Market systems
Our approach addresses the root causes of why markets so often fail to meet the needs of rural farmers.
Once Ripple Effect has supported smallholder farmers in producing enough healthy food to feed their families the next step is to connect them to markets where they can sell their surplus produce and build their household income.
Making markets work for the poor
We develop farmers’ understanding of how farms and markets operate as a system. Rural people can gain by engaging in markets as producers, consumers or employees, but access isn’t always open to them. We work to remove any barriers to participation, influencing decision-makers to ensure that the benefits are flowing to everyone.
Deogratious Egeru, Enterprise, Development & Innovation Coordinator, Ripple Effect
Leveraging the power of small groups through cooperatives
We encourage our farmer groups to evolve into cooperatives in order to get access to wider markets. We help build their capacity by training in all aspects of cooperative management: bulking produce, developing marketing together and using collective bargaining power to negotiate for better contracts and prices.
Some cooperatives go on to register as legal entities, enabling them to take advantage of financial products and services from banks.
Developing farm-to-table value addition
Farmers mustn’t remain stuck at the bottom of the supply chain with the smallest profit margins. Innovation and product development aren’t the sole preserve of established producers.
Our training in adding value enables the farmers we work with to identify potential food products they could process, package and brand, and helps them to meet the marketing requirements for processed products.
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