Adayelsum Meridian Seeds produces and aggregates agricultural commodities from smallholder farmers. It is one of the largest aggregators and suppliers of fertiliser, seeds (vegetables, maize, rice, cowpea and groundnut), tractor services and seedlings to commercial producers. Adayelsum Meridian Seeds works with 620 smallholder out-growers (40% women) in five districts, each cultivating 5 acres of land. The company provides its out-growers (dry season farmers) with agro-inputs on credit with payment due after harvest. In 2018, the company won an award as one of the best-selling agro-inputs companies in the Agricultural Manufacturing Groups. It joined the MADE programme in 2016 and between 2016 and 2019 it aggregated 6,200 MT of rice and 2,200 MT of maize.
MADE interventions
- Recruited, trained and deployed three Farm Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) and one FEA manager.
- Provided demonstrations on fertiliser application, use of new varieties of seeds and plant protection processes.
- Facilitated formal commercial partnerships between Adayelsum Meridian Seeds Enterprise and Simple Prince and Agri Seeds.
- Introduced the Advanced Model, which enabled Adayelsum Meridian Seeds Enterprise to offer a bundle of inputs and services to smallholder farmers.
- Facilitated a relationship between Adayelsum Meridian Seeds Enterprise and Barclays Bank.
Impacts
- Expanded smallholder farmer outreach from 231 in 2015 to 1,000 in 2018.
- Increased smallholder farmers’ access to inputs and services on credit.
- Increased understanding among farmers of how to improve their agricultural methods.
- Raised yields for smallholder farmers from an average of 7 to 10 bags (100 kg) per acre for maize, 13 to 18 bags (100 kg) per acre for rice, 4 to 7 bags (100 kg) per acre for soybean and 5 to 8 bags (100 kg) per acre for sorghum, between 2015 and 2018.
