East Africa study on smallholder farmers organizational and inclusive product aggregation models

Smallholder Farmer Training
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Situation

Learnings from successful practices and models, as well as failures, increase the likelihood of creating sustainable organizational models for smallholder farmers. As part of its structural change agenda, our client, a Belgium-based economic development non-profit, sought to document a range of farmer organizational models operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

This lessons learned documentation would facilitate better project design and scaling of impact, provide evidence to guide influencing and driving systemic change, and help promote the inclusion of smallholder farmers in dynamic modern markets.

Industries
Strategy, Data & Insights
Smallholder Agriculture Development
Impact Evaluation & Learning
Agribusiness & Food Systems
Gender Equity & Inclusion
Youth Economic Opportunity
Engagement

ORI conducted a field survey in East Africa to map, document, analyze, and synthesize learnings from various smallholder farmer organization models across various agriculture value chains and market systems. The engagement involved a comparative assessment of selected farmer organizations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda involved in aggregating and bulking rice, horticultural products, cassava, and milk.

ORI supported the client’s learning agenda by:

  • Carrying out extensive primary and secondary source research to identify smallholder farmers’ organizational models, including producer organizations, aggregation and collective marketing mechanisms, intermediary models, and buyer-led models, being applied in East Africa, along with previous examinations of their strengths and weaknesses.
  • Assessing the degree to which the models facilitate and enable products to be supplied to local, regional, and export markets, both conventional and niche.
  • Conducting field studies in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and documenting and analyzing the models from various dimensions, e.g., business, product, actors, social and economic context, the ecosystem of the business model, the evolution of the models, and how women and youth are being engaged.
  • Highlighting key success factors, including membership quality factors, economic factors, service and support systems, and financial considerations.
  • Evaluating how the models have enabled smallholders to participate in dynamic modern markets, using inclusive business principles, collaborations, market linkages, fair and transparent governance, equitable access to services, innovations, and outcomes measurement.
  • Documenting the challenges and providing insights into how the actors can overcome them.
Outcomes
  • ORI provided detailed descriptions of various models and case studies based on rigorous analysis, field visits, and evidence base of ten smallholder farmer organizations surveyed across several industries that have successfully navigated local, regional, and export markets. We drew lessons on how organizations built the necessary capabilities to create economies of scale, guarantee quality, and ensure food safety.
  • Our study provided actionable insights and recommendations for how smallholder farmers can be integrated into structured domestic and global supply chains, positively impacting development outcomes.
  • The client applied the study's findings to design an innovative program for strengthening farmer organizations and transforming them into business organizations capable of engaging in commercial relationships and linkages with the private sector.