MyAgro Farms Performance Report Apr 2012

 “  With  myAgro,  I  can  save  ‘doni,  doni’  (little,  little)  when   I  want,  however  much   I  want.  With  credit,   I  always  needed  another  loan.  But  with  my  savings,  I  can  earn  more  every  year.”  –  Samaké,  Falan  Village  

By the numbers 342    Farmers  saving  with  us    

$6,000      USD  value  of  farmer  savings  to  date.  We’re  on  track  to  leverage  over  $10,000  of  small-­‐scale  farmer  savings  to  help  them  improve  their  harvests  and  get  out  of  poverty,  permanently.  

1200    Savings  cards  sold  

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3  Village  Vendor  Partners  

150    #  of  control/test  farmers  we  will  survey  this  May  as  part  of  our  rigourous  evaluation  processs    

1  myAgro  operated  store  in  a  market  center.    

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     It’s  been  an  incredible  six  months  since  myAgro  launched  in  Mali,  West  Africa  and  I  am  delighted  to  share  our  progress  in  our  first  6-­‐month  report.  In  this  report,  we’ll  share  updates  from  our  various  programs  as  well  as  more  background  on  Mali  and  myAgro’s  unique  and  innovating  savings  model  for  small-­‐scale  farmers.      It’s  hard  to  describe  the  amazing  momentum  of  support  behind  myAgro’s  model.  What’s  most  exciting  for  the  myAgro  team  is  that  small-­‐scale  farmers,  like  Maritou  Samake,  are  the  ones  leading  the  way.      Maritou  is  a  farmer  in  Sanambele  village  who  registered  with  us  in  December  to  plant  a  half-­‐hectare  of  peanuts.  After  listening  to  a  training  on  how  to  access  markets  led  by  myAgro’s  Business  Associate,  Maritou  returned  to  the  meeting  with  her  husband  and  200  pounds  of  peanuts  to  sell.  Marietou  sold  her  peanuts,  and  then  promptly  turned  to  the  village  vendor  (a  myAgro  partner)  and  bought  a  savings  card  of  10,000  CFA  (~$20)  towards  her  $48  savings  goal.      Marietou  inspired  her  neighbors  and  the  myAgro  team  by  demonstrating  the  effectiveness  and  power  of  being  able  to  save  right  at  harvest  time  for  inputs  of  next  year.  Not  suprisingly  several  others  followed  Maritou’s  example.      To  date,  we’ve  enrolled  342  farmers  in  our  maize,  sorghum  and  peanuts  program  who  in  total,  have  saved  over  25%  towards  their  savings  goal  in  preperation  for  planting  this  rainy  season.      It’s  clear  that  small-­‐scale  farmers  see  the  benefits  of  having  a  safe  way  to  make  committed  savings  towards  fertilizer  and  seed  for  the  rainy  season.  Even  in  the  days  following  Mali’s  recent  coup,  farmers  continued  to  make  saving  payments  via  SMS.      At  such  an  uncertain  time  politically,  it  is  even  more  critical  that  there  are  persistent  ways  for  small-­‐scale  farmers  to  invest  in  their  farms  and  contribute  to  the  food  security  of  the  country.  Instead  of  raising  millions  in  food  aid,  which  is  unsustainable  and  often  counter  productive,  myAgro  believes  that  we  can  be  a  catalyst  and  help  farmers  use  their  own  capital  more  effectively  to  increase  their  income,  season  after  season.      Thank  you  for  supporting  and  cheering  on  our  hard-­‐working  farmers  from  afar  –  we  couldn’t  have  done  this  without  you!              Anushka  Ratnayake,  Founder  and  Director    Ka  sènè  soro  yiriwa!  Grow  more  profit  from  agriculture!                  

Women’s Peanut Program

•100+ women enrolled in 3 villages •$25 average savings goal •42% saved to date towards goal

 myAgro  women  have  the  opportunity  to  save  for  fertilizer  and  seed  for    1/16  ,  1/8,  ¼  and  ½  hectare  of  peanuts  –  and  their  husbands  are  beginning  to  value  the  women’s  financial  contributions  by  planning  early  and  selecting  better  land  for  their  wives  to  cultivate!    Women,  have  turned  out  to  be  enthusiastic  savers,  saving  over  42%  of  their  savings    goal  to  date.  They  earn  their  money  from  village  savings  groups  where  women  come  together,  save  $1  every  week  and  take  turns  giving  each  other  loans  with  the  savings  accumulated.  In  fact,  there  are  400,000  women  farmers  who  participate  in  savings  groups  like  these  that  we  hope  to  reach  in  the  years  to  come!      Through  our  program,  women  can  save  for  fertilizer  and  seed  and  then  qualify  for  trainings  on  how  to  plant,  weed,  harvest  and  store  their  peanuts  for  longer.  We’re  also  ensuring  that  every  step  of  the  way,  farmers  ensure  they’re  avoiding  a  fungus  called  aflotoxin.  We’re  hoping  to  find  a  market  for  high-­‐quality  peanuts  in  the  fortified  peanut  butter  sector,  which  1)  will  help  myAgro  farmers  earn  a  higher-­‐than  market  price  and  2)  support  efforts  to  help  malnourished  children  in  Northern  Mali.        Maimouna  Coulibaly,  a  group  leader  in  Sanambele  village  is  excited  about  the  savings  aspect  most  of  all.  She  told  us  recently:      

