Project
Inclusive agri-food systems prove to be a smart investment
From farmers to local enterprises, smallholders are the backbone of supply chains and the economies of countries in the developing world. The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme seeks to empower them as prime movers of a more sustainable, equitable world through targeted investments, technical assistance and a wealth of knowledge and experiences.
June 18, 2025
- SDG: #1, #2, #5, #8, #13, #15, #17
- SECTORS: Development Consulting
- COUNTRIES: Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda and Uganda
- DONOR: United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) - International Climate Finance
- DURATION: March 2019-March 2026
- TEAM LEADER (components A&C): Steve Morris
- DEPUTY TL & PROGRAMME MANAGER: William Leonard
- TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Kristina Mastroianni
- CONTRACT DIRECTOR: Karen Smith
Smallholder farmers play a crucial role in agricultural systems. They typically manage areas less than 10 hectares to support a single family, planting and selling cash crops while using part of their produce to feed their families.
In Africa and South Asia, they produce an estimated 70% and 60%, respectively, of the food supply. Although arable land makes up just 6% of Africa’s area, agriculture drives 35% of its GDP, 30% of exports, and employs 240 million people. In South Asia, with a population of 2 billion, agriculture is equally vital.
Despite their role in ensuring food security, smallholders face major challenges. Limited access to quality inputs, irrigation and formal financing, along with outdated practices and limited exposure to modern technologies, hinder their productivity. Cut off from global value chains they rely on middlemen, reducing their already slim earnings. Climate change is an added complication, further reducing productivity and yield.
Agricultural enterprises also struggle due to the lack of opportunities to collaborate with local farmers and face the same financing challenges. These compounding problems make them appear high risk to financial institutions. Agri-SMEs also face difficulties in complying with stringent financial requirements, stymieing access to credit and, subsequently, entry to bigger value chains and markets.
This context underpins the CASA programme, a seven-year initiative running until 2026 and funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). CASA demonstrates that national and global investment on smallholders and agribusinesses can help build climate-resilient, inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems—providing opportunities to stakeholders while addressing issues on climate change, agriculture, social inclusion and food and nutrition security.
CASA is concluding its operations in Malawi in June 2025 and in Nepal in July, but work continues in Ethiopia and Rwanda over the coming months. The programme is built around three distinct components:
Partnering with SMEs for Development Impact: Lessons from CASA
Developing value chains
Together with our partner Swisscontact, NIRAS implements the first component of CASA, which aims to introduce interventions that will catalyse the entry and participation of more agri-SMEs and smallholder farmers to the commercial agriculture market.
Centred around the market systems development (MSD) approach, our work aims to improve agricultural markets by addressing constraints and hurdles in the system, promoting solutions based on market conditions and fostering stakeholders’ sustainable and inclusive growth. Focussing on seven agricultural value chains, the goal is to develop agri enterprises and smallholder farms into sound businesses which are also climate-resilient and inclusive ventures.
The MSD component empowers SMEs to become prime contributors to the agricultural value chain through technical assistance and catalytic grants to those that showed the highest potential impact while remaining profitable. The project team helps enterprises prepare for and secure funding by demonstrating their viability and readiness for investment. Across the participating countries, the component has supported a total of 96 entities —including agri-SMEs, producer organisations, financial institutions and agri-tech information suppliers—leveraging more than £10.7 million in investments.
CASA particularly targeted SMEs developing innovative solutions to constraints and opportunities in their markets and opening access to more lucrative markets. For instance, in Rwanda, CASA linked agri-SMEs with local business development service providers.
CASA’s 7 value chains
- Aquaculture
- Beans
- Dairy
- Poultry
- Sesame
- Soybean
- Vegetables
“I work in the finance department, and I can tell you that I see a big change every day in our accounting, procurement and human resources management activities. This is because of the training and the tools provided by the [local BDS team]. Some of them are being used daily. We thank CASA for that support.”
Gad Niyoniringiye of Fine Fish Ltd. in Rwanda
CASA particularly targeted SMEs developing innovative solutions to constraints and opportunities in their markets and opening access to more lucrative markets. For instance, in Rwanda, CASA linked agri-SMEs with local business development service providers.
In addition to SMEs, CASA connected smallholder farmers to formal and commercial supply chains. The deployed interventions enhanced farms’ productivity, increased farmers’ income and secured supply of food for their families, and future-proofed farms for business- and climate-related issues. The programme also facilitated farmers’ access to inputs and credit facilities and provided tailored advisory services.
Empowering Rwandan AgriSMEs to become investment-ready and have access to financial services
CASA reached more than 380,000 smallholder farmers, highlighting processes to streamline and increase the efficiency of participating farms. Examples include the use of infrared to catch diseases ravaging crops and novel practices of collecting farmer data.
In Nepal, dairy farmers like Gopal Giri use technology to access data that could help them optimise production, such as fat and solids-not-fat content of milk that they supply. CASA also supported vegetable agribusinesses that utilise mobile applications and versatile software to replace handwritten tallies, which has eased the process for farmers.
As a result of CASA interventions, farmers in participating countries saw an increase in their incomes—ranging from approximately £33 per year in Malawi, £130 in Ethiopia, to £684 in Nepal.
The programme also prioritised inclusion, ensuring women farmers and associated workers from the youth and the disadvantaged were actively engaged. In Rwanda, 50% of participating farmers were women, followed by 49% in Uganda, 48% in Malawi, 26% in Nepal and 15% in Ethiopia.
“There are more than 30 farmers that come to the collection centre from our village. Listing each item and providing handwritten tokens to each one of them was time-consuming and made people wait longer. The mobile app has significantly reduced waiting time and made my work much easier.”
Meena Tondon of agribusiness Paicho Pasal in Nepal
Watch the Rwanda video
CASA Malawi fast facts
As the Malawi operations of the programme winds down, here are its key successes:
- 27: Agri-SMEs and other organisations supported
- 84,907: Smallholders reached with 48% women
- £203,570: Private investments leveraged for 2 agri-SMEs
- £33: Average additional income per farmer in two value chains
Bridging investments and sharing knowledge
NIRAS leads CASA’s Component C—generating evidence, organising knowledge and communicating the programme experience and insights on a global scale to larger agribusinesses, investors and supporting agencies. The goal is to inform and enrich ongoing discussions among smallholders and agribusinesses through evidence-based learning.
This entails the creation of research that identifies opportunities, constraints and knowledge gaps uncovered through CASA’s work. By providing accessible, actionable information, this component supports the development of inclusive agribusiness models and facilitates greater engagement between smallholders and the commercial agriculture sector. Ultimately, it aims to reduce barriers to investment in smallholder agriculture and strengthen their integration into national and global value chains.
Tangibly, the third component has produced and distributed CASA publications such as case studies, stories of change, learning papers and many more, a list of which is available on the programme’s website.
Integrated solutions that unlock potential
The broad scope of the CASA programme reflects the complex, interconnected challenges facing smallholder agriculture. Addressing these issues requires multi-faced solutions that not only resolve constraints but also unlock opportunities, enabling farmers and businesses to reach their full potential and contribute to a fair and equitable society.
As the CASA experience has demonstrated in the past six years and in the final year of its operation, it is possible for smallholders to thrive in commercial markets. The programme has shown that smallholder agriculture can be both profitable and inclusive, climate-aware and resilient, and capable of providing healthy food and a steady stream of income to families.
£
10
m
worth of investments leveraged
380
k
smallholder farmers reached, with 39.5% women
£
105
average additional farmer income, a 36% increase from 2022/2023
Exhaustive list of documents, research
