CNFA’s Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali (ASPM) is working to increase rural incomes and reduce poverty by transforming Mali’s underdeveloped and fragmented input distribution practices into an efficient, commercially viable input supply system.
This two-year $2.5 million project, funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), creates links between commercial input companies, financial institutions and smallholder farmers, allowing greater access to essential inputs, technologies, agricultural services and output markets and changing the lives of rural farming households.
Just ask Bassidy Samake, a successful seed trader in Dialakoroba in the Koulikoro region of Mali. Bassidy, married with six children, is only one example of how CNFA’s ASPM is improving the livelihoods of families in Mali.
“With the generous support of CNFA, I started business with an awareness that donor generosity would not continue indefinitely, so I am taking this opportunity to change my life,” Bassidy said. “CNFA is building my expertise, my resources and my relationships to achieve my dream. I appreciate CNFA’s support greatly for this positive change.”
Before working with CNFA, Bassidy and other local farmers bought certified seeds at high prices and had to travel to Bamako, 45 km away, to gain access to them. They needed a local seed supplier.
CNFA provided the necessary training for Bassidy to fill that role by developing his abilities in inputs management and selling. Business management and technical trainings helped Bassidy identify potentially profitable market opportunities to sell seeds. He decided to become an agrodealer for Faso Kaba, a seed company and local CNFA partner.
“It was my first time selling seeds, and it is a challenge for me,” Bassidy said. “I had gotten several trainings before, but I had never seen an organization that offered training in business management, input distribution and safe use of products and fertilizers for agrodealers.”
In addition to providing training sessions, CNFA’s guarantee facility provided Bassidy with 700 kg of seeds for various crops: maize, sorghum, millet, rice, beans and peanuts. Bassidy also rehabilitated a small shop in the marketplace.
To date, Bassidy has sold 450 kg of seeds to 23 villages in two communes, and the demand is still high.
“One of my challenges for the next year is to reach more than 50 other villages,” Bassidy said.
To further increase demand, Bassidy set up four demonstrations in four locations in partnership with two companies. More than 200 farmers visited the demo plots. Because of the high germination rate, Bassidy increased his sales.