“I  love  savings  because  it  suits  me  more.  I  can  progress  and  pay  when  I  have  money,  it's  easier.”  

 Women  in  Mali      Women  in  Mali  face  a  number  of  barriers  –    lack  of  access  to  land,  low  literacy  levels  (18%)  and  less  access  to  formal  education.  The    average  women  has  6  children  and    cultivates  a  small  piece  of  land  to  grow    vegetables  and  rice.      Our  women’s  program  logo,  the  baobob,    represents  strength,  creativity  and  endurance    -­‐  all  adjectives  that  aptly  describe  the    amazing  women  in  the  myAgro  program!    We  hope  to  grow  our  women’speanut    program  from  3  villages  to  20  in  the  next  year.    

Men’s Cereals Program • 200+ men enrolled • Average $100 savings goal • 37% progress to date • Growing on average 1 HA of Maize

 Farmer’s  Radio  myAgro  has  a  weekly  radio  program  that  reaches  2  entire  communes  (~50  villages)  which  helps  us  build  legitamacy  in  the  eyes  of  farmers.  As  one  farmer  told  us  “I  heard  about  your  program  on  the  radio  and  now  I  believe  you!  If  you  tell  everyone  the  same  thing  you  told  me,  it  means  a  lot!”  Our  programs  are  a  mix  of  farmer  interviews,  trainings  and  call-­‐ins  with  prominent  people  in  the  agricultural  sector.  Here,  the  mayor  gets  interviewed  –  he  became  a  member  afterwards!  

 We  have  two  men’s  programs  –  sorghum  and  maize,  both  two  of  the  top  three  cereals  grown  in  Mali.  On  average,  our  maize  and  sorghum  farmers  have  signed  up  for  roughly  1  hectare  of  inputs,  and  are  37%  towards  their  savings  goal.      Farmers  we  surveyed  were  using  seed  from  their  father’s  generation  –  some  seeds  were  even  20  years  old  and  producing  less  than  1  ton  per  hectare.  For  the  same  amount  of  labor,  plus  a  little  bit  more  of  their  savings  to  pay  for  certified  seed,  farmers  can  expect  to  grow  3-­‐4  tons  per  hectare  with  myAgro!      Farmers  can  also  elect  to  get  a  labor  loan  to  rent  an  ox  and  plow  or  to  by  a  planting  machine  with  a  microdisk  to  apply  fertilizer  correctly.  While  in  modern  farming,  microdosing  fertilizer  is  known  as  the  best  way  to  increase  harvests  and  profitibility,  for  farmers  with  large  land  sizes,  it  would  be  impossible  to  add  a  teaspoonful  of  DAP  for  every  single  plant  –  there  are  more  than  33,000  plants  in  1  hectare!      By  giving  a  loan  for  farmers  to  rent  an  oxen  and  plow  or  buy  a  planting  machine,  we  double  the  amount  of  land  farmers  can  cultivate  using  modern  planting  techniques  –  increasing  farmer’s  harvests  and  profits.  Sekou  Coulibaly,  left,  told  us:      

“With  myAgro,  and  good  rains,  I  hope  I  will  have  a  great  harvest  this  season!”  

   

 

SMS Payments • 1200 savings payments to date • On track to collect $10,000 in

program revenue • Modeled after the way farmers buy phone credit for their cell phones.

We  partner  with  village  vendors  who  have  an  existing  stores  in  the  villages  where  we  work  to  sell  myAgro  savings  cards  alongside  the  tea,  sugar,  and  other  household  goods  they  sell.  When  farmers  go  to  their  local  shop,  they  can  buy  savings  cards  conveniently  and  transparently:    • After  a  farmer  buys  a  savings  card,  the  vendor  sends  an  SMS  on  the  back  of  the  card  to  myAgro    • Our  database  receives  and  validates  the  code  and  adds  the  amount  of  the  card  to  the  farmer’s  

account.    • We  respond  back  to  the  farmer  with  an  update  on  their  new  payment  and  their  progress.    

