Programs Farmer Support

Elevating Farmers with AgFinance

Opportunity International’s AgFinance initiative is built on the idea that, through targeted investments, rural regions can become powerful economic engines that lift and keep families out of poverty. We are expanding access to finance in rural communities to help accelerate investment and growth in the agricultural sector, creating sustainable economic opportunities for some of the world’s poorest families. In each operational country, AgFinance actively collaborates with local financial institutions and stakeholders to fortify rural markets by addressing crucial needs for rural clients: access to financial services and agricultural networks. We do this by partnering with socially focused financial institutions, offering technical assistance to launch and expand agricultural loan portfolios.

Opportunity supports rural farmers by:

• Establishing local Farmer Support Agent networks, alongside financial institutions and other stakeholders, to train farmers in good agricultural and financial practices.
• Training rural farmers in agribusiness, bookkeeping skills, sustainable agricultural practices, and family business and entrepreneurship.
• Establishing rural-focused financial products, encompassing production loans, rural savings accounts, small and medium-sized enterprise loans for agribusinesses, loan guarantees, mechanization loans, crop insurance, and revolving credit facilities.
• With this approach, farmers can invest in their farms, thus elevating yields and incomes, while rural entrepreneurs expand their agribusinesses to offer more services to farmers and generate jobs in rural communities.

_{Jameson speaks with Thokozire, Opportunity International FSA, and Limbani, Project Officer, in Mulanje, Malawi, on 24 May 2023. Opportunity International is working in Malawi to create and support Village Saving and Loan groups and mentoring programs that help women to create their own businesses.}

THE FARMER SUPPORT AGENT DIFFERENCE

In rural Africa, where low population density and minimal infrastructure make it challenging to reach and support farmers effectively, the FSA program revolutionizes service delivery for smallholder farmers. Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) provide localized, high-tech, high-touch support that transforms agricultural practices and enhances economic opportunities for farmers.

FSAs, selected from within farming communities, receive training to become primary trainers equipped with smartphones, videos, and other resources. They visit local farms and conduct training sessions on Good Agricultural Practices, Farming as a Family Business, and more to help farmers improve their farm management. FSAs also facilitate group purchase agreements and sales agreements, strengthening the cooperative ties with local suppliers and warehouses.

Why FSAs

1. Empowerment and Knowledge Transfer: FSAs empower farmers with practical knowledge, such as addressing crop issues and advising on Good Agricultural Practices. This localized support ensures farmers have immediate access to expert advice, leading to better crop management and increased yields.
2. Data Collection and Utilization: FSAs use smartphones to gather comprehensive digital profiles of farmers, capturing data on crop production, input usage, financial needs, and demographics. This data helps Opportunity understand farmers' challenges and tailor training programs to address specific needs effectively.
3. Enhanced Financial Services: The detailed farmer profiles collected by FSAs help financial institutions design better products like rural credit scorecards. This minimizes lending risks and accelerates loan approvals, making financial services more accessible to smallholder farmers.
4. Strengthened Value Chains: By facilitating group purchase and sales agreements, FSAs improve farmers' access to markets and suppliers, enhancing their economic ties and increasing profitability.
5. Inclusive Economic Growth: The data-driven approach allows Opportunity and financial institutions to reduce risks associated with lending to farmers. This confidence boosts agricultural productivity and fosters economic growth in rural communities.

Through the FSA program, smallholder farmers in Africa receive vital support, improve their agricultural practices, and gain better access to financial services. This integrated approach not only enhances farm management but also drives economic growth, making a tangible difference in the lives of farmers and their communities.

1. Financial Programs page
2. Climate Collateral Alliance
3. WEE
4. RegenAg
5. GAP

_{Elijah Muhawe, a coffee farmer and farmer support agent in Uganda.}

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FARMER DATA

Farmer Support Agents use data directly from farmers in their region to provide Opportunity with a comprehensive view of the lifestyle and struggles that smallholder farmers face. This data allows Opportunity to best address challenges and create trainings that are relevant and helpful. FSAs play a vital role in both collecting this data and disseminating trainings by helping to create farmer profiles. Farmer profiles offer a comprehensive data portrait of livelihoods and cash flows, crucial for coordinating essential services for farmers and reducing costs for financial institutions:

1.  For Opportunity AgFinance, farmer data identifies and addresses key financial strains for small farmers, closing gaps in their value chains that affect profitability.
2. Financial institutions leverage farmer data to design products like rural credit scorecards, minimizing lending risk and accelerating loan approval. Opportunity directs financial institutions to farmer groups prepared for and in need of financial services.

The Ripple Effect

Through FSAs, AgFinance channels agricultural best practices to smallholder farmers in challenging regions while gathering vital data on an underserved group. This approach allows Opportunity to deliver affordable rural trainings and collect essential information, reducing the risk for financial institutions in reaching and serving more farmers. By enhancing the leadership capabilities of FSAs, more farmers benefit from strengthened links to value chain services, increasing profits each harvest. Ultimately, as FSAs provide more trainings and gather more data, financial institutions can confidently lend to farmers, boosting agricultural productivity and fostering inclusive economic growth in rural communities.

FAUSTINA: A HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN PERSONA

Faustina lives with her husband and two children on a small farm of less than 1.5 acres in Malawi. Their family survives on less than $1.90 a day. Every day, she follows the rhythms of planting and harvesting, growing staple crops like maize and beans, cash crops such as soya and groundnuts, and raising chickens. Her farm provides the primary source of both food and income for her family. Since Faustina’s husband works as a migrant laborer, he often cannot help with the farm, though he sends money home when possible. Her children walk about 30 minutes to attend a low-cost private school.

Faustina's primary challenges are the limited amount of farmland that constrains the amount of crops she's able to grow and uncertainty regarding the best farming techniques to optimize her plot growth.

She also faces extreme weather and pests that impact yields for multiple seasons, reducing her overall yield and income.

Furthermore, not having a personal bank account makes it difficult for Faustina to manage cash flow with expenses. the "digital exclusion" that she faces often limits her ability to access funds in a timely manner, though being a member of her local CBFO group helps with saving money and obtaining loans.

Faustina's Goals and Dreams

1. To consistently provide food for her family.
2. To understand the best farming techniques and weather risks to optimize her crop growth.
3. To borrow money for inputs to improve overall yield.
4. To make business investments such as livestock or farm equipment and increase her farm size.
5. To see her children receive a secondary education.
6. To be able to meet her family's needs and prepare for emergencies.
7. To build a room next to their house.