FIPS Africa at a glance

Food security and incomes

In 2003 FIPS Africa developed the concept of Village-based Advisors (VBAs) as a way to empower smallholder farmers to build sustainable livelihoods through equitable access to information, inputs, best management practices, and support networks for increased productivity and income.

We currently have over 3,200 VBAs in Kenya and 4,900 internationally supporting over 1,500,000 farming families. Our model was adopted by AGRA as a cornerstone of delivering its vision.

Our training unit has worked with 69 organisations across 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to help ensure the knowledge we have built up over 20 years become an international public good.

Access to inputs and extension services

Inputs and extension provision

We improve access to inputs and extension provision by:

Training and supporting self-employed Village-based Advisors (VBAs) in Kenya to deliver advice, and build up income from sale of inputs and provision of extension services
Providing training and development services to support the transformation of extension provision across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond
Providing training and grants to youth agri-entrepreneurs producing vegetables, poultry and eggs and fodder crops
Developing a network of agro-dealers to work with village-based advisors and meet the needs of smallholder farmer
Supporting private sector input supplies to develop products and services that meet the needs of the smallholder farmer

Policy change for farmers

FIPS Africa advocates for changes in policy and practices that can support smallholders to thrive by:

Advocating for informal seed system developments that ensure that farmers can access the seed and clean planting material they need

Research and development

FIPS Africa brings research and development of new technologies to smallholder farmers by:

Working with partners to undertake original research to validate technologies that work well in smallholder
farming families.
Testing sustainable, low-cost solutions to improve soil health, increase productivity or reduce drudgery
Supporting all farmers to use trail pack of seed to test the suitability of the crop before moving to scale
Facilitating farmer research networks aligning with co-creation and knowledge-sharing principles
Working with the private sector to bring promising options and technologies within the grasp of smallholder farmers

FIPS Africa at a glance

Food security and incomes

Access to inputs and extension services

Inputs and extension provision

Policy change for farmers

Research and development

How we make smallholder farmers benefit from research

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