing the topic, “Food: From Subsistence Farming to Commercial Agriculture.” The Forum’s theme was “Defy Barriers, Effect Change: Access to Health, Food and Water” and other speakers included leaders from, among many other organizations, the U.S. Department of State, USAID, the World Bank, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNDP, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Google. CNFA President John Costello also spoke on the panel.

The second leg of her trip was Washington, DC, where she spoke at two events: a breakfast roundtable discussion at CNFA headquarters and an event sponsored by the Society for International Development. The breakfast roundtable, “Addressing Food Security Needs through Agrodealer Strengthening,” included Mrs. Kapiza, senior members of CNFA staff and representatives from major donors and private sector firms. Summing up her role as an agrodealer, she put it succinctly, saying, “My job is simple: to provide farmers with inputs.” She went on to note that since Malawi has just one government extension agent per 2,000 farmers, the agrodealer plays a key role, filling the gaps by providing inputs, agricultural services and access to output markets and even credit. A discussion followed that covered numerous issues in Malawian agriculture, including the role agrodealers can play in their communities and the relative merits of the agricultural subsidy program.

Finally, Mrs. Kapiza spoke at a panel discussion sponsored by the Society for International Development-Washington. The topic was “Rural Farm Input Retailers: Increasing Rural Incomes through Commercial Agribusiness Production,” and the panel featured Mrs. Kapiza, CNFA Vice President for Programs Sylvain Roy and International Finance Corporation’s Principal Banking Specialist Panayotis Varangis and was moderated by Ambassador John Simon, visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development. Mr. Roy outlined the pivotal role agrodealers play in delivering not only inputs and services to smallholders, but also as a point for organization and collective bargaining. He also highlighted the role CNFA has played in building the agrodealer network, particularly in Africa, and the role of CNFA’s guarantee facility in providing credit to agrodealers. Mrs. Kapiza picked up the discussion, telling more of her story, focusing on how important the formation of an agrodealer’s association is in Malawi. “Fighting alone,” she said, “is very difficult.” With CNFA’s support, the nascent association is getting registered and recruiting members. Mrs. Kapiza hopes the association will give the Malawian agrodealer a voice in African agribusiness. She also stressed the importance of including women in agricultural development, particularly in access to credit. The final panelist, Panayotis Varangis, addressed just that topic, pointing out the role of financing in successful value chains and giving several examples where innovative financial products have yielded positive results for farmers. At the Q&A session that followed the presentations, panelist discussed other issues facing the rural poor, including policy and advocacy, infrastructural constraints, the role of associations, and how agricultural development programs can help vulnerable people.

Mrs. Kapiza returned to Malawi happy with her visit to the United States, but excited to get back to her businesses. After all, she said, she likes to keep busy. “Rest is for when you are in the graveyard.”

More about Mrs. Kapiza: In less than 10 years, Dinnah Kapiza has built a chain of four agrodealer shops that form a critical linkage between Malawian smallholder farmers and output markets. A mother of 10 whose husband died in 1999, Mrs. Kapiza enrolled with CNFA in July 2002 to receive training in business management through the Malawi Agrodealer Support Program. Through access to the CNFA credit guarantee, a benefit of completing her training, she was able to access secure trade credit and build a relationship with international seed and input suppliers to supply a full range of quality inputs to local farmers at affordable prices. “I wanted to become an agrodealer after seeing that most peasant farmers were unable to access farm supplies” she says. “I wanted to make a successful business. When CNFA came, I jumped at that chance!” Today her agrodealer business, called Tisaiwale Trading, has $190,000 in sales and serves roughly 3,000 small-scale farmers, selling seeds, farm tools, crop protection products and fertilizer, dispensing crucial technical advice on these products, and supplying access to output markets and even credit. Her stores provide extension services through demonstration plots and field days with the help of CNFA, local affiliate RUMARK and input supply companies. CNFA provided Mrs. Kapiza with business management and technical training, matching grants to purchase equipment, and access to a credit guarantee that gave her access to financing.