smallholder farmers

This case study by USAID analyzes the extent to which dynamics between input suppliers and smallholders have changed in Zambia. This includes the extent to which input suppliers’ focus on smallholders as a viable market has persisted, reversed, or evolved, and what this means for smallholders; what external economic and policy factors supported or hindered smallholder input market growth; and what lessons policymakers and practitioners can draw from the evolution of the Zambian input supply sector over the past ten years. »

This blog on Takepart describes an interesting technological innovation serving smallholder farmers in Nigeria. For resource-poor farmers, labor shortages often leads to under-cultivation, poor harvests and lost income. Targeted farm mechanization has proven to be an effective solution to these shortages. Despite this, small farmers throughout Africa lack access to tractors to improve farm productivity. The company “Hello Tractor” has designed an innovative, low-cost “Smart Tractor” specifically for small farmers unique needs. »

After three successful expert meetings last year, firstly in Rwanda on January 24, then in Burundi on February 12 and later in Ethiopia on April 28, the Dutch Platform for Inclusive Finance (NpM), AgriProFocus and the Food and Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP) have organized another series of expert meetings on their research, “Finance for Smallholders”. »

These guidelines by FAO have been developed to support the growth of inclusive business models (IBMs) that integrate smallholders into agricultural value chains. Small actors in agricultural value chains are tied to markets through a series of forward and backward business linkages, which incorporate various types of business models. The complexity of these business models varies according to the commodity, number of actors involved, local context and market structure. »

In April, Agriterra organized the Dutch Seeds Debate in The Hague, the Netherlands. The debate is an element of ‘Small Farmers, Big Deal’, a campaign designed by Agriterra to connect companies to farmers.‘What can your organization do to support smallholder farmers in developing countries?’ This was the key question during the debate, which was attended by more than 90 representatives of the government, seed companies, research institutions and NGOs. These organizations were triggered to think about what they can do to support smallholder farmers. »

This ICRISAT study aimed to revisit this issue of gender and commercialization of crops. They developed a ‘women’s crop tool’ that measures how much control women have over different crops. This tool was used to compare women’s perceived level of control at different stages of commercialization and to compare the perceptions of men and women regarding women’s control. »