SUGRUVI

Context

Standalone subsistence farmers in rural areas have limited access to professional post-harvest processing equipment and cannot afford the financial outlay required for growing the majority of cash crops. Lower quality output and small farm sizes prevent farmers from accessing reliable institutional buyers. Lack of education on effective farming techniques and agri-business skills perpetuates their livelihood struggle.

Solution

• SUGRUVI (short for Sustainable Growth for Rural Venture, Inc.) organizes farmers into a cooperative and through demonstration farms promotes planting of high yielding, perennial cassava that serves both as staple food and cash crop
• Village clusters are equipped with post-harvest processing equipment that produces high value cassava output
• Farmers’ capacity is strengthened through regular training programs and self-management of community funds

Impact depth

SUGRUVI provides:

• Collective selling of higher value cassava products provides farmer families with 20% higher income
• Access to affordable, professional post-harvest equipment results in 150x faster processing than with manual labor
• Training on sustainable farming techniques strengthens farmer education

SUGRUVI thereby contributes to:

• Increase household income: Farmer families increase their income due to improved market access. In addition, collective selling power of cooperatives puts them into a better position to negotiate better price
• Improved farming knowledge: Farmers learn better agri-business skills and integrated farming techniques
• Long-term sustainability: Model farmers, who follow SUGRUVI’s best practices, receive planting materials and financial assistance in the first 2 years until they become financially independent