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Africa is recognized as the future breadbasket of the world. However, it still relies heavily on food coming from outside the continent, and its food import bill is projected to reach US$ 100 billion per year by 2030.

Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA) helps African smallholder farmers transition to commercial agriculture by providing adequate information, investment and support at all stages of the process – from seed to market.

FtMA is a global consortium of six public and private organizations, each of which brings specific expertise, experience and assets. They are: Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); Bayer Crop Science AG; International Finance Corporation; Syngenta Crop Protection AG; Rabobank; Grow Africa; the World Food Programme (WFP) and Yara International ASA.

FtMA empowers smallholders to become reliable market players through access to four integrated pathways: predictable markets, affordable finance, technologies and quality inputs – such as seeds and fertilizers – and handling and storage solutions.

Support includes contracting, agronomic expertise, training and access to agricultural products and services, and is based on long-term linkages between farmers, buyers, input and equipment suppliers and financial institutions. This approach ensures that farmers can confidently plan, grow, store and sell their crops and maximize their productivity, profitability and resilience over the long term. Importantly, it also builds the confidence of players in agricultural markets in doing business with smallholder farmers.

Since 2015, FtMA has successfully engaged over 150,000 farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia and has developed a network of service delivery centers through which farmers interact with service providers. To date, FtMA has generated US$17 million in crop purchases by commercial buyers and brought together over 60 local private sector players, significantly increasing the transactions between them.