Abugpoka Enterprise produces and aggregates agricultural commodities from smallholder farmers for sale to processing industries. It is the largest aggregator and supplier of cereals to the School Feeding and BASA programmes. The company also supplies maize, groundnut, rice, sorghum and soybean to Agricare Limited and Adayelsum Meridian Seeds Enterprise and to traders from Burkina Faso. Abugpoka works with 1,035 smallholder out-growers (70% women) in three districts, with each female farmer cultivating three acres and each male farmer cultivating 10 acres. The company provides its out-growers with agro-inputs and farm advisory services. In 2016, Abugpoka won the Best Female Farmer award and in 2018 the company was recognised as the best aggregator for rural areas. It joined the MADE programme in 2018 and has since aggregated 6,000 MT of rice, maize and soybean.
MADE interventions
- Recruited, trained and deployed five Farm Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) and one FEA manager.
- Facilitated links with tractor services.
- Introduced insurance for farmers.
- Supported underserved farmers using extension services from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
- Provided demonstrations and training on how to use new varieties of seeds, spacing and the application of fertilisers.
- Facilitated relationships with Adayelsum Meridian Seeds Enterprise and Agricare Limited.
Impacts
- Increased smallholder outreach from 789 in 2018 to 1,035 in 2019.
- Increased smallholder farmers’ access to agro-inputs and services on credit.
- Increased understanding of good agricultural practices and proper application of agro-inputs.
- Facilitated timely application of agro-inputs.
- Improved financial forecasting and planning for smallholder farmers.
- Raised yields for smallholder farmers from an average of 4 to 12 bags (100 kg) per acre between 2018 and 2019.
