Sorghum Market Systems Improvement

Poverty is rampant in semiarid regions of Tanzania. Sorghum, the third most important cereal grown by smallholder farmers (SHFs) in semi-arid regions in Tanzania has a potential to reduce poverty among SHFs. Applying a Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach through creating business incentives for sorghum value chain market actors will alleviate poverty, food and nutrition insecurity among sorghum SHFs in Tanzania.  The model will hinge on the private sector to leverage sorghum market system, the project playing a facilitative role bringing together into a consortium agro-input suppliers; post-harvest technology and management providers; and business development services providers to provide bundled market agro-inputs and services to SHFs for increased and quality productivity. The consortium built around off-taker(s) as market driver(s) integrating SHFs in their supply chain will guarantee reliable quantity and quality supply for their market demand and guarantee market access to the SHFs through contract farming.

Low productivity of sorghum in semi-arid regions of Tanzania that currently revolves around 0.38-0.75t/ha on average, far from potential of 8-9t/ha attributable to lack of use of productivity enhancing agro-inputs and practices and maintaining subsistence farming. There is high population living below the poverty line in these areas that stands at >50%. Food consumption is below the national average (cereal equivalent levels of 294 kgs compared to 323 kgs) indicating food and nutrition insecurity, with incidences being more apparent among women and youth. Fragmented and unstructured market systems of sorghum subsector, which is a disincentive to SHFs to invest and adopt productivity enhancing agro-inputs/technologies and practices for producing quality (kernel size, colour and cleanliness) and consistent surplus for the market.  On the other hand cereal traders’ are reluctant to engage into trading sorghum due to inconsistent availability and quality of sorghum produce. The uncertain of location and level of marketable sorghum surpluses, reduces trader incentives to invest in building sorghum-trading infrastructure.

Climatic smart seeds and other agro-inputs; good agricultural practices (GAP); postharvest handling and management (PHH) practices; and sorghum value addition will be used to enhance quality sorghum productivity and surplus for the market. The process will involve applying M4P approach to create business incentives for sorghum sub-sector market actors. The model hinges on the private sector to leverage the market system through facilitating the coming together into a consortium of different market actor (agro-input technology suppliers; farm implements; irrigation technologies, postharvest technology and managers; and BDS providers) to provide bundled market technological agro-inputs and services to SHFs for ensured increased and quality productivity. The consortium will be built around off-taker(s) - traders and food processors as the main market driver(s) hinged on demand-supply relationship between SHFs and off takers. The off-takers will integrate the SHFs in their supply chain to guarantee reliable quantity and quality supply to consistently meet their market demand and guarantee market access to the SHFs in the project area through contract-farming model. This will in turn trigger business opportunities to other core market actors (agro input dealers, postharvest technology and management providers, processors and transporters) and support function actors to join the consortium.

Target population is 100,000 SHFs in semiarid regions of Southern Tanzania, where >50% live below the poverty line (<$1.25 per day) and food consumption is below the national average (cereal equivalent levels of 294 Kgs compared to 323 Kgs) indicating food and nutrition insecurity, with incidences being more apparent among women and youth. Livelihood is based on rain fed production of drought&dash; tolerance crops (sorghum, bulrush millet, finger millet, cassava, groundnuts, sunflower, pigeon peas and sesame).  Sorghum, although third important cereal in Tanzania, productivity is low (0.38-0.75t/ha), is far low from potential of 8-9t/ha, being constrained by several factors (unreliable and low rainfall; declining soil fertility; crop pests; and diseases). Use of productive enhancing agro-input/technologies and services (climatic smart and improved agro-technologies, irrigation, farm implements, extension services, agri-financing) is also uncommon. Limited reliable markets and entrepreneurial skills by SHFs compound the low productivity. To engage and address the SHF’s needs, the project will facilitate and foster the utilization of productivity enhancing agro-inputs and services by SHFs and integration into sorghum markets through applying M4P approach. This approach has proven successful in lifting from poverty SHFs of fruits and vegetables, maize and poultry sub-sectors in other project implemented in Tanzania.

Well aligned to the Sustainable Food Systems because sorghum is a semi-arid traditional crop making it easy applying conservation agriculture successful. Sorghum is loaded with micronutrients, energy and protein comparable to or even higher than maize, wheat and rice. It is gluten-free, low glycemic index, rich in phytochemicals, lysine, and fibre, thus useful as function foods for infant feeding and in management of degenerative diseases. The M4P approach will result into sustainable food systems through increased productivity; job creation and entrepreneurship opportunities; and investment into sorghum sub-sector by incentivize market actors thus contribute to SDG1, 2, 3 & 8).

