3.9.3. Promote development of Agri-entrepreneurs (AEs model
To link farmers to markets, AEs coordinate harvesting schedules to ensure there is sufficient produce for either a trader to come or for transport to market. AEs also play a role in convergence with government programs focused on agri-infrastructure and making them available to farmers. In the context of PSSA, the agri-entrepreneur system can be considered as a market- oriented approach for stitching together a robust ecosystem to support smallholder youth farmers. AEs play an important role, cutting across the entire agricultural value chain in the rural market ecosystem. The model addresses the critical challenges in the sector, such as low yields, inefficient irrigation, low productivity, and agricultural debt. Also, the model will enable youth farmers to benefit from many existing technologies and innovations that they currently are not able to access. The digital financial services offered by the AEs will alleviate the stress that youth farmers face and the costs that they incur in reaching out to banks. Digital financial services augment the role of traditional buying and selling by generating a continuous stream of income and increasing the reach of digital financial services. Access to resources such as insurance helps farmers mitigate risk. The presence of AEs in the PSSA Zone of Influence will accelerate smallholder farmers’ adoption of new technologies. The AE initiatives can also be used to promote increased access to solar-powered drip irrigation systems, particularly in areas with water challenges. Additionally, there will be a scope for promoting climate-smart agriculture to improve crop residue management and overall soil health. The AE network will help spread proven techniques and technologies to lessen farming’s impact on soil, water and the environment while also increasing smallholders’ resilience. It is envisaged that when they are scaled up and replicated, the AEs will create an entirely new network for transactions between agribusiness companies, start- ups and ‘pre-commercial’ smallholders in the PSSAs ZOI and beyond. The model works on two broad principles of aggregation of small farmers and use of advisory as well as market connect to increase the income of small farmers. The aggregation of small farmers is the key to reducing the cost of inputs or increasing their bargaining power during the sale of agricultural produce. The use of information technologies will further boost the power of aggregation in making swift and real-time decisions. In sum, the AE model creates “win-win” opportunities for all actors involved.
AEs are a one-stop solution for smallholder farmers through youth entrepreneurs. They provide four services: agricultural input sales, crop advice, market linkages, and access to digital financial services. The model involves a selection of a group of youth and training them to provide products and services to a cluster of farmers in selected areas. Essentially, the model seeks to create an ecosystem that can support the emergence of agri-entrepreneurs through the delivery of these services at the village level. In this context, the youth are referred to as the “change agents.” Change agents in this model are Agriculture Entrepreneurs (AEs) who provide all agricultural services to small and marginal farmers, thereby improving their productivity and connectivity to markets – and ultimately fulfilling the objective of increasing farmers’ income. This recommendation responds to the challenge that small-scale youth farmers in most parts of Tanzania are generally trapped in the vicious cycle of low productivity, high cost of credit, with no market connectivity, and as a result, tend to be at the subsistence level of farming. Because of this, standalone interventions in productivity enhancement or the introduction of high-value crops without market linkages is detrimental as the youth farmer would have incurred more on the cost of cultivation with no prospect of better returns due to poor links with the market. Therefore, to increase the income of youth farmers, an integrated approach of increasing productivity, together with market linking and also ensuring access to the proper inputs, has to be implemented. AEs provide farmers with high-quality inputs at prices lower than the local markets, reducing the cost of cultivation. Typically, AEs earn commissions on the sale of agricultural inputs and produce. [95] [96] Case Study 1: The Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation (AEGF) AEGF was established in 2019 by Syngenta Foundation India and Tata Trusts. AEGF adopts a decentralized approach towards empowering rural youth and training them to become Agri- Entrepreneurs (AEs) in rural areas. By doing so, the AEs begin playing key roles in developing the agriculture of their surrounding regions. This initiative brings services, such as credit, market linkage, access to high-quality input, and crop advisory together, under one roof for associated farmers, who are able to avail previously inaccessible services and earn improved incomes. It aims at developing 100,000 AEs in the coming five years to ultimately achieve the goal of serving 20 million smallholders. ( Source: Agricultural Extension South Asia (AESA) Network)
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Youth Enterprise Policy Analysis Report
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