Key Challenges We Tackle
Rural communities across East and South Africa are failing to realize the economic benefit of agribusiness because farmers are working alone, with little ability to assess and address their needs and weak links with business partners across the agriculture sector. This is compounded by lack of engagement of youth and women in the sector.
CAP partners with, and works for, farming cooperatives, unions and associations focused on marketing, finance, and production. CAP supports cooperatives to develop a unique, sustainable, ecosystem of production groups linked to financial hubs, marketing cooperatives, business unions and alliances across Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Supply
In Rwanda, Tanzania, and Malawi, many farmers face production challenges, including limited access to inputs, high costs, limited trials and timeliness. Quality inputs — including seeds and fertilizers — are critical to a farmers’ ability to produce. Community Agribusiness Partners (CAP) helps farming communities increase the output and quality of crops in a climate resilient and sustainable way by working with governments, seed companies, and other international organizations to help expand seed access and showcase best practices in climate smart agronomy and seed varietal choice. We collaborate with technical partners to tackle:
Coordination
Small-scale farmers face the significant challenge of uncoordinated efforts, hindering their collective ability to address common issues, leverage shared resources, aggregate produce and maximize their potential for sustainable agricultural development. The absence of effective coordination mechanisms and platforms also restricts their ability to collectively advocate for their needs and interests, such as negotiating fair prices for their products. Small-scale farmers must act more cohesively in group structures to realize their full potential.
Incentives to adopt new practices
The transition from traditional farming methods to more sustainable practices is impeded by a fundamental issue - the need for incentives for small-scale farmers to depart from conventional approaches. Traditional farming methods are often favored due to their cost-effectiveness and convenience, as farmers are accustomed to such practices and view them as reliable livelihood sources. The lack of strong incentives for transformation, coupled with the duration required to observe tangible improvements, presents an obstacle to the adoption of sustainable and regenerative farming methods that hold the potential to boost productivity and safeguard the environment. In addition, more access to up-to-date research and information on the benefits of integrating new systems for sustainable land use is needed to address the challenge. Small-scale farmers often need more resources and opportunities to stay informed about innovative approaches and best practices in sustainable agriculture. This knowledge gap prevents them from fully understanding the advantages of transitioning to more sustainable methods and the potential positive impacts on their long-term productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship.
Input access
Small-scale farmers need help accessing high-quality agricultural inputs and navigating the challenges posed by the timely availability of these inputs and their costs. These obstacles can significantly hamper their readiness to adopt sustainable farming practices and enhance productivity. The necessity for high-quality seeds, organic fertilizers, agricultural lime, and farming equipment cannot be overstated, as these components are vital for farmers to maximize their crop yields and practice regenerative agriculture. Yet, there are situations when these inputs are not accessible exactly when farmers need them, creating issues around timeliness that can affect the overall farming process. Additionally, the high costs associated with these inputs can present another barrier for small-scale farmers, further inhibiting their capacity to implement sustainable and regenerative farming techniques. The limited availability of public and private extension services further complicates the situation. These farmers often lack access to crucial information, training, and technical support that could enhance their methods and enable them to make informed decisions. Adequate extension services are critical in bolstering their ability to embrace new technologies, manage pests and diseases effectively, plan for extreme weather events, and implement sustainable agricultural practices.
OUR IMPACT
1.8K DEMONSTRATION PLOT
have been implemented and maintained across Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania since 2018. Demonstration plots are easily accessible teaching and knowledge sharing sites for farming communities
161 COMMUNITY-BASED SEED DEALERS TRAINED
161 farmer leaders in Tanzania have successfully completed Quality Declared Seed (QDS) Multiplication training in partnership with the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) since 2018, enabling local access to high quality seed for more than 28,000 farmers.
12 VALUE CHAINS
Actively working with our partners to facilitate access to reliable market opportunities across 12 different value chains — including macadamia, avocado, cauliflower, chili, broccoli, soybean, maize, groundnuts, beans, sunflower, poultry, and aquaculture — to enable income diversification for farming communities.
Finance
Limited access to suitable working capital, encompassing micro-loans, e-money services, and insurance products, presents a major hurdle for small-scale farmers, undermining their resilience to economic and environmental/climate-centric shocks. Another major issue confronting farmers is the lack of a formal loan history. Without a well-documented credit history, individuals often face difficulties securing loans. Many traditional lending institutions require borrowers to have an established credit record to measure their repayability. This requirement can pose an insurmountable challenge for small-scale farmers, who might not have previous borrowing experience or collateral to offer. This challenge impairs farmers' capacity to secure crucial funds required for procuring necessary inputs, making farm improvements, investing in advanced farming equipment like machinery and efficient irrigation systems, adopting regenerative farming practices, and protecting crops from adverse weather events, pests, and diseases. As a result, their resilience to unpredictable circumstances and sustainable production practices is significantly undermined.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), only three percent of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have access to credit from formal financial institutions. Additionally, less than 10 percent of farmers benefit from crop insurance, a crucial risk management tool. These statistics underscore farmers' severe constraints in obtaining financial support to enhance their farming operations. The consequences of limited access to finance are far-reaching. The inability to secure adequate financial resources hampers small-scale farmers' efforts to expand their operations, increase productivity, and respond effectively to market demands. This perpetuates a cycle of low productivity, limited income generation, and constrained opportunities for rural development.
OUR IMPACT
More than 1,000 community banks
are working with CAP to increase financial literacy and savings culture for farmer members across Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
$424K loaned
directly to 23 primary cooperatives under Dikirani Cooperative Union in Malawi since 2021 from Standard Bank of Malawi at an average annual interest rate of 21%
Nearly $500,000
in loans accessed by farming communities and formal cooperatives in Rwanda from 8 financial institutions
Markets
Small-scale farmer agribusiness is challenged by limited private sector engagement, resulting in restricted access to diverse and reliable income streams through local and regional output markets. Market accessibility is essential for farmers to expand their businesses and increase production income. However, the current situation is characterized by a predominant reliance on informal channels for marketing agricultural products, as highlighted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with over 80 percent of products being sold through such channels.
The reliance on informal markets often leads to inefficiencies and disorganized systems, contributing to farmers receiving low crop prices. Farmers working independently require enhanced negotiation capabilities with suppliers and buyers in the marketplace and access to international and national pricing that reflects their crop's quality and volume. Consequently, the agricultural sectors experience limited economic growth, making rural livelihood pursuits unsustainable. Farmers become more vulnerable to shocks, exacerbating their challenges, and as a result, farming households experience cyclical multidimensional poverty. With increased private sector engagement, more efficient and organized market systems can enhance farmers' access to diverse income streams and improve their bargaining power. This can lead to fairer prices for their crops, promote economic growth in the agricultural sectors, and contribute to livelihood sustainability and better incomes.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), only three percent of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have access to credit from formal financial institutions. Additionally, less than 10 percent of farmers benefit from crop insurance, a crucial risk management tool. These statistics underscore farmers' severe constraints in obtaining financial support to enhance their farming operations. The consequences of limited access to finance are far-reaching. The inability to secure adequate financial resources hampers small-scale farmers' efforts to expand their operations, increase productivity, and respond effectively to market demands. This perpetuates a cycle of low productivity, limited income generation, and constrained opportunities for rural development.
OUR IMPACT
26 warehouses
are being used by cooperatives across Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania to aggregate and store high-quality commodities before being sold to the market
26% selling price increase
In 2018, CAP’s market partner Africa Improved Foods began paying farmers in Malawi prices for soybeans that were 26% higher than local trader prices, and in Rwanda, farmers benefitted from a price increase of 39.3%