 See  a  short  3-­‐minute  video  on  how  our  SMS  database  works!        

 Vendor  Assistants    Vendors  and  their  assistants  get  regular  trainings,  feedback  and  marketing  support  to  increase  their  savings  card  sales.      Here,  Coulibaly  reviews  some    marketing  photos  with  Fassoli,    who  is  learning  how  to  motivate  farmers.  Fassoli  himself  is  a  member,  who’s  saved  for  over  2  HA  of  maize  and  counting!  He  also  learned  how  to  send  an  SMS  for  the  first  time  and  helps  other  farmers  send  their  sms  payments  throughout  the  week.    

Our Vision for 2012 • Increase enrollment to 2000 farmers • Increase ave. savings goals by 10% • Offer more high-impact products:

fruit, vegetables and drip irrigation

Help  myAgro  implement  our  bold  vision    Consider  joining  our  partners,  One  Acre  Fund,  Mulago  Foundation  and  Syngenta  Foundation  in  helping  us  close  our  funding  gap  for  2012.      Your  donation  will  help  us  develop  our  pilot  program  further,  increase  our  reach  and  impact  with  farmers  and  help  increase  food  security  at  a  critical  time  in  Mali’s  history!      To  help  myAgro  grow  more,  donate  securely  online  via  our  fiscal  sponsor,  Trust  for  Conservation  Innovation:            Or  send  a  check  to:    Trust  for  Conservation  Innovation  (please  write  myAgro  on  the  check)  150  Post  Street,  Suite  342  San  Francisco,  CA  94108    Or,  for  other  ways  to  donate  and  more  information,  please  email:  audra@myagro.org.    

 

myAgro’s  Model  |  Importance  of  Savings-­‐based  Approach      Through  our  pilot,  we  hope  to  prove  that  farmers  not  only  can  save  but  also  will  save  if  we  provide  them  with  an  option  that  is  safe,  transparent  and  convenient.      There  are  over  1.4  billion  small-­‐scale  farmers  in  the  world  who  need  ways  to  invest  their  own  money  to  increase  their  harvests  to  feed  their  families.  If  we  can  help  farmers  leverage  their  own  funds,  plus  support  them  with  training  and  access  to  large-­‐scale  markets  we  can  help  them  achieve  their  goals  and  increase  food  security  in    the  region  as  well.      Mali,  which  has  a  strong  savings  culture  –  over  400,000  women  participate  in  savings  groups  throughout  the  country  –  but  lack  ways  to  save  up  for  fertilizer  and  seed.  myAgro  fills  that  gap,  and  helps  farmers  access  the  tools,  training  and  market  incentives  they  need  to  increase  producitivity  and  move  beyond  subistence  farming.        

Helping people save their way out of poverty can be much cheaper and less risky than help-ing people borrow their way out of poverty. Borrowing has its place, but now is the time to focus on saving.

Dean Karlan, IPA, Stanford Social Innovations

Review  

 

   

myAgro    Core  Values      Our  values  make  us  unique,  keep  us  focused  and  are  the  “special  sauce”  that  makes  us  successful  in  helping  farmers  out  of  poverty.    

• Implement  market-­‐based  solutions:  we  build  and  develop  markets  for  our  products  and  services  to  increase  farmer  revenue.            

• Listen:  We  listen  to  our  customers  and  team  members  and  make  extra  efforts  to  include  and  listen  to  women.      

• Promote  fair  and  transparent  partnerships:  we  partner  with  vendors  and  farmers  transparently  and  fairly.      

• We’re  dedicated  to  having  a  professional,  curious  and  collaborative  culture.  We  strive  to  do  our  best  every  day.    

• Innovation:  We  think  of  easy  to  implement  solutions  to  complex  problems.  We  use  innovation  to  bring  focused  and  sustainable  financial  opportunities  to  our  customers  and  partners.      

 • Courage  and  Passion  –  We  care  intensely  and  work  

passionately  to  ensure  our  farmers’,  vendors’  and  myAgro’s  success.  We  have  the  courage  to  resolve  difficult  problems,  reach  hard-­‐to-­‐serve  areas  and  develop  sustainable  solutions  to  end  poverty  for  thousands  of  farmers.      

• Results  –  we  get  results,  we  beat  deadlines  and  meet  targets  –  consistently.  We  stay  away  from  “analysis  –paralysis”  to  get  things  done  and  out  to  the  farmers  as  quickly  as  possible.    

 Want  to  learn  more?  Contact  us!  

www.myagro.org  +223  7772  8888    

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