SERVICE PROVIDERS TO WORK WITH SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

By HAPPY MULOLANI  

It is a fact that to increase incomes, food and nutrition security of rural households requires smallholder farmers reposition themselves by engaging in market focused agriculture.

To achieve this goal, Government through the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing the Enhanced Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme (E-SAPP) which targets 61,000 smallholder farmers countrywide in 30 focal districts and 60 focal camps. Though the programme is countrywide and intends to reach out to 40,000 smallholder farmers in the commodities of focus, it mainly focuses on four core commodities and specifically looks at comparative advantages. These are legumes, small livestock (village poultry, chicken, goats, and sheep), rice and aquaculture.

The programme primarily focuses on improving rural livelihoods involved in agriculture and is conceptualized in such a way that it makes use of window two which endeavours to support establishing partnerships between private players and smallholder farmers in the identified commodities of focus. These private players are expected to contribute 40 percent while government pumps in 60 percent towards specific commodities of focus. This arrangement is expected to have a high degree of committment and sustained effort on both parties. This avenue is also perceived to be a special purpose vehicle as identified sector players are those already engaged in business and are expected to have impetus during the implementation of the programme and beyond.

“The idea is for private sector players to partner with targeted smallholder farmers in enabling growth of their businesses and continue running even after the programme phase-out in 2024. Growth is on two fronts, Small and Medium Enterprises grow their businesses and also engage in serious supply contracts with farmers, which is expected to culminate in growth of volumes,” emphasized Vincent Malata, Senior Agricultural Economist and moderator of the Matching Grant Facility workshop held in Lusaka recently.

Mr Malata explained that the goal of E-SAPP will be strengthened and contribute to agribusiness interventions based on mutually agreeable partnerships. This calls for understanding the rules, principles and what values will guide these partnerships entered into.

And Enhanced Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme Acting Programme Coordinator, Emmanuel Mulenga, reaffirms the importance of key private sector players partnering with smallholder farmers in their value chain. In this way, they will upscale their efforts through improving the farmers’ skills and also assist Micro, Small and Medium  Enterprises (MSME) identify business opportunities, develop business plans and negotiate with large private sector value chain actors.

“Forging direct commercial linkages between smallholders and emerging commercial farmers with higher level value chain actors using the market pull approach is essential for increased investment,” asserts Mr Mulenga.

This notion has resulted in the programme providing matching grants to five successful private sector players, who are already involved in different commodities of focus. This approach will support private players to leverage their increased private sector investments in agribusiness and also support farmers in their respective value chains.

He explained that E-SAPP is focusing towards building strong and sustainable partnerships in order to tackle the challenges which hinder subsistence farmers from transitioning to be successful commercially oriented farmers.

What is key is that value chain players have gone through a rigorous application process which had now been completed and approved. After this phase, this matching grant workshop whose participants where the successful private players, was aimed at coming up with feasible strategies on how partnerships will work.

“Applications were properly screened from district and provincial levels, in terms of what the programme deserves to achieve. This first stream of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) managed to get their approvals in response to the demands of the programme. Concept notes were prepared in line with programme goals which helped to align applications,” said Mr Mulenga.

He explained that this partnership draws on the objectives of the programme, business growth objectives and help service delivery to the farmers. The grant given to service providers is expected to be utilized accordingly.

Mr Mulenga sternly pointed out that these identified partners are already in businesses with the programme’s commodities of focus, and business players who are supposed to lead to increases in sales.

“To ensure the right support, government wants to support farmers who are bearly surviving, who mostly produce for survival, these are smallholder farmers perpetually dependent on government for support and they basically need to produce enough food,” reiterated Mr Mulenga.

And E-SAPP Grants Management Officer, Elemson Muyanga stressed that getting into partnership with private players basically entails contributing 40 percent towards the grant, which will never be paid back.

“To secure that, if project fails, then you will lose something as well. In other words, both parties will lose something,” revealed Mr Muyanga.

Mr Muyanga highlighted that this public private partnership and how it works for both parties will be determined by at least a private player possessing a minimum of two years working experience with smallholder farmers. Equally, they should have a financial viability coupled with intent to support and access smallholder farmers in a value chain in which the programme is supporting specific commodities of focus.

With this criteria spelled out, a private sector player is required to work with at least a minimum of 200 farmers in the next two years.

He however cautioned private players not to be over ambitious with the number of farmers they work with.

“It is better to be cautious and work with a reasonable number of farmers in order to bring positive changes in the value chain and also maintain what is workable for the business,” said Mr Muyanga.

Whereas, E-SAPP Livestock Commodity Specialist, Danny Munsanje, urged service providers to not only focus on the business interventions but also to incorporate nutrition, gender and livestock, as some of the key aspects that will bring about positive changes to the smallholder farmers.

And one of the beneficiary service providers in Kasama, Nannete Investment has been given a grant of K1.9 million towards rice intervention. This will greatly boost rice production and value addition.

“With this grant, it will help us in ensuring rice farmers get value for their commodity by embarking on value addition,” said an excited Boyd Mtonga, Nannete Investment Managing Partner.

Mr Mtonga said the organisation will continue offering rice interventions to smallholder farmers with government’s fervent support. Nannete Investment core business is that of being an Outgrower Scheme in rice, common beans, sugar beans, Mbereshi among others. As a company, they have been working with rice farmers for the past three years.

He said that the organisation is working with rice farmers in the Chambeshi plains on the outskirts of Kasama in Northern province and steady progress has been made so far.

“The idea has been to upscale rice production through the provision of improved varieties and also management practices,” said Mr Mtonga.

The progamme has three different categories of farmers. These are Category A, which targets 40,000 subsistence smallholder farmers, Category B targets 16,000 economically active smallholder farmers and Category C aims at 5,000 commercially oriented smallholder farmers.

These farmers are selected in focal areas and undergo trainings and capacity building through what is termed Farming as a Business Schools (FaaBS). It is hoped such trainings and capacity building will trigger increased agriculture and livestock production among targeted smallholder farmers thereby contributing to food security and increased incomes. Ideally, once these smallholder farmers’ graduate and form farmer organizations, they partner with service providers, whom the programme empowers with grants which is directed towards increasing production.

With the provision of these grants to service providers, it is envisaged that as they offer different interventions in the commodities of focus, positive changes among smallholder farmers will be feasible and sustained in the value chain.