Over the past 6 months we have been releasing key partner-specific impact reports as part of our Agile Impact Series. We are proud to release the Aggregate Impact Report looking at the first phase of impact partners. In the report, 60 Decibels provides data and analysis from 10 projects conducted in 3 countries and 4 languages with 10 of our portfolio partners.
>> Download the full Aggregate Impact Report here <<
Background
From 2020-2021, 60 Decibels interviewed 2,514 farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria working with 10 partners from our ecosystem to assess our impact over the last 6 years. The nine private social enterprises and one government-led institution were selected based on their expertise and level of engagement.
Snapshot from Aggregate Report on the Partners’ Involvement
Impact Insights
60 Decibels compared the partners’ average performance against 60+ agricultural organizations and found that the partners are outperforming in 7 out of 8 metrics. It is clear that partners are providing unique products and services to underserved farmers, half of whom are living in poverty (less than USD 3.20 per day) and a third of whom are women. Their farms and lives have been positively impacted but there is scope to reach poorer farmers and further address their challenges. Increased farm production and ability to pay for household expenses and children’s education were the most frequently reported improved quality of life outcomes. Farmers receiving bundled offerings were more likely to report improvements across farming outcomings and their overall quality of life. They also want more bundled offerings with more services, more follow-up and after sale information from the partners.
Results show that AgriFin Partners are outperforming the 60 Decibels Agriculture Benchmarks on experience and impact. Female farmers are experiencing the products and services in a similar manner to their male counterparts. 6 in 10 farmers who received training and advisory and mechanization said that the AgriFin partner had a positive impact on their ability to recover from climate shocks.
Snapshot from Aggregate Report on the Partners’ Impact
Moving forward, Mercy Corps