What we do

Connect farmers to markets

Improving small-scale farmers’ access to markets reduces poverty and increases food security.

The problem

Many small-scale farmers in eastern Africa lack access to the high-quality supplies and services they need to get the most from their land and their livestock.

They also face difficulties accessing wider markets to sell their products.

tomatoes Photo: Tara Carey

50%

More than 50% of small-scale farmers in East Africa report difficulties in transporting their produce to markets.

Rural producers may lack transport, quality certifications or access to the price-tracking information they need to negotiate good prices.

After months of effort, many have little choice but to sell their highly perishable products for whatever price is offered on the day at the farm gate or local market.

Approximately 70% of the rural population in East Africa relies on agriculture for their livelihood.

However, due to market access issues and low productivity, many remain trapped in poverty.

Source

The opportunity

When small-scale producers are connected with reliable and knowledgeable suppliers, they can increase the productivity of their land and their herds.

Access to market information means farmers know which produce is in high demand.

Warehouses and aggregation systems allow farmers to work together to attract high-value buyers by offering large quantities of high-quality produce for sale in bulk.

When farmers are plugged into more lucrative markets, they can increase their profit margins and grow their incomes.

Man using mobile phone to check market prices while selling tomatoes at market in Amhara Photo: ClimaX Studio

When smallholder farmers have access to market information, they can make better decisions that increase their incomes by up to 30%.

Source

Household incomes increased by 154% in three years when young farmers were supported to improve production, post-harvest technology and marketing of horticultural products through the Growing Futures project in western Kenya.

70,000 farmers gained access to high-quality supplies within three years when a network of six local suppliers was established in Amhara, Ethiopia as part of the Market Systems project, funded by Sida.

The outcome

Connecting rural producers to suppliers and buyers helps to break the cycle of poor productivity and low profits that traps smallholder producers in poverty.

With reliable access to buyers, farmers can increase their profits, grow their businesses and create more jobs for other people in their communities.

When farmers thrive, it opens up opportunities for new agribusinesses to start up offering goods and services to farmers. 

Farmer at market checking market prices using a mobile phone Photo: ClimaX Studio

Farm Africa supports farmers to build their links to markets by:

  • adapting what they produce and how they produce it to match what buyers want
  • organising into cooperatives, so they can share equipment and sell in bulk for higher prices
  • accessing high-quality supplies and services, such as seed, fertilisers and tractor hire, so they can maximise productivity and quality
  • developing infrastructure, such as temperature-controlled pack-houses, so they can meet the standards required to supply to bigger markets
  • tracking market prices locally, nationally and internationally to strengthen their negotiating power
  • improving marketing of their produce

“Before, we had limited knowledge to sell our coffee in the national and international market. As a result, we were forced to sell our coffee to local traders at lower prices, which made us price takers.

Now, I track international coffee prices daily online and use the information to decide buying and selling prices based on the trends. I do the same for my cooperative and we are successful.”

Mulugeta Teffese

wholesale coffee producer and president of Abdi Bori Participatory Forest Management Cooperative

“Paying school fees was so difficult because it was so hard to find a market for our produce. I was excited about growing French beans because there was a market for them.

I started small but have grown bigger. My children like it and they also practise it now. I have a son in college who through French beans is now paying his own school fees."

Lucy Marani

smallholder farmer and mother of seven, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kenya

"I had no idea at all about where we could get seeds. And now after being informed by Farm Africa, I’m aware where there are good quality seeds. I’m happy and interested about the improved seeds I’m accessing and about the organisation as it is."

Verian Fande

small-scale farmer from Dodoma, Tanzania

The latest on connecting farmers to markets

Related resources

Strengthening agricultural market systems

More info

Women’s economic empowerment in the coffee value chain in Kanungu district, Uganda

More info

Quality Declared Seed

More info

Tanzania sunflower market assessment 2022

More info

Business formalisation in Tanzania – Learnings from the DECIDE project

More info

Commercialising Chilli Production

More info

Photo Credits

Support Farm Africa

Help make real change to the lives of farming families by donating today.