Farming that works for a

BETTER WORLD

Agriculture

Capacity Statement

Agriculture faces several challenges, especially for small scale producers who

account for the majority of production. Soil degradation and environmental

damage are making production increasingly fragile. Access to markets and to finance

for farmers and small businesses is often difficult, and young people are leaving

rural areas. Climate change is exacerbating all of these problems, making both

farmers and businesses in the food system vulnerable, and threatening food supplies

to consumers.

Practical Action aims to make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers,

so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a decent standard of living. We

believe that for this to be achieved, agriculture needs to be:

• Commercially successful. Small-scale farmers need to be integrated into

markets to make a reasonable livelihood. This includes having viable commercial

relationships with businesses that supply inputs and services to them, and that

buy their produce.

• Environmentally sustainable. Agricultural practises need to ensure adequate

production whilst at the same time maintaining natural capital (soil, water and

biodiversity) on which they depend. The ability of farmers and agri-businesses to

adapt to climate change is a crucial part of this.

• Inclusive. Agricultural markets need to provide fair and meaningful opportunities

to all, including women and youth. This includes farmers, but also agri-business

entrepreneurs and workers. A healthy rural economy will reduce urban migration

and help reverse the ageing of agricultural populations.

We are Practical Action

An international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to

work so people in poverty can change their world.

We’re a global change-making organisation comprised of three specialist

groups with unique expertise. The organisation consists of:

• A development NGO which works alongside communities to trial and

perfect creative solutions to problems that keep people poor.

• Practical Action Publishing takes our learnings and those of other

practitioners and disseminates them worldwide through books, journals

and open knowledge platforms.

• Practical Action Consulting (PAC) provides specialist technical

expertise to our own projects, to other development organisations,

government bodies and the private sector.

Currently we work in more than 20 countries and operate from 11 regional

offices across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the UK.

In recent years, we have focused on four inter-related sectors and,

importantly, on the nexus between them. These include access to renewable

energy, agriculture and food security, urban water, sanitation, hygiene and

waste management, and disaster risk reduction.

We believe in the power of small innovations to change the big picture. And

that together we can take practical action to build futures free from poverty.

Our approach to

agriculture

Through ingenious solutions, we’re making agriculture work better for

smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate

change and achieve a good standard of living. In 2018-19, 1.1 million people

benefitted directly from our work to improve agricultural productivity and

incomes.

Working with farmer organisations since the 1960s, our core strength lies in our

connections to communities and understanding of local contexts.

We take a systems approach. We address linkages between markets and business,

climate change and environmental sustainability and gender and youth equality. We

also work on the promotion of energy access as a means to strengthen agricultural

productivity.

We have a variety of strategies and competencies that are relevant to companies

including:

• Developing sustainable agriculture.

We develop approaches and

train farmers to adopt practises that protect natural capital and which lead to

sustainable production increases, adaptation to climate change and reduction of

GHG emissions. This includes regenerative agricultural practices, climate smart

technologies and the reduced use of inputs.

• Improving farmer livelihoods so that farmers can make a decent living,

and sustainable agriculture can deliver viable opportunities for young people and

can transform rural economies.

• Strengthening producer groups capacity to support improved

productivity, better quality produce, and aggregation, all assisting the integration

into commercial supply chains.

• Building inclusive supply chains. We bridge the gap between companies

and small scale farmers. We work with companies to enable them to better

understand and engage with small scale farmers. We support small scale farmers,

including women and youth, to develop the capacity, the confidence and the voice

to engage with companies in ways that ensure supply chains are inclusive and

resilient.

• Facilitating stakeholder engagement and cross-sector

collaboration. We enable multi-stakeholder platforms, made up of business,

civil society, research institutions and government, to address challenges holding

back inclusiveness and growth of specific agricultural sectors.

• Undertaking market assessments and analysis. We carry out

sectoral analysis to identify constraints and use this to focus on interventions

where change is needed and establish partnerships with market actors.

• Providing market expertise in renewable energy. We support

the analysis and development of ‘productive use programming’. This includes

the use of renewable energy to support irrigation, agro-processing and other

functions that support improved productivity, value addition and sustainability in

agriculture.

