Seed Markets & Distribution

Limited access to necessary agriculture inputs has been the main cause of low agricultural productivity and the overall poor economic growth and development in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agro-input dealers play a significant role of guaranteeing that farmers have access to the essential agricultural inputs that contribute to boosting the agricultural productivity. Despite this importance, the strategic role and position of the agro-input dealers has not been fully exploited especially in dissemination and communication of the key agricultural technologies and solutions.

The depth and breadth of input distribution has faced many challenges including:
  • Wide geographical spread and poor rural infrastructure, making it difficult for input suppliers to reach all agro-dealers.
  • Weak business linkages between input suppliers and agro-dealers due to mistrust and poor business ethics among some agro-dealers.
  • Weak agro-dealer associations and regulatory agencies, contributing to input counterfeiting.
  • Limited ability of shop attendants to provide technical advice to farmers on the use of inputs.
  • A tendency for agrodealers to become concentrated in towns and trading centres, while remote rural areas remain under-served.
  • Limited awareness of - and demand for - inputs among smallholder farmers, restricting agro-input business opportunities in rural areas.

The Vision for Seed Marketing and Distribution

Although an agro dealer basically sells different inputs such as seed, animal feed, fertilizers and other farm accessories it remains crucial that agrodealers are well trained to provide quality service, high quality products and are compliant to the regulatory requirements for agro-input providers.

The vision is of an ecosystem that has an optimum number of agrodealers that distributes a wide range of inputs, enabling rural-based smallholder farmers to access the technologies cost-effectively. We also envision a distribution system that also serve as a form of private extension advice and enhance farmer awareness of good agronomic practices. To close the loop agro dealers will also play the role of commodity aggregation, thus reducing farm level post-harvest losses and linking farmers to structured markets.

Basis of comparison: Reducing the distance travelled by a farmer to access input. The farmer should not travel more than 5 kms to access an agrodealer. This will see agro dealers play a catalytic role for agricultural growth in Africa