Scheme Offers Rural Farmers Access to Affordable Inputs on Credit

While agrodealers have the potential to drive smallholder farming and transform agriculture, their business is often impeded by the limitations in purchasing power of their clientele because of low purchasing power among rural farmers. The consequence has been dire for yield quality since most rural farmers are unable to access agrochemicals and equipment, which negatively impacts the quality and size of their yields. To overcome this, agrodealers are assisting farmers in accessing credit. 

Patricie Kantarama is an agrodealer who is improving farmers’ experiences in the Rurembo sector, Nyabihu district. To sustain her business, she needed to build client confidence among farmers and farmer promoters, who in turn support improved access to affordable products. Kantarama’s opportunity came when she was mobilized by Hinga Weze to join an input credit scheme, a model that links farmers to agrodealers for business credit. The result has been promising. She has already registered enough profits where, this season alone, she has extended credit to 42 farmers (32 males and 10 females). 

Kantarama is one of the agrodealers being assisted by the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze activity to join the scheme. With funding from USAID and Feed the Future, Hinga Weze is supporting agrodealers to use the input credit scheme model where farmers access products on credit and are able to repay the loan after harvest or sale of produce. The arrangement is part of the project’s wider mandate to sustainably increase smallholder farmers’ income, improve the nutritional status of women and children, and increase the resilience of Rwanda’s agricultural and food systems to a changing climate. 

Now, with this possibility of accessing inputs on credit, farmers are enjoying improved yields and productivity. Through the credit scheme, a total of 1,346 farmers in four districts have accessed inputs with a credit value of $25,717 (26.1 million RWF). In Kayonza alone, 260 farmers accessed credit worth $2,275 (2.13 million RWF). In Rutsiro, 972 KOABUNYA Cooperative farmers accessed inputs worth $2,770 (2.8 million RWF). And in Ngororero, an aggregator called Anias provided input credit worth $20,376 (20.6 million RWF) to 72 farmers, while an aggregator in Nyabihu, Patrice, provided 42 farmers with $598 (604,400 RWF) worth of input credit. 

Kantarama alone was able to supply 204 kg of maize seed H629, 500 kg of DAP, 289.5 kg of Urea, 140 kg of NPK, 15 kg of Dethane, 1 kg of Ridomil, and 5 L equivalent to $598 (604,400 RWF) of Rocket to farmers on credit. 

“I decided to provide inputs on credit to these farmers because Hinga Weze built their capacity through financial literacy training,” said Kantarama. One of her clients, Tharcisse Sebageni, a farmer in the Rurembo sector, said he was able to acquire products on credit ranging from NPK (90 kg), Urea (45 kg), Dethane (10 kg), and Ridomil and Rocket (two bottles worth $109 [110,000 RWF]). 

“I’m happy that I don’t have to sell off my sheep to be able to pay the agrodealer. I can now pay back after harvest,” said Sebageni. With easy access to agroinputs, farmers are set to improve their yields while agrodealers gain vital clients and markets for agrochemicals.