Examples of our work

around the world

Practical Action works with private companies and

international institutions to develop more inclusive

business practices and supply chains. Examples of our

work include:

Nestlé: Sustainable dairy supply chain in

Peru

We developed a strategy for sustainable production

and improved farmer incomes for the company’s dairy

supply chain. Key outputs included a tool to diagnose

the potential of the communities to be part of the

programme, a governance infrastructure

and a long-term implementation plan to improve

the productivity of farmers who supply milk to Nestlé.

World Bank: Market access and climate

change adaptation in Nepal

We worked with lead firms to improve market access

and support climate change adaptation. Climate-

smart packages, based on integrated agriculture,

were delivered through training and demonstrations.

Aggregation measures were developed, leading to

more commercial relationships between farmers

and off-takers, resulting in increases to farmer income

and changes in business practices of lead firms.

European Union: Sustainable coffee in

Peru, Bolivia and Nepal

We developed approaches for sustainable coffee-

based agroforestry. This expanded the capacity of

producer groups to adopt an ecosystem approach

to farming to protect natural capital, prevent

deforestation and reduce GHG emissions. Yields have

doubled and the quality of coffee has improved as

results.

World Bank: Productivity and quality in

poultry farms in Nepal

With their support, we worked with the largest

poultry input suppliers (feed, chick, vaccine

providers) to develop a comprehensive poultry

support package for farmers. This led to increased

productivity and quality, improved incomes for

farmers and increased volumes for the lead firms

involved.

Swiss Development Corporation: Market

access in Bangladesh

Funded by the Swiss Development Corporation

(SDC), Practical Action facilitated the development

of 420 producer groups, created a platform for

engagement with other market actors and enabled

business relationships to be built.

Prabna Meat: Quality improvement of the

company’s products and empowerment

of women in Bangladesh

We worked with Prabna Meat, the second-largest

meat company in Bangladesh, to improve product

quality and support women’s economic empowerment

at the same time. Practical Action developed Rural

Sales and Service Centres, which connected women

to the company and enabled access to training from

Prabna Meat and other service providers.

FCDO: Key value chains in Zimbabwe

With support from FCDO, Practical Action is

working with private companies and farmers to

develop contract farming in key value chains, and

access to finance for women farmers and women-led

enterprises.

IKEA: Improvement of value chains in

Kenya

In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, we are

developing a multi-stakeholder platforms that aims

to improve the poultry, groundnut and tomato value

chains. Working groups, made up of businesses (e.g.

Kenchic, Equity Bank) and government agencies, are

tackling access to finance, access to training services

and the provision of market information.

Advocacy in use of agricultural soils in

Nepal

Practical Action has recently supported the creation

of a national platform for soil organic matter made up

of government, civil society and agri-businesses. The

platform aims to develop strategies for the renewal

and maintenance of agricultural soils in the country.

USAID: Market System Analysis in Nepal

As part of the USAID Feed the Future programme

in Nepal we conducted market systems analysis

for agricultural and livestock sectors. This

helped the project identify technology solutions

for the intensification of production and for

increasing market system efficiencies including

recommendations on strategies to increase incomes

for marginalised women farmers.

Participatory Market System Analysis in

Rwanda

We carried out a participatory market analysis

in the horticulture sector to inform the

development of Oxfam’s strategy. The analysis

included: cost analysis, risk analysis, assessment

of local markets, stakeholder mapping and an

assessment of the growth potential of specific sub-

sectors. Recommendations were provided on the

development of market development strategies for

specific crops.

Other services provided to private sector

clients:

In addition to the agriculture focussed examples

above, Practical Action has monitoring, evaluation

and learning expertise that can support companies

improve operations. For instance, we carried out a

review of TRANSFORM, the FCDO, Unilever and

EY partnership providing grants and technical

support to last mile distribution companies in sub-

Saharan Africa and South Asia. This initiative has

supported 56 projects in 13 countries so far. Our

assignment explored strengths and weaknesses

of the partnership and identified opportunities to

create efficiencies to how activities were run.

Learn more about these and other examples in:

https://practicalaction.org/consulting/

Together we can create a world

that works better for everyone.

John Chettleborough

Agriculture and Markets Lead, PAC

john.chettleborough@practicalaction.org.uk

Practical Action Consulting

The Robbins Building

25 Albert Street, Rugby

CV21 2SD, United Kingdom