Duration: November 2019 to August 2020
RCID contact person: Jules Kazungu (Email: jules.kazungu@rcidcentre.com)
Sponsor: CARE International through the support from Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR).
Through the support from Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), a consortium made of CARE International Rwanda and DUHAMIC ADRI is implementing the “Promote Financial Inclusion for Smallholder Farmers (Women) organized into VSL groups project (PROFIFA)” in 6 districts of Rwanda from 2017 to May 2020. The project has identified some agriculture market failure including limited access for women smallholder farmer to formal financial services, inadequate financial products, insufficient trust among the actors across the value chain, poor incentive structure for large off-takers for contract farming, small landholding farms and low production to stimulate agri-financing and lack of diversity in the sector, particularly in the rural areas. The project supported on equipping members of village saving and loan (VSL) groups, involved in agriculture with advanced financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, facilitate formal financial linkage of the targeted VSL groups to formal financial institutions in order to increase smallholder farmers’ access to appropriate and affordable financial products and build the capacity of farmers in term of modern farming techniques for them to increase their market driven productivity, farmers promoters received agricultural good practices (GAP) training and facilitate the linking of smallholder farmers to the market through interface with off takers and facilitate trust building between farmers and buyers.
RCID has contract by CARE International in developing an “Inclusive Agriculture Value Chain Market Driven Business Model” to support PROFIFA Project for two priority value chains (Maize and horticulture) in the Rwamagana, Gakenke and Huye Districts.
The main tasks of RCID Ltd were:
- Rapid assessment of Maize and Horticulture values chains to give preliminary assessment study by identifying existing service providers in the pilot target project intervention zones ( 3 districts of Rwanda and advise on how the project can leverage opportunities to improve the business performance of SHF and sustained business relations with other chain actors.
- Mapping different chain actors involved in the supply chains, their business characteristics and working relations among actors as well as existing services to support the businesses along the supply chains;
- Develop the model to strength business relationships between Farmer Groups and other value chain actors by establishing/ improving (existing) Agribusiness Forums in the value chains supported,
- Coaching technical and management of Farmer Groups by providing them Business Development Services (BDS) in some selected topics and enhance smallholder farmers’ businesses and negotiation skills.
