IDH Intelligence

5 years ago, IDH Farmfit embarked on a bold mission to create smallholder-inclusive, commercially viable agricultural value chains in Africa. 🌱 Today, we celebrate reaching over 250,000 farmers—42% of whom are women—through improved access to finance, markets, and services. Read our latest newsletter to discover the key insights, innovations, and investments transforming smallholder agriculture.

What does it take to make agriculture work for women in rural economies? Last month, CGAP and IDH convened leaders and practitioners from the ABERA cohort (Accelerating Business to Empower Rural women) to exchange insights and best practices on gender-inclusive and climate-smart approaches in agriculture and rural contexts. Here are the top 3 takeaways: 1. Gender-inclusive, climate-smart business models • Engage women’s groups 💪 • Address social norms • Promote income diversification 🌾 • Leverage digital tools 📱 These models are good for companies and the rural women they serve. 2. Partnerships drive impact Partnerships with ecosystem players is key. ABERA cohort members Samunnati and Sistema.bio / Sistema Biobolsa showed the impact they have on the lives of rural women through their innovative solutions and partnerships with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO), the Government of India and companies buying produce from the FPO. 3. Tailored digital tools for rural women One-size-fits-all solutions don’t work. Digital approaches need to be tailored to various levels of familiarity and comfort levels and combined with in-person support for maximum impact. 📸 Swipe through to see highlights from the convening! Thank you to all partners for driving change and creating a more inclusive future! 👉 Learn more about ABERA here:  https://lnkd.in/e4awCZ2D #Climatechange #Inclusivebusiness #Genderequality Victor Dagnelie Manisha Majumdar IDH India Vikram Sharma

Garbage In, Garbage Out: Why Sound Data Matters 📊 Access to reliable and standardised farm-level data remains a major challenge for agribusinesses operating in many developing countries. Yet, these data are essential for making informed decisions in service delivery, business operations, and impact improvement strategies. Even when open-source databases are available, a lack of transparency in methodologies and harmonised data collection often discourages investment in smallholder-inclusive business models. In our report, developed in partnership with Akvo, we share key lessons for data collection, management and analyses to support actors avoid common challenges and pitfalls. From ✔️ strategies for selecting the right data collection partners, to ⚠️ identifying risks in partnerships, and 🤝 best practices for effective collaboration—this is a must-read resource for anyone invested in data-informed transformation of smallholder agriculture. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eiG_A4cp  #DataSharingInAg 🌾 Charlotte Keijser, PhD

Hi everyone, here is another @AgriGRADE webinar coming up! Let's have an AgriGRADE date on 11 December! 📢 Unlocking finance for farmer organizations –unchartered territory explored Join the AgriGRADE Webinar: Unlocking Finance for Farmer Organizations Gain valuable insights into financing strategies and success stories. Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of agricultural finance!  🎙️ Special Guest: Geoffrey M., Agricultural Loans Specialist – Africa, Oikocredit  🗓️ Date: 11 December 2024  ⏰ Time: 2 PM CET 🌱 Check out this article (see link in comment 👇) on Access to Finance to discover how professionalizing farmer organizations unlocks their potential, making them attractive to investors while driving rural economic development. A professional farmer organization can access markets, secure financing, and foster sustainable growth—all essential for tackling global challenges like food security and climate resilience. SCOPEinsight Agriterra IDH 360 Connect Co Ltd Africa Turnaround Limited [ATL] Sundy Merchants Co. Ltd

The results are in! 👏 We are pleased to share the findings of an independent evaluation of the recently concluded 𝗜𝗗𝗛 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺! Over nearly six years, this program: • 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, with 𝟰𝟮% 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻  • 𝟲𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 reported an 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲  • Strengthened 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝘃𝗲𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 across Africa The evaluation underscores IDH’s role in leveraging data and insights to deliver evidence-based progress. It highlights IDH’s contribution to building smallholder-inclusive business models that align public resources with private sector initiatives, generating knowledge and insights that benefit society and advance developmental objectives. What made Farmfit unique? The program’s 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀-𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 and 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 empowered companies to design efficient, resilient, and smallholder-inclusive business models. Smallholders gained access to financing through innovations such as 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 among sector actors, 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, and more. Combined with capacity-building initiatives, these innovations strengthened smallholder’s 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 in agricultural value chains. As Carolijn Gommans, Director of Business Analytics and Intelligence notes:  “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘋𝘏 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢.” The legacy of IDH Farmfit continues! Learn more about how we’re sharing insights and inspiring sustainable procurement and service delivery solutions via the Farmfit Insights Hub: farmfitinsightshub.org Learn more about the program's evaluation: https://lnkd.in/eM2zjggZ #InclusiveBusiness #DataDrivenImpact #FoodSytemsTransformation ADE - Evidence for Better Policy Institute of Development Studies Carolijn Gommans

