AgDevCo's Smallholder Development Unit to Impact a Further 58,500 Smallholder Farmers in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia

LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

58,500 smallholders in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia will benefit from outgrower programmes backed by AgDevCo's Smallholder Development Unit (SDU), with farmer incomes set to collectively increase by US$8.8 million per year following the support.

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Faranaya is the leading sorghum buyer in a remote, arid region of northern Ghana where farmers have limited access to markets. US$235,000 from the SDU is enabling Faranaya to provide input credit and training to raise the production and governance capacity of its network of 4,000 smallholders.

Mother's Shea, a mother- and daughter-led Ghanaian shea butter processor and exporter, will link 12,000 women shea producers to international markets. US$220,000 from the SDU will support producers' capacity building and attainment of FairTrade and organic certifications.

Silverlands Ranching, a Zambian cattle operation, engages with smallholders by providing cattle dipping services and training in mixed farming, livestock and drought tolerant crops. US$300,000 is being provided to scale up their outgrower support to reach 8,000 farmers.

Malawian groundnut processor and AgDevCo investee Afri-Oils will purchase groundnuts from 15,000 farmers, helping them to transition away from tobacco farming. The SDU's US$355,000 will support training to improve groundnut quality and access to higher-value regional markets.

GADC is a Ugandan cotton ginner providing outgrower and extension services to cotton and sesame growers. The Company recently expanded to the West Nile region where there are many refugees farming cotton without much success. US$810,000 from the SDU will establish a scheme providing agronomic training to 30,000 farmers in the region to improve their productivity and overall household income.

The SDU operates alongside AgDevCo's core activity of providing long-term debt and equity to SMEs. In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and UKAID, the SDU partners with agri-businesses to co-finance equitable and sustainable outgrower schemes. The SDU is on track to deliver 25 projects and benefit 490,000 farmers by 2021.

ABOUT AGDEVCO   
AgDevCo is a social impact investor and agribusiness project developer. With support from UKAID, AgDevCo invests patient capital in the form of debt and equity into early-stage agribusinesses. AgDevCo's mission is to reduce poverty and improve food security, and it has invested over US$120 million in 69 agribusinesses in sub-Saharan Africa to date, connecting more than 400,000 farmers to markets and generating 7,313 jobs. For more information, visit http://www.agdevco.com.