UK AgDevCo project to impact 58,500 African smallholders

04 Aug '18

2 min read

Courtesy: AgDevco

More than 58,000 smallholders in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia will gain from outgrower programmes backed by London-based AgDevCo’s smallholder development unit (SDU), with farmer incomes set to collectively increase by $8.8 million annually after the support. AgDevCo is a social impact investor and agribusiness project developer working in Africa.

Primarily backed by UKAID, AgDevCo aims to reduce poverty and improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The SDU operates alongside the company’s core activity of providing long-term debt and equity to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The project is assisting sorghum buyers in remote, arid regions of northern Ghana to access global markets and shea butter producers in the country in capacity building. It is also engaging with farmers holding small pieces of land in Zambia by providing cattle dipping services and training in mixed farming, livestock and drought tolerant crops, according to a press release from the company.

Malawian groundnut processor and AgDevCo investee Afri-Oils will purchase groundnuts from 15,000 farmers, helping them to transition away from tobacco farming. The SDU’s $355,000 will support training to improve groundnut quality and access to higher-value regional markets.

GADC is a Ugandan cotton ginner providing outgrower and extension services to cotton and sesame growers. The company recently expanded to the West Nile region where there are many refugees farming cotton without much success. The SDU will establish a scheme providing agronomic training to 30,000 farmers in the region to improve their productivity and overall household income, the press release added. (DS)

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