The innovation is applying M4P approach to leverage, stimulate and incentivise existing local market actors to invest their own capital and labor to upgrade services for farm to market service delivery for sorghum value chain sub-sector. M4P approach has gained traction in the agricultural development focused on sustainability. For example: 

Fintrac facilitated (i) Small-scale banana farms with 0.5 ha farm size holdings, to apply improved agricultural practices in Zimbabwe resulting into yields increasing tenfold (4MT - to 40MT/ha), and incomes ($200 to $3,500/year; (ii) Two drip irrigation companies in Honduras to develop low-cost systems and services targeting SHFs, resulting in 20,000ha of SHFs apply drip irrigation and drip irrigation company crowd-in with annual sales of $10 million; (iii) Logistical and agronomic support to a chili powder processor (Mace Foods, Kenya) resulting in self-sustaining services from the buyer and reliable supply from SHFs. Embedded extension services delivery from nucleus farms/exporters Africado, Tanzania to smallholder out-growers to achieve the GlobalGAP certifications now access EU avocado markets; and (iv) Incentivized large agro-input providers in Tanzania to expand distribution networks with rural agro dealers. Now, significant financial benefits are accruing to both large and rural agro-dealers and SHFs alike.

BRAC supported SHFs in maize and poultry subsectors resulting into increased productivity of up to 400% increase in maize yield per hectare and income from USD 54 to USD 269; and a 445% increase in weekly egg production and incomes from USD 59 to USD 626 for poultry farmers.

Deployment of existing agro-technologies to include climatic smart sorghum seeds developed by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) with 194 improved cultivars in public domain, planted worldwide.  In India, increases in sorghum productivity resulting from these improved cultivars have enabled farmers to diversify into cash crop and boost their livelihoods. Other agro inputs such as fertilizers and agrochemical inputs, efficient farm implements and irrigation, postharvest technologies, and value addition equipment and services already in use elsewhere and in Tanzania will also be deployed.  

M4P approach will be applied to facilitate deliverance of tangible; mutual financial benefits to sorghum market actors such as off-takers (traders and food processors); agro-technology suppliers and service providers. These will support SHFs (women and minorities inclusive) intensify production and productivity of sorghum market preferred varieties through provision of bundled agro-technologies and services (good agriculture and post harvest management, entrepreneurial skills, collective action, agri-financing). The off takers will be the prime market actor integrating farmers in their supply chain through contract-farming modelto guarantee them reliable supply in terms of quantity and quality to meet their market demand. In addition, women with entrepreneurial-mind will be capacitated with skills for processing and marketing of cereal-beans-blended nutritious flour and snacks suitable for < 5 years old children and school feeding. Likewise, several youth will be capacitated to operationalize agro enterprises for selling inputs and providing mechanization services to farmers.

ICRISAT improved sorghum cultivars and GAP adaptable to semi-arid areas for SHFs across Africa have shown significant achievements in the following projects: Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement of sorghum and millets in Sub-Saharan Africa; Enhancing adoption of improved sorghum varieties for increased agricultural system productivity and food security in Nigeria; Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Project Phase-1; Sorghum Transformation Value Chain in Nigeria; Africa rising on large-scale sustainable intensification in 5 African countries; Dissemination of technologies for sorghum and millet based farming systems in Mali; and Multiple Uses Sorghum project in Kenya and Tanzania https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Events/DakAgri2015/Cereal_Crops-_Rice__Maize__Millet__Sorghum__Wheat.pdf 194 improved cultivars are now planted worldwide https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/india-beats-china-in-sorghum-production/article5791021.ece In India, increases in sorghum productivity resulting from improved cultivars have freed up 6mill hectares of land, ICRISAT new sorghum varieties have resulted in India producing 7 tons per hectare enabling farmers boost their livelihoods https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1725/7b47330465bc5f92f83b490d125aa0587374.pdf

Problem: Population living below poverty line is the highest in semiarid regions of Tanzania. Sorghum, the third most important cereal grown by SHFs, can alleviate poverty. However, the potential is constrained by low productivity attributable to fragmented/unstructured sorghum markets, disincentivising farmers to invest into productivity enhancing agro-technologies and good farming and post-harvest practices for increased productivity and quality for the market. Inconsistent availability and variability of quality sorghum grain disincentives traders to engage into sorghum trading. 

