Page 97 - AFAP Success Stories 2020

AFAP Malawi Extends its

Agrodealer Support Base into

the Southern Region of Malawi

AFAP views Hub Agrodealers as “last-mile distributors of inputs to farmers and first-mile
access to market”. This thus creates a sustainable way for farmers to access input and
markets for their produce with other added farmer solutions provided by the private sector.
From 2018, AFAP Malawi had been supporting 12 Hub Agrodealers and later increased the
number to 15 hubs. However, all were from the central and northern regions of Malawi.
Through a new AGRA grant awarded in December 2018 titled “Strengthening Fertilizer
Systems through Promotion of Area Specific Fertilizer Blending in Malawi”, the southern
region where AFAP had no footprint, has now been included. AFAP Malawi and its
implementing partners have now identified and profiled four Hub Agrodealers in the
southern part of Malawi. They are from the districts of Nsanje, Chiradzulu, Mwanza, and
Nkhotakota. Each hub will work with 40 community agribusiness advisors (CAAs) to
support the Hub Agrodealers. They will also coordinate five lead farmers who will be
hosting demonstration plots to promote awareness of the 23:10:5: 6 +1Zn new N:P:K
blanket fertilizer formulation released by the government of Malawi in 2018. Farmer
followers will also receive small demo packs to try in their back yards.
The aim of the demonstrations is to create demand for the Agrodealers’ products and
services. From this model, twenty follower farmers are expected to learn best agronomic
practices from each of the lead farmers. Meanwhile, the additional Hub Agrodealers
have already employed extension officers who will be responsible for coordinating the
demand-creation activities.
With the addition of these Agrodealers AFAP Malawi has now expanded its support from
twelve to seventeen Agrodealers and covers all the regions in Malawi.

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