In East Africa, TechnoServe is testing innovative models for creating a profitable agribusiness that builds wealth in small farming communities. For smallholder farmers in Kenya, an outgrower model integrating information and communications technology has the potential to double their incomes.
What if every farmer knew exactly what each of her plants needed—the amount of water, the quantity and formula of fertilizer, the type of pesticide—at any given moment? This is the promise of precision agriculture, in which micro-level data is gathered by drones or satellites and used to enhance decision-making on the farm.
In Nairobi, volunteers from Citibank mentored young shopkeepers participating in the PAYED program, giving expert advice to help them build profitable enterprises for a better future.
In East Africa, a "make-over" style reality television show is providing millions of farmers with top-notch agricultural information. In a recent episode, TechnoServe's own Charles Murage, a business advisor for the YieldWise program, made his TV debut, giving tips to reduce postharvest loss on mango farms.
In Ethiopia, TechnoServe is working with Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality Program to build a coffee sector that is sustainable and prosperous for local farmers and ecosystems.
Recognizing that women make up more than half of Uganda's agricultural labor force, AB InBev partnered with TechnoServe to help women farmers access the agricultural and business knowledge they need to build profitable farms and a sustainable supply chain for AB InBev subsidiaries in the country.
In the Majang Forest of Ethiopia, TechnoServe is working to create sustainable and prosperous forest-based economies by helping women to reduce time spent in drudgery, launch income-generating activities, and enter competitive markets for non-timber forest products.
In Ethiopia, 75 percent of the work in the coffee value chain is carried out by women, whereas only 43 percent of the income is earned by those same women. Kebebushe is one of 79 agronomists working with Nespresso to support more than 40,000 coffee farmers with best farming practices, and to improve the status of women throughout the value chain.
Closing the gender gap is essential to economic growth in Africa, where women generally have less access to education, training, financial services, and assets than men do. Dace Mahanay, TechnoServe's Regional Director for the STRYDE program, discusses keys to supporting young women's business success.
TechnoServe is working to expand commercial livestock services across Kenya's rangelands and is evaluating which business models can provide sustainable agrovet services to pastoralist communities.
