2SCALE: The largest incubator for inclusive agribusiness in Africa

In Burkina Faso, 2SCALE has 8 partnerships that are spread throughout several regions of the country. The partnerships are focused on the cassava, soybean, maize, groundnut, rice, vegetables, maize, and poultry value chains. These value chains were chosen due to their potential to create opportunities for inclusion through innovation in the quality and the yield of produce by applying new technologies, generating more jobs, and contributing to food security of low-income consumers. In Burkina, we are facilitating two sub-sector systems change initiatives. The first one is related to the vegetables partnership and aims at developing quality norms and promoting the production and sales of ecological vegetables. The other is related to the poultry partnership and is focused on improving smallholder farmers’ access to finance to boost poultry production.

2SCALE Ethiopia has a total of 10 public-private partnerships in maize, vegetables, teff, sorghum, poultry, Niger seeds, spices, dairy, beans, and honey value chains. Through these partnerships, 2SCALE aims to promote the use of climate smart technologies, environmental conservation through use of eco-efficient farming practices, and digital innovation to decrease cost of operations and therefore lower selling prices for the Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) consumers. These partnerships have impacted food and nutrition security by offering high-quality and nutritious foods to base of pyramid consumers. Related to the beans partnership, a sub-sector systems change initiative aims at improving access to quality bean seeds through the inclusion of beans in the regular public seed provision and extension system.

With five active public-private partnerships in the second phase, 2SCALE Ghana has interventions cutting across five sub-sectors namely rice, poultry, soybean, maize, and sorghum. All partnerships are geared towards promoting women and youth inclusion, financial inclusion, strengthening agri-business clusters, improvement of rural livelihoods and providing affordable, nutritious food to low-income consumers. Related to the sorghum partnership, 2SCALE is facilitating a sub-sector systems change initiative to enhance access to quality seeds by smallholder sorghum farmers. This will ultimately enhance sorghum productivity due to farmers having access to seed varieties that have higher yield, are more resistant to pests and diseases, and are adapted to the changing climate.

Kenya still experiences frequent droughts and famine. To help enhance food security in the country, 2SCALE in Kenya developed 11 partnerships across nine value chains namely groundnuts, soybean, dairy, cassava, poultry, vegetables, sorghum, and pearl millet as well as African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs). These partnerships are aimed at boosting food security to alleviate frequent famines in the country as well as provide employment in a country with a very young average population. Related to one of the dairy partnerships, 2SCALE facilitates a sub-sector systems change initiative aimed at improving fodder production to ensure high year-round production of milk despite the increasingly unpredictable rains.

Mali’s position in the Sahel means that agriculture is challenging due to the low rainfall as well as the poor quality of the soils. The harsh climate of the area and the agro-ecological profile of the country means that the country needs innovative approaches to tackle food security. Since the start of the 2nd Phase of 2SCALE, the program has established 8 partnerships focused on the rice, dairy, poultry, soybean, fonio, and vegetable sub-sectors. These partnerships are aimed at building innovative and resilient food systems that can ensure the availability and accessibility of nutritious food for low-income consumers. Related to the vegetable partnership in Mali, 2SCALE supports a sub-sector systems change initiative that is aimed at entrenching quality norms, and sales for safe vegetables in the country.

With an estimated population of 24 million, Niger has one of the highest population growth rates in the world. This rapidly increasing population means that it is essential to build the agricultural value chains to enhance food security but also economically empower the population which is largely young. Since 2019, 2SCALE has established 8 partnerships in the dairy, cassava, groundnut, moringa, millet, maize, potato, and poultry sectors. Related to the potato partnership, 2SCALE is facilitating a sub sector systems change initiative that is aimed at kick-starting local multiplication of seed potatoes to increase production all year-round.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with over 200 million people. Despite also having one of the biggest economies in Africa and an abundance of arable land, food security is still a major challenge. 2SCALE in Nigeria has a total of 11 public-private partnerships in maize, vegetable, cassava, oil palm, dairy, plantain, onion, groundnut, and sorghum value chains. These partnerships have over the years shown commitment to increasing food supply, meeting the needs of local players, and strengthening the relationships between various actors along their value chains. Related to the sorghum partnership, 2SCALE facilitates a sub-sector system change initiative that is aimed at strengthening and embedding an inclusive premium pricing mechanism, focusing on quality to drive production and supply.