Cropcare Ghana Limited aggregates maize and soybean, and provides agro-inputs to smallholder farmers. Although the company is based in the southern part of Ghana, it’s main out-grower operations are in 11 districts of the North Savannah Ecological Zone, where it provides for at least 28 farmer-based organisations with a smallholder population of over 2,600. Cropcare is a relatively young but fast-growing company and has established strong links with major distributors of agricultural inputs. It is a newer partner for MADE, joining the programme in 2018. In that year, Cropcare aggregated more than 3,200 MT of maize; in 2019, the figure rose to 4,800 MT.
MADE interventions
- Worked with Cropcare to recruit, train and deploy 10 Farm Enterprise Advisors in 2018 and 2019.
- Introduced farmers for the first time to crop insurance.
- Strengthened commercial partnerships between Cropcare and suppliers such as RMG Ghana, which provide agricultural inputs on credit.
- Facilitated partnerships between Cropcare and Trust Link Agro and Guohuoballe in 2018 and Asrahms Limited in 2019.
- Introduced the Advanced Model to help Cropcare identify and provide an integrated bundle of inputs and services to increase crop yields and productivity.
Impacts
- Increased smallholder farmer outreach from 400 in 2017 to 2,614 in 2019 – a rise of more than 600%.
- Improved smallholders’ access to high-yielding hybrid seed and other agricultural inputs.
- Improved agronomy practices and post-harvest storage activities through training on good agricultural practices, marketing models and business skills.
- Increased yields for smallholder farmers from an average of nine bags of maize to 25 bags per acre in 2018 and 28 bags per acre in 2019.
- Increased crop recovery rates from 60% to 80% between 2018 and 2019.
