With the Zimbabwe Agrodealer Strengthening Program (ASP-Z), funded by USAID, CNFA is returning to the birthplace of its widely respected agrodealer model, which was developed in Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2005, and which is now being implemented successfully in Kenya, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania. Although agriculture was once Zimbabwe’s largest export sector, in the past five years, political instability, drought and an economic crisis have greatly diminished the number and capacity of agrodealers serving smallholder farmers throughout the country; thus, ASP-Z aims to revitalize and rebuild a robust network of agrodealers through which improved inputs and technology can flow to rural smallholder farmers, thereby increasing agricultural production and improving rural livelihoods.
CNFA, through its local affiliate the Agricultural Marketing Trust (AGMARK), will help 250 agrodealers provide 125,000 smallholder farmers with inputs and technology, increasing food security for over 750,000 families. The increased yields that farmers will see through enhanced inputs and production practices will raise agricultural production by 35 percent and cash income by 23 percent for the average household over the course of the program. Thus, ASP-Z will help address both the food and economic crises in the country by stimulating private sector investment, improving food security at the household level and rebuilding the agricultural export sector.
When CNFA closed out its initial agrodealer program in Zimbabwe in 2005, it had built a network of 1,030 trained agrodealers covering much of the country. ASP-Z will focus on revitalizing the agrodealer network in the dry areas and mixed production regions of the country—Masvingo, Midlands, Matebeleland North, Matebeleland South—with a base of operations in Bulawayo. In order to strengthen rural agrodealers in Zimbabwe, CNFA and its partners will focus on four key components:
- Providing training in business management as well as technical training on new crop varieties, production technologies and the safe use, handling and storage of fertilizers and crop protection products
- Working with agrodealers, input supply companies and research institutions to stimulate farmer demand for improved inputs and production practices through demonstration plots and farmer field days
- Stimulating investment in agrodealers and increasing rural access to finance through guarantee and matching grants facilities
- Creating sustainable agrodealer associations to address common concerns and advocate for member interests
CNFA creates local affiliates that, over time, become fully capitalized, develop institutional capacity and independent revenue streams and are fully functional even after projects and donor support end. Through ASP-Z, CNFA aims to establish AGMARK as a strong local organization committed to strengthening the capacity of smallholder farmers and agrodealers on a sustainable basis.
