Rural Agricultural Input Supply Expansion Project
Malawi
Overview
With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), CNFA, through its Malawi affiliate, the Rural Market Development Trust (RUMARK), developed a proven and flexible model for a rural-based, commercially viable agrodealer network that provides inputs and technology to smallholder farmers on a sustainable basis. The model was tailored to address local needs, conditions, and available resources, and combines a trade credit guarantee to help local input retailers expand inventories and services for smallholder clients with business skills training needed to manage their operations profitably and sustainably.
Impact
- $122.3 million of input sales from agrodealers to farmers
- 167 agrodealers in the network that benefited from newly available inputs
- 150 agrodealers that received input supply or working capital credit
- 510 agrodealer staff trained in business management
- 170 agrodealers that received technical training
- $54.4 million of supply company sales to agrodealers on credit supported by guarantees
RUMARK’s initial project, Rural Agricultural Input Supply Expansion (RAISE) (2002-2007), focused on increasing the number of agrodealers selling inputs to smallholder farmers by facilitating agrodealer access to training in business, financial management, and product knowledge, use and safety from input supply companies, input supply companies willing to extend credit, group loans for working capital from financial institutions, and demonstrations of product and technologies supported by input supply companies to stimulate demand.
RAISE’s goal was to increase rural household incomes, agricultural productivity, and output marketing channels of smallholder farmers. CNFA achieved this goal by strengthening and expanding existing agrodealer networks in Malawi, thereby increasing access to inputs, technical knowledge, and linkages to resources for farmers. CNFA also facilitated the creation of a commercial business skills training network to deliver business and financial management training to rural retailers, and enlisted almost all of Malawi’s major input distribution companies in private-sector partnerships to develop production linkages with these retailers.
Approach
- Created an Umbrella Agricultural Inputs Traders Association (AITA) made up of the Seed Trade Association of Malawi (STAM), Croplife Malawi, and the new Fertilizer Association. CNFA helped create and served as the secretariat for both AITA and the Fertilizer Association to help the private industry use these associations as a platform for policy advocacy.
- Developed broad technical training programs to include a range of important training topics for agrodealers such as rural lending (by Malawi Rural Finance Company), the seed industry (by STAM), and pesticide regulations.
- Introduced a new training module on Managing Business Relations that blends elements of technical training and business management training. Trainings were delivered jointly by both CNFA staff and input supply company staff to better strengthen business linkages between the input suppliers and the agrodealers.