Improving sorghum markets will incentivize farmers to invest and apply quality and productivity enhancing agro-technologies and farming practices for increased quality sorghum productivity, thus attracting traders into sorghum trading.

Activities: Facilitate off-takers integrate sorghum SHFs in their business supply chain; create a consortium of market actors; and insetivise to co-invest on bundled productive enhancing agro-technology and services provision to SHFs.

Outputs: Demand-supply business relationship between SHFs and off takers created. Business opportunities to agro-input dealers and service providers created. A consortium of insentivised sorghum market actors created and co-invest in provision bundled productive enhancing agro-technology and services provision to SHFs. 

Outcome/impacts: Bundled productivity enhancing technologies and services provided to farmers. Increased productivity of sorghum to meet market demands. SHFs collectively access sorghum markets. Jobs/entrepreneurial opportunities created. Incomes for SHFs and market actors increased by at least 70% of baseline. Market actors crowd-in; and population living below the poverty line reduced by at least by 10% of baseline.

Evidence: In Tanzania, facilitating integration of avocado exporters with SHFs resulted in avocado certification and accessing EU avocado markets. Facilitating large agro-input providers expanding distribution with rural agro dealers resulted in significant financial benefits to agro-dealers and SHFs.  Supporting SHFs in maize and poultry subsectors resulted in maize productivity (400%/Ha); income increasing ($ 54 to 269); 445% increase in weekly egg production and incomes ($59 to 626) for poultry farmers. Success stories have also been registered in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Honduras.

We have served 26,572 households through addressing systemic constraints around women agricultural and household work burden, time expenditure and income poverty; and gender disparities in access to- and decision making to productive resources and benefit from their agricultural efforts. Solutions has included: competitively identifying 32 women friendly agricultural innovation with potential to reduce women work drudgery and/or generate incomes; facilitate enterprise capacity building of innovators for their business development; enhance knowledge of communities on issues critical to women's empowerment; and promote policy changes for gender equality.

Technological solution resulted into 1119 farmers (589 females) piloting the innovations, 15 innovations diffusing to 1345 beneficiaries and 4 innovations with potential for income generation scaling out to approximately 3000 new beneficiaries. The enterprise capacity development of the innovators resulted in their business growth making sales to a tune of TZS 75Mill ($ 34,000) all together in one year.

Enhanced gender knowledge to 218 (114 female) community champions who cascaded the knowledge to 3,087 (1,668 female) fellow community members. Enhanced leadership and self-efficacy skills to 225 young women champions who cascaded the knowledge to 2,349 fellow young women. Promoted policy changes for gender equality to 724 (218F) Councilors and community influential people, 634 (275F) paraprofessionals; 48 (24F), editors and journalists and 33(21F) policy makers.

Our goal is that in the next one-year, knowledge flows efficiently from commercial agribusinesses to SHFs so they can make the appropriate investments to meet market expectations. At least 10,000 sorghum SHFs in one semi-arid region in Southern Tanzania have increased quality and productivity of sorghum to meet market demands. Agro-technology suppliers and business development service providers provide bundled agro-inputs and business development services to the 10,000 SHFs.  The farmers apply improved agricultural technologies and practices to meet market expectations and collectively access reliable sorghum markets. Jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities created around sorghum value chain for at least 3000 men, women and youth. Income earnings accruing from sorghum value chain constitute to at least 50% of the poor income earnings. In the next 5 years, these attributes multiply 10 times through more investments and market actors crowd-in.  This goal will be achieved through applying M4P model, to facilitate integration of sorghum SHFs with off-takers and agro-technology and business service providers provide bundled agro-inputs and services to SHFs. Specifically incentivize and attract and facilitate agro-technology suppliers and business development service providers to provide bundled inputs and services to sorghum SHFs to include availability and accessibility to improved agro-technologies and services; setting-up of demonstration sites; training on good agricultural and postharvest practices; contractual output market arrangements; business capacity building; product promotion; logistics in co-investment; and agricultural financing products suitable for SHFs.

Financial barriers: High fixed cost; lack of working capital; limited access to formal credit due to high transaction cost, lack of credit history and acceptable collateral; commercial banks perceiving that reaching SHFs as being costly and unknown risks; lack of viable/acceptable crop insurance; government low expenditure on agriculture; regressive and distortionary subsidy schemes.

