AgriPath: Empowering farmers’ transition to sustainable agriculture through effective and efficient digital pathways

[1] Extension agents are responsible for providing advice and information to farmers that will enable them to make informed decisions about a particular innovation, investment or production practice.

§  50,000 smallholder farmers, with a focus on youth, of which 50% are women 

§  250 extension agents from public and private advisory service providers in five target countries.

Potential additional smallholders farmers adopting sustainable practices thanks to the project could reach 100,000 within the project’s duration (it is expected that each direct beneficiary convinces another two smallholder farmers to use a digital advisory service and to adopt sustainable agriculture practices). 

1. 50,000 male and female smallholder farmers have access to evidence-based and tailored advice and adopt sustainable agricultural practices. 

2. Ministries of agriculture, the development community and digital advisory service providers in five countries promote evidence-based delivery models to scale-up gender-sensitive digital advisory services for long-term behaviour change towards sustainable agriculture. 

Expected results:  

- Project implementation partners understand
  enablers and barriers of digital advisory services
  adoption, including intra-household dynamics.-

-  The adapted farmbetter app is released in five
   target countries with an exit strategy for continued
   support of users after the project’s end.

- A toolkit for digital advisory services developers,
  and public and private extension service providers
  is developed.

- Target countries and neighbouring countries are
  supported in scaling sustainable agriculture with
  digital advisory services. 

Results from previous phases:   This project builds on an exchange of first insights produced by the implementation partners of the Consortium (Grameen Foundation USA, Grameen Foundation India and farmbetter Ltd), individually experimenting with different delivery models for digital advisory services. Extension based models are costly, but effective in closing the knowledge gap, especially for women. Self-service models providing advice on tailored sustainable agricultural practices for farmers are more cost-efficient, but barriers include low smartphone literacy, the absence or cost of data connectivity and the lack of explanation by extension agents. The vision for developing a cost efficient and effective delivery model has provoked a dialogue between the implementers. The TRANSFORM call for proposal gave them the opportunity, together with Research Institutions, to apply for resources to test and implement their idea. 

Coordination with the Focal Point Food Security, with the regional advisor at the Eastern and Southern Africa Division, as well as with the Asia Division. Diffusion of research results with the Food Security network members.

The project will be coordinated with key strategic actors and initiatives, for example with Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa, CGIAR, FAO and Access Agriculture.