Funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), CNFA's two-year $2.5 million Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali (ASPM) will increase rural incomes and reduce poverty by transforming Mali’s underdeveloped and fragmented input distribution practices into an efficient, commercially viable input supply system. Through the creation of links between commercial input companies, financial institutions, and smallholder farmers, rural farming households will gain greater access to essential inputs, technologies, agricultural services and output markets.

ASPM will:

• improve the agricultural productivity and incomes of 226,000 rural households affecting 995,000 people in 16 Cercles of Mali
• link rural smallholders to a commercial network of over 820 rural, certified agrodealers to facilitate access to improved agricultural inputs, better production practices, financing, and linkages to cash markets
• achieve a 30% growth in rural smallholder incomes and a 30% reduction in the average distances farmers travel to access inputs, as well as increase adoption of improved inputs by smallholder farmers

CNFA will create a local affiliate, the Mali Agricultural Marketing Trust (MALMARK), through which ASPM will be implemented in order to foster local ownership of program activities and long-term sustainability. Target regions in Mali — Bamako, Koulikoro, Ségou — were selected because of their significant growth potential as major agricultural areas with a high smallholder farmer population but virtually no agrodealer network.

CNFA/MALMARK will build a regional agrodealer network throughout the targeted regions by delivering an integrated agrodealer strengthening program comprised of four key components:

• Building agro-dealer capacity to serve farmers
• Improving rural access to finance
• Increasing farmers’ awareness of output markets and
• Advancing agricultural policy advocacy by the private sector

CNFA creates local affiliates that, over time, become fully capitalized, develop institutional capacity and independent revenue streams and are fully functional even after projects and donor support end. MALMARK will be established with the same model being used successfully by CNFA in Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania.

Updated 6/2009

Related Links

CNFA Empowers Agrodealers in Mali

Program Overview: Agrodealer Strengthening Programs in Africa