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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Watch
Related resources
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Connect farmers to markets
Increase food security and nutrition
Strengthen food systems
Strengthening agricultural market systems
A summary report of Farm Africa’s market systems project in Amhara, Ethiopia, which aimed to improve food security and livelihoods of small-scale farmers by making market systems more inclusive. This project was part of the Growth for the future project, funded by Sida.
Download (1.21mb)
Country
Ethiopia
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Connect farmers to markets
Increase food security and nutrition
Strengthen food systems
Country
Uganda
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Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Empower women
Women’s economic empowerment in the coffee value chain in Kanungu district, Uganda
In September 2019, Farm Africa launched a project in Kanungu district aimed at empowering women in the coffee value chain. The project worked with communities to increase the incomes of 2,640 women coffee producers, strengthen their household decision-making power and increase access to resources, enhance the capacity of CGCs to ensure women can leverage market opportunities while also engaging local stakeholders to recognise and reward women’s participation within the coffee value chain.
Download (5.91mb)
Country
Uganda
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Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
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Country
Ethiopia
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Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Quality Declared Seed
A report on various seed systems in eastern Africa and how a Quality Declared Seed (QDS) system can help farmers increase their yields and productivity, with case studies from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.
Download (2.59mb)
Country
Ethiopia
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Country
Tanzania
Key focus areas
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Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Tanzania sunflower market assessment 2022
A report on the state of Tanzania’s sunflower market and recommendations for smallholder farmers to increase their yields.
Download (1.12mb)
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Tanzania
Key focus areas
Act on climate change
Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
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Tanzania
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Increase access to finance
Support businesses
Business formalisation in Tanzania – Learnings from the DECIDE project
This learning piece shares findings from Farm Africa’s DECIDE project’s work in facilitating MSMEs to comply with Tanzania’s legal framework, business registration requirements and documentation required to access social security for the business and its employees. It highlights some of the obstacles they face in transitioning into the formal economy.
Download (1.87mb)
Country
Tanzania
Key focus areas
Boost productivity
Connect farmers to markets
Increase access to finance
Support businesses
Country
Uganda
Key focus areas
Connect farmers to markets
Increase access to finance
Support businesses
Country
Uganda
Key focus areas
Connect farmers to markets
Increase access to finance
Support businesses