CSV

Sustainable Contract Farming Model

Development Partner

DFID (Business Innovation Facility program)

Implementation Organization

Practical Action Bangladesh, ACI

Program Area

Sirajganj

Target Beneficiaries :

Up to 5,000 landless farmers

The Business Innovation Facility (BIF) is a five-year (2014-2019) DFID-funded market systems development program that aims to improve the lives of the poor in developing countries. The project objective was to implement a sustainable contract farming model that engages low-income landless farmers as tomato producers and ensures a sustainable supply of high-quality, affordable crops for ACI. Practical Action was responsible for organizing and assisting farmers in leasing land and overseeing the cultivation process, while ACI provided all agricultural inputs (machinery, seeds and fertilizer) to the contract farmers on credit. Under Practical Action’s supervision and using ACI’s inputs support, farmers cultivated tomatoes, which were then bought back by the trading wing of ACI. Through this venture, the contract farmers benefitted from training on optimal fertilizer use and cropping practices, gained accesses to high quality inputs and affordable production finance, and the guaranteed market for their produce. Thus the contract farmers participating in this endeavor managed to increase their farming performance and their farming performance and their income.