Market-based solutions for input supply: making inputs accessible for smallholder farmers in Africa

This paper by the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) and the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) explores market-based solutions for improved input supply. The lessons out of this paper can help donors and policy makers increase the impact of their input support programs. To define these lessons, practitioners managing input-related projects from SNV and KIT, came together at a workshop in Johannesburg in December 2014. This briefing paper is a result of that workshop. SNV and KIT have developed three market-based approaches to input supply: the agro-dealer approach, the chain leader approach, and the local traders approach. These approaches are based on experiences from agricultural value chain development, agro-dealer support, and seed sector programs in Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The paper is structured in three sections. The first introduces what market-based input supply is. The second section explains seven principles for the promotion of market-based input supply in Africa, based on SNV and KIT’s practical experiences. In the final section, three approaches to support market-based input supply are outlined.