How we Work

Understand How We Work

Since its incorporation in 2003, FIPS-Africa has developed an Approach to quickly and cost-effectively help farmers gain access to the knowledge and inputs they need to increase the productivity of their crops and livestock in a sustainable way. 

The Approach is currently being implemented for the benefit of hundreds of thousands of farmers. 

https://youtu.be/p_enRDIwtvo

Our Pillars

Our Approach has five key pillars which have equal importance and are closely integrated.

Innovate

Practical solutions applying best of farmer practice and research

Understand

Farmer point of view

Partner

With public, private sectors; organizations with complementary expertise 

Include

Everyone in the village 

Win-win

Win for private sector linkages, self-employed VBAs, youth agribusiness 

The Village Based Advisors (VBAs) Small Pack Model 

We work with Self-employed Village-based Advisors (VBAs) who implement FIPS-Africa’s VBAs Small Pack Model.  The VBAs provide advice and guidance and sell inputs and services to support the most appropriate crop and livestock options for any given location.

VBAs disseminate inputs to all farmers in a Village through the Small Pack Model.

Small Pack is aimed at promoting inclusive agricultural practices by providing smallholder farmers, regardless of gender or economic status, with a manageable quantity of seeds for an improved crop variety. This approach provides an opportunity for the farmer to “learn-by-doing” with a new variety on their own farms with little risk.

The Small Pack is effective in creating demand for improved maize varieties, and farmers invariably return to the VBA to purchase larger quantities of seed.

For self-pollinated and vegetatively-propagated crops, farmers often engage in seed multiplication to increase the quantity of planting material and expand cultivation over larger areas. to improve their food security. 

VBAs are:
  • Recruited from within villages they serve
  • Hardworking, honest, available, and community-minded
  • Self-employed entrepreneurs
  • Incentivised by money, respect, and the desire to help.
VBAs are taught: 
  • Good crop and soil management
  • Climate-smart technologies
  • How to teach all farmers in their villages, and
  • How to make money from input supply and related services.

Since VBAs can generate enough income, they are able to continue to offer their services to farmers after the end of a project. 

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