A rapid assessment conducted by Farm Concern International (FCI) reveals that the proportion of farmers who were in the Kenya Horticultural Competitiveness Programme (KHCP) longer had greater access to institutional markets compared to those who were in the programmes for a lesser period. These farmers were able to sell more bananas, onions, sweet potatoes and tomatoes to institutions, an indication that access to market information and linkages among the farmers was gaining traction.

Additionally, the rapid assessment results showed that the locally created and available sources of income are important sources of capital that farmers use for purchase of agro-inputs under the KHCP project. The assessment established that savings from the sale of farm produce and family income were the key sources of financing for agro inputs such as planting material including seed or vegetative, fertilizer, manure, pesticides and fungicides (Figure 1). Funds borrowed from the farmer groups was also an important source of financing, and lesser mentioned by farmers was credit financing from input suppliers and financial institutions.

Sampled households in the survey were asked how they sell their commodities; majority 82.4%, mentioned selling their commodities collectively while 17.6% sell individually. The most common buyer is the end consumer who buys from all categories of crops, followed by broker, retailer, wholesaler, institutions and processor. TAVs, Kales, Cabbages and bananas were sold mostly at the farm gate while Irish potatoes, were mainly traded by brokers. 

Approximately 66% of all the targeted value chains are sold through the local market, 61% through the farm gate and 11% through the town market. Out of these sales, 79% are by end consumers, 32% retailers, and 30% by brokers, 22% wholesalers, 8% institutions and 1% by processors. 

As Commercial Villages are strengthened, they are able to meet market demands for both quality and quantity. FCI has facilitated the development of sustainable partnerships that will ensure continuity of smallholder commercialization. Partnerships have been established with the Ministry of Agriculture and other NGOs who have trained farmers on agronomic practices and use of improved seed and planting materials, fertilizer/manures, pesticides, inputs’ usage, and village seed multiplication. 

A survey conducted by Farm Concern International (FCI) on 2,390 farmers revealed that smallholder farmers can save money and time if they can optimise the readily accessible mobile platform.  

A survey conducted by Farm Concern International (FCI) targeting 2,390 smallholder farmers who are on the AFMAX (African Farms and Markets Exchange) pilot phase has established that farmers in Africa have potential to save millions of hours spent travelling as well as millions of dollars. 

The E-Women AFMA-X is a mobile phone based innovation developed by FCI. The innovation aims to reduce labor and time spent by smallholder women farmers in accessing quality farm inputs, services and market information with minimal mobility. 

The survey conducted established that 77.8% of these farmers covered 10 km round trip on average to purchase farm inputs from the nearest shopping center, see Figure 1. Assuming that farmers visit the shopping center once a week, this implies that the total distance covered by these farmers is 77.8/100 × 2390 x 10km) × 8 × 2 months = 297,507 km. If the AFMA-X initiative is scaled up in Africa and reaches one million smallholder farmers, it means that the total distance that they will save is 124.48 Million kilometers.

Additionally, 63% of farmers surveyed use an average Kshs 100 (USD 1.2) for a round trip to the market to obtain farm inputs (Figure 2). If this trip is made once a week, the cost will tally up to Kshs 1.5 million (USD 14,171) for the two months that the farmers are actively sourcing for farm inputs in a year. If this is scaled up to 1 million farmers, the saving will amount to Kshs 504 Million (USD 5.9Million). 

FCI has been implementing the pilot phase of this innovation in 10 commercial villages in Central and Eastern Kenya targeting 5,000 smallholder farmers. Upon conclusion of the pilot phase, it is expected that AFMA-X will be scaled up in order to reach more smallholder farmers in Africa. 

A section of the participants during the cassava Symposium

Although the combined market demand for both cassava and sweet potatoes is estimated at US$ 48 million per year, these gains have not been attained by smallholder farmers because of varied factors. Moreover, Africa is the world’s largest cassava producing region accounting for nearly 55% of the world’s cassava output. Yet, Africa’s processed yields are still the lowest in the world standing at only 10 tons per hectare compared to 26 tons per hectare in India.

In line with this, FCI with support from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) held a Cassava and Sweet potato Investment Forum at the Africa Regional office in early 2014 to discuss the opportunities available to meet this demand. Themed “Unleashing Business Opportunities in Cassava and Sweet potato’”, the symposium brought together participants from local, regional and international private sector, farmer associations, donor, research, governments and development organizations. The main objective of the investment forum was to educate the private sector investors about the processing and commercialization opportunities available for Cassava and Sweet potato value chains. 

At the symposium, participants highlighted that the main hindrance to production and processing of cassava and sweet potatoes in Africa is the lack of access to appropriate mechanizations to support cassava processing and commercialization. This technological gap has left farmers with no option but to produce cassava on a low scale; mainly for subsistence use. As a result, the potential that cassava and sweet potato offers the continent both as a source of food and industrial raw material has not been fully exploited.

Participants presented various ways to curb these challenge. Part of the solution is to expand cassava seed production among smallholder farmers through contract farming. To address the problem of drought, farmers should adopt irrigation systems. Cassava processors need to consider diversifying value added cassava products in order to augment the wheat industry.

The key note speaker during the Investment Symposium was AGRA’s President, Jane Karuku. In her speech, she emphasized the need for adoption of various innovative technologies in enhancing commercialization of the two crops for improved food security and increased incomes. She substantiated this by citing the example where 54,095 smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania smallholder farmers sold fresh root cassava worth US$ 33.5 million and US$ 8.1 million worth of cassava chips, chunks, and cuttings under the CVPP programme, implemented by FCI in 2010.   

The Cassava and Sweet potato Investment Symposium successfully highlighted investment opportunities which if, explored and pursued, would

take advantage of the resilience nature of cassava and sweet potato crops to feed thousands of Africans living in dry areas and suffering from drought. FCI has established the AFMA Network platform to incorporate the expertise of the value chain players who attended the symposium, as well as provide a channel for further interaction and learning.