USAID Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) Project

Summary

USAID-funded Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Project (FTF ADVANCE II) is a six-year project implemented by a consortium led by ACDI/VOCA that started in 2014. The project's main goal is to increase the competitiveness of the maize, rice, and soybean value chains in Ghana. FTF ADVANCE II achieves this goal through boosting the agricultural productivity of the three commodities, improving the value chain actors' access to finance and markets, and strengthening local capacity.

Project Duration

2014 - 2020

Implementing Partners

ACDI/VOCA, ACDEP

Implementation Approach: The Outgrower Business Model 

FTF ADVANCE II project designed the outgrower business model to achieve the project's goal in a sustainable manner. The model employs a facilitation approach that builds and strengthens incentives for investment, builds local capacity, and broadens and catalyzes relationships to increase agricultural productivity and expand access to markets and trade. It involves working along the entire maize, rice, and soybean value chains from the input supplier to the smallholder farmer (SHF) to the aggregator and processor, and finally to the end-market.

The project first surveys the value chains' end markets to identify demands before identifying intermediaries (outgrower businesses) and SHFs to meet markets' demands. The project's team supports the SHFs to improve their productivity and link them to outgrower businesses (OBs), who provide them with inputs, improved farming technologies and services. The project trains OBs to enable them to manage their SHFs effectively and links them to input dealers and financial institutions to access input and financing. 

FTF ADVANCE II project has established demonstration sites and conducted good agronomic practice (GAP) trainings, in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's extension agents. In addition, the project collaborates with radio and digital services to deliver GAPs, and weather information, and mobile financial services to farmers.

The project anticipates that the outgrower business model will attract major buyers to invest in the OBs to strengthen their supply chains, which in turn incentivize the OBs to invest in the smallholder farmers who constitute the production base. If each actor in the value chains makes profit from the business linkages, the core business between the SHFs, the OBs, and the end - buyers will be sustainable after the projet ends.

Sub Sectors

• Agricultural finance
• Agricultural marketing
• Agricultural mechanization and technology
• Agricultural production
• Agricultural value chain
• Capacity building

Geographical Coverage

• Northern: Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, Chereponi, Gushiegu, Karaga, Mamprugu Moagduri, Mion, Nanumba North, Nanumba South, Savelugu Nanton, Saboba, Tamale Metropolitan, Yendi Municipal, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, Bole, Central Gonja, Tatale Sanguli, Tolon, West Mamprusi, Zabzugu.
• Upper East: Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, Binduri, Bolgatanga Municipal, Builsa North, Builsa South, Garu-Tempane, Kassena Nankana East, Kassena Nankana West.
• Upper West: Daffiama Bussie Issa, Jirapa, Lambussie-Karni, Lawra, Nadowli-Kaleo, Nandom, Sissala East, Sissala West, Wa East, Wa Municipal, Wa West.

Funding
US$39,556,780

Key Project Results (as of September 2019

Trainings and Events Offered

• Good Agronomic Practices training
• Post-harvest handling training
• Quality Standards training
• Fall Armyworm (FAW) training
• Soybean utilization training
• Community Fire Volunteer Squads training
• Farming as a Business training
• Service spraying provisions
• Outgrower business management training
• Pre-harvest Agribusiness Event
• Trade Missions

ADVANCE ARCGIS STORY MAP

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c39205e3e580422eafc50a343ec55827