TechnoServe’s projects yield a wealth of lessons that can help us – and others – improve our work. Through this interactive platform, we share succinct insights from our projects every year, in order to build on this knowledge for even greater impact in the future.
Select a technical field below to see the lessons we have learned from our work, and click the links to learn more.
Farmers need to see short-term payoffs, so it is important to balance the planting of crops that take years to bear fruit with more short-term wins, such as rejuvenating existing plants.
Messaging technology like WhatsApp can be an efficient way to aggregate demand for inputs among smallholder farmers and communicate with dealers.
When working with food processors, it’s important to identify “quick wins” that can be easily implemented, winning the trust of the processor for longer, more involved interventions.
Providing business training to large, influential “anchor” firms that purchase large amounts of crops from smallholder farmers can help the businesses forge stronger market linkages and develop better financial management, ultimately benefiting smallholders.
Production timelines and crop suitability can vary significantly even within the same state, so it is important to understand local microclimates and conduct localized soil testing.
A mix of both financial and non-financial support is important for agribusinesses at the early stage of the business life-cycle. While applicants are often drawn to the program by seed capital, the technical assistance they then receive plays a vital role in strengthening their business models.
When a project's strategy for reaching smallholders relies on working with agribusinesses that source their crops, it is helpful to identify a pipeline of other potential partner firms. Relying on just a handful of firms exposes the project to risk.
Because hired farm laborers perform many of the tasks that most impact productivity, inviting them to attend training alongside farmers can lead to higher yields.
Since businesses in different stages of growth and sophistication have different needs, segmenting the enterprises from the beginning helps ensure more tailored support and better results.
Complementing bank credit with grant funding encourages banks to lend to smaller businesses than they usually work with, as credit risk is reduced. For borrowers, this blended finance approach defrays the cost of traditional credit and enables access to collateral previously not available.
