Alokodongo & Sons is a large farming business working 200 acres of land, of which 100 are irrigated, in the Upper East Region. The company works with 500 smallholder out-growers, two-thirds of which are women; each smallholder cultivates an average of 2 acres in two districts. They manage livestock and grow maize, soybean, mangoes and cashew nuts. Alokodongo & Sons was awarded the Regional and National Best Farmer prize in 1994 and again in 1996. The company has two tractors and two shellers. All the smallholder farmers pay for inputs and services through crop recovery; this excludes tractor services, for which the farmers pay directly. Alokodongo joined the MADE programme in 2014, and in 2018 aggregated 4,000 maxi-bags of produce.
MADE interventions
- Introduced the Advanced Business Model which enabled Alokodongo to offer bundles of inputs and services to smallholder farmers, including planting in rows, and the use and application of hybrid seeds and fertiliser.
- Recruited, trained and deployed two Farm Enterprise Advisors to advise smallholders in modern agricultural techniques and supervise their use.
- Facilitated commercial relationship with Simple Prince Enterprise, which supplies Alokodongo with inputs on credit and at the farm gate.
- Facilitated a partnership between Alokodongo, Yelsumde Ghana and Ariku Company Limited, enabling the companies to obtain a joint insurance deal on favourable terms.
- Introduced Alokodongo to drip irrigation for pepper plants in order to provide dry-season options that ease cash-flow problems.
Impacts
- Increased smallholder farmer outreach from 100 in 2014 to 500 in 2018.
- Increased smallholder farmers’ access to inputs and services on credit.
- Increased understanding of good agricultural practices and proper application of agro-inputs.
- Raised yields for smallholder farmers between 2014 and 2018 from 5 to 10 maxi-bags per acre for maize, and from 4 to 8 maxi-bags per acre for soybean.
- Facilitated timely application of inputs: fertiliser, weedicides and pesticides.
- Improved financial forecasting and planning for smallholders.
