Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali
Mali
Overview
Partnering with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), CNFA implemented the three-year Agrodealer Strengthening Program for Mali (ASP-M) (2008-2011) to increase rural incomes and reduce poverty by transforming Mali’s underdeveloped input distribution practices into a more efficient, commercially viable input supply system. ASP-M strengthened Malian agrodealers by providing training in business management and productive farming methods and increased farmer access to agrodealers in remote areas, ultimately raising rural incomes and increasing household productivity. In order to transform Mali’s agrodealer network sustainably, our team implemented a methodical four-step approach.
Impact
- 3,003 agrodealers trained in business management, safe product use, or improved practices
- 54,718 rural farmers and agrodealers exposed to new products through 1,295 field days with 62 different input supply companies
- 319 matching grants facilitated to agrodealers, totaling $173,474
- 17,408 metric tons of additional volume of fertilizers sold by agrodealers
Approach
- Built Agrodealer Capacity to Serve Farmers: ASP-M developed and implemented activities, including business management training, product knowledge training, and the safe use of chemicals and fertilizers. The program also increased market demand for improved inputs through demonstration plots, exhibitions, and farmer field days.
- Improved Rural Access to Finance: To complement the stronger business and technical expertise of program trainees, CNFA worked to improve agrodealers’ access to finance, creating guarantee facilities to stimulate access to trade credit and capital, developing agricultural lending training for commercial banks and microfinance institutions, building targeted agricultural lending products, and introducing competitive matching grants to spur private sector investment.
- Connected Farmers to Markets: With better financing in place, the program focused on smallholder farmers’ access to larger markets for the distribution of their products. CNFA worked with agrodealers to develop and deliver basic output marketing training in order to increase farmer awareness of market opportunities and to help link them to existing market channels.
- Advanced Agricultural Policy Advocacy: The last component of ASP-M focused on improving channels for a sustainable public-private policy dialogue. CNFA maintained a leadership role in the policy arena, helping support Malian agricultural policy to promote the interests of private sector growth and rural smallholders. CNFA also supported the growth of the Agrodealers National Union in Mali (UNRIA-Mali), which received an endorsement from former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan after he visited the project in August 2010.
To ensure the successful operation of UNRIA, CNFA provided training on organizational management, member services, networking, and advocacy capacity building. This last component of ASP-M ensured that the program would be self-sustaining and bring increased business for agrodealers and higher incomes for smallholder farmers.