Technical barrier: Limited availability and accessibility to productivity enhancing agro-technologies and farming practices; climate variability; devastating pests and diseases; soil infertility/land degradation; and unsustainable land management practices.

Market barrier: Unstructured/fragmented sorghum markets, buyer-producer power imbalance; price fluctuations; challenges with contract negotiation (risk of malfeasance); inconsistent availability and quality sorghum; SHFs limited market and value addition participation; remoteness to markets; lack of aggregation, transportation, storage; limited market information; processes; and poor infrastructure (roads and telecommunication facilities).

Legal barrier: Legislative controls and taxing system on agriculture commodities, deter SHFs to invest in improvements for productivity and profits. Cultural barrier: Individuals’ attitudes, histories, and traditions; farmers not thinking themselves as business people/managers; fixed mind-sets/resistant to change (preferring status quo). Youth perceiving agriculture as being harder than other sectors. Biased access to land, credit, and extension services skewed against women and youth

Financial: Facilitate contracts between SHF-trader-lender as collateral substitutes; contract farming with off-takers; agro-dealer/off-taker inputs credit mechanisms and revolving fund, repayable in-kind from SHF’s harvest. Facilitate crop insurance against natural disasters. Advocate for government provision of support services to improve SHFs’ bankability.

Technical: Facilitate SHFs linkages with agro-technology suppliers, GAP and PHH service providers to enhance availability and accessibility of improved agro-technologies and sustainable farming practices. Facilitate youth-based agro enterprises (YBAs); farmer trainer of trainers; demonstration plots; and organized field days; and inform about weather forecasts.

Markets: Facilitate SHFs use of productive enhancing technologies and practices; contract farming, price negotiations; strengthen farmer organization (FOs) for collective/bundled inputs and market access, business skills, commercial legal knowledge, and financial literacy, and operational policy documents development. Support growth of SMEs/farmers’ linkages to alternative markets/value chain actors.

Legal: Dialogue with policy/legislations authorities for simplification reforms friendly to SHFs and inclusiveness Cultural: Facilitate consultations, instituting collaboration platform to harness synergy from other partners; local leadership continuous involvement to enhance project ownership; integration of a simple reward mechanism to motivate project participants. Enhance gender knowledge and practice that promotes gender equality in decision making, access, ownership and control of agricultural productive resource;  and women and youth active participation in sorghum value chain.

N.A

Currently the organisation consists of mostly volunteers and part-time associate workers called on project basis needs, 2 full time employees and 7 Board members. 

Rose Kingamkono, the Executive Chairperson, has for over three and half decades, worked with both the government and International (NGOs) involved in a number of projects relating to nutrition sciences, food security, gender equality and women empowerment, Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) policy analysis and formulations with 15 years holding top managerial positions. Rose holds a PhD in Food and Nutrition Sciences, Masters in Human Nutrition and BSc Agriculture

Mary Kafanabo experienced in management and coordination of program activities; preparation of annual plans and implementation reports; and documentation of workshop outputs; field data collection, handling and management for generation of practical information (managing, cleaning and analyzing data for quarter and annual eports. Kafanabo holds Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management rand Bachelor of Accounting and Finance.

Rogart Mmole, is an Agribusiness strategy and management specialist; over 10 years’ experience promoting ecosystem of value chain inclusiveness, providing management, advisory and technical services to value chain actors. Championed Market-for-Poor (M4P) approach for enhanced delivery of pro-poor productive assets in Tanzania. Had once worked with Kilimo Trust evaluating agribusiness loan scheme in Tanzania and Uganda. For three years, provided technical assistance to the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT) in the implementation of maize intervention strategy in terms of identifying and supporting market actors to form inclusive and sustainable business partnerships. Rogart holds a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in Applied Technology.

We do not have permanent partners rather we identify partner organisation based on project requirement and on case-by-case basis.  For example we have had partnered with government departments; local government agents, universities, research institution, technology innovators/providers and business development service providers; other NGOs; and media.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to promote a multi-sector action for sustainable market systems development through fostering formation of a business consortium of potential market actors (SHFs, agro-technology dealers, business development, and agri-finance providers). The purpose is to create business linkages of market actors and incentives for providing agro-inputs and services to the SHFs so they too become valuable participants in the agricultural market system. 

Through the consortia the following market system models and functions -improved availability and accessibility of climatic smart agro-technologies; GAP; PHH; farmers collective action in market access; business skills and commercial knowledge enhancement; acquisition of operation policies and market information; participation in value addition; and agricultural financing will be forged. 

The consortia will be hinged on the demand-supply relationship between SHFs and off takers. The ensured access to market by farmers will improve bargaining power and create more business incentives to invest further into the sorghum farming enterprise. The business relationship forged between the off-taker(s) and SHFs will create business opportunities to the other market actors/crowd-in to provide bundled inputs and services demanded by farmers to meet the demands of the off taker (quantity, quality and timely). The smoothly and timely flow of bundled inputs and services within the consortia will lead to increased incomes of all parties involved, create job opportunities to the poor (men, women and youth).

Solve support will be handy to overcoming barriers identified through coordination and facilitative efforts with local leadership structures, private sector, civil society, and innovative public-private models. Consultations during project inception, instituting collaboration platform to harness synergy from other partners, continuous involvement of local leadership, market actors trust and agreement building and motivation and enhance project ownership and motivate market actors. 

Incentivising market actors in co-investing in targeted and innovative ways, and require their increasing investments over time upfront. SHFs linkages with agro-technology suppliers, GAP and PHH service providers to enhance availability and accessibility of improved agro-technologies and sustainable farming practices; market linkages and weather forecasts information.

Strengthen FOs for collective/bundled agro-inputs, improved farming practices and market access. Capacity strengthening farmers/FOs on business skills, commercial legal knowledge, and financial literacy; and operational policy documents development. Gender sensitization to enhance gender knowledge and practice that promotes gender equality in decision making, access, ownership and control of agricultural productive resource (land, credit; extension services and use of income). Enhance women and youth active participation in sorghum value chain. Advocate for government provision of support services to improve SHFs’ bankability. Support M&E activities

CAWAT does not have an M&E specialist and would like to have a dedicated human resource full-time to oversee/manage M&E component but also have dedicated financial resources to enable this activity effectively implemented. Similarly, we consider marketing, media and exposure as being an important component for not only the project success but also CAWATs’ visibility. For marketing media and exposure, we would like to have a part-time dedicated human resource, possibly outsourced from other organization to assist in the project and its products /outcomes marketing for its exposure through media.  Additionally, we will need to have business development services particularly as it relates impacting and sharpening business skills and commercial legal knowledge to our local market actors particularly FOs and linkages to diverse potential markets of sorghum nationally and globally.

We would like to partner with the agro-technology dealers for climatic smart improved seeds and postharvest technologies; agricultural extensions service providers and /or agricultural universities/research institutions for good agricultural extension service demonstrations; postharvest management service providers; business service development providers (business skills, commercial legal knowledge) ; cereal traders; food processors/ and value addition and agri-financial institutions such as TADB and local government agencies for political economy capital.  We would also want to partner with MIT faculty or initiative, or Solve members for technical assistance on areas such as talent recruitment; funding and revenue models; monitoring and evaluation; marketing, media, and exposure.

Tanzania has in place gender enabling policies and legal frameworks. However, the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) rate (<0.22) is high.  Customary laws, social norms and practices are still biased against women, limiting their control of household productive resources; decision-making power, and access to land, finance, technical trainings, labour-saving equipment and other agricultural productive resources. Apart from making over 60% of the agricultural labour force, woman are also responsible for physical reproduction and nurturing the family, which is an extra time and effort for them. These tasks compromise their health and time to effectively perform their productive and reproductive roles and effectively participate in other developmental/economic activities. 

Centre for Advancement of Women in Agriculture in Tanzania (CAWAT) is dedicated to promote changes that advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture for improved household food security, and desired nutrition outcomes and social welfare and knowledge self-uplifting.

In the past CAWAT has facilitated the testing and promotion of technologies that reduce time and labour burdens for women working in agriculture; and/or generate household income; enhancement of gender knowledge; women’s leadership capacity in the agriculture sector, and advocating for policy changes that promote gender equity/equality in agriculture reaching out to 26,572 households. The Innovation for Women Prize will be used to facilitate gender sensitization to enhance gender knowledge and practice that promotes gender equality in decision making, access, ownership and control of agricultural productive resource and enhance women and youth active participation in sorghum value chain.