Ghana MADE Reimbursables

The Market Development (MADE) Programme for Northern Ghana is a six-year programme funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) driving changes in the way agribusinesses operate and engage with smallholder farmers (SHFs) in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) of Ghana. Since March 2014, MADE has worked directly with over 100 agribusiness and support enterprises to help build the productivity and resilience of over 70,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs). MADE’s market systems approach has been to pioneer annual cycles of interventions with agribusiness partners (input suppliers and aggregators) to validate the commercial case for delivering comprehensive packages (bundles) of inputs and services to SHFs. It has encouraged agribusinesses to introduce a farm enterprise advisory service to ensure farmers enjoy the “seven rights” with respect to receiving the right quality of inputs and services, in the right quantity, at the right time, at the right price, in the right place, in the right form and, crucially, using these inputs and services in the right way. The employment of Farm Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) by agribusinesses to work with their outreach farmers has proved to be a key element of this business model, improving relationships, raising farming yields and standards, allowing effective monitoring and delivering faster growth. MADE has supported partner firms with their management systems for this approach and encouraged partnerships with specialist service providers, wholesalers and end-users to maximise commercial and financing opportunities across the value chains. MADE has also encouraged the introduction of new technologies such as water capture and drip irrigation, improved mechanisation systems, climate smart agriculture and has worked with the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) to improve post-harvest handling and storage