Our colleagues Kafui Adjogatse, CFA and Rosalie Dekker shed light on the future outlook of AgTech investment in African agriculture. Read more 👇

🌍 Driving Living Income in Latin America Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting at The Living Income Community of Practice’s workshop in Bogota, Colombia – an amazing opportunity to explore impactful interventions supporting smallholder farmers on their journey towards a living income. While learning from many successful project-level interventions, I shared key insights from our data-driven analysis comparing 36 coffee business models. My goal: to show the proof behind interventions that work across this value chain, that can optimize business design while boosting value for farmers, to enable these projects and interventions to scale: 💰 Access to finance – Essential for unlocking farmer value and resilience 💼 Complex business models – Higher in cost, but delivering greater value through a broader range of services for farmers 👥 Working through cooperatives – Formal farmer groups improve service quality and amplify impact 🔍 Segmented, tailored services – Customizing support by farmer segment boosts value while keeping company costs stable A personal bonus was connecting with an incredible group of professionals in the Colombian coffee and cocoa value chains, each bringing unique insights and expertise. Having that space to exchange knowledge was really valuable to me. For those interested in a deeper dive, check out IDH Intelligence for more insights, and read our latest paper here: https://lnkd.in/emg96uUi #LivingIncome #Sustainability #SmallholderFarming #Coffee IDH IDH Colombia Sustainable Food Lab

As we convene this week with ABERA partners, our leadership reflects on the transformative power of gender-inclusive business models to strengthen rural economies. Let’s continue building a future where gender equity is the norm, not the exception.   CGAP, Manisha Majumdar   #GenderEquality #ClimateResilience

What makes a business model truly smallholder-inclusive? And how can agribusinesses effectively integrate smallholder farmers into their operational strategies with impact, and in a way that makes business sense? These are some of the key questions explored during a recent knowledge-sharing webinar held on 31 October, hosted by IDH in partnership with with TechnoServe’s CASA Program and AgDevCo. The panel discussions emphasised the importance of diagonistic tools to guide investments and interventions. Participants also gained valuable insights into cost-efficiency, farmer loyalty and digitisation as crucial factors for success. Representing the IDH team, Kafui Adjogatse, CFA shared lessons from the recently completed FarmFit Program, offering practical strategies and examples for agribusinesses. Did you miss the webinar? You can still catch up! 🎥 Watch the recording: https://lnkd.in/e8kPXGg9 📖 Learn more about the Farmfit Program here: https://lnkd.in/eMQMWjSa #InclusiveBusiness

Two months ago, at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum) in Kigali, we came together with partners and visionaries to rethink the challenges and immense potential of transforming African food systems. Under the theme “Innovate, Accelerate, Scale,” we dove into the big questions: How can we create a resilient, equitable food system that truly serves African communities and economies? Our experiences at AFS continue to fuel our mission to transform agriculture across the continent. Here are just a few highlights you’ll find in our recap video: Food Systems Transformation in Action Courageous ideas took centre stage as we partnered with governments, NGOs, and communities to explore Agri-SME empowerment and inclusive business models that uplift smallholder farmers. Data-driven solutions are reshaping the way Africa feeds itself. Soil Health Solutions for Africa’s Future Robert Asugre, Ghana's Country Director, joined the World Economic Forum, Boomitra, and key stakeholders to discuss how multi-stakeholder partnerships can accelerate soil health solutions. Healthy soil is the foundation of sustainable growth. Revolutionizing Cold Chain Infrastructure Our partnership with AfriCatalyst and Millennium Challenge Corporation showcased scalable cold chain innovations for crops like avocados in Rwanda. NIRERE Sylvie, Rwanda Country Manager presented how infrastructure development can drive agricultural transformation and unlock new market potential. AgriGRADE: A New Partnership for Empowering Rural Communities Co-hosted with SCOPEinsight, Agriterra, and FarmFit Fund, we demonstrated how collaboration and data-driven approaches are essential to professionalizing rural organizations, paving the way for growth and sustainability. AFS is a reminder of the bold steps we are taking to create a food system that is resilient, inclusive, and centred on African needs, every day. We’re proud of our progress and look forward to future collaborations in this courageous journey. Catch the story and our key takeaways in the recap video! #AfricaFoodSystems #AFS2024 #CourageInAction #SustainableAgriculture #InclusiveBusiness #SoilHealth #ColdChain #AgriSMEs #IDH Mascha Middelbeek Charlotte Keijser, PhD Serge Ndayitabi Sharon W. Barasa Carolijn Gommans Eniola Fabusoro Juan Carlo Intriago Zambrano Azul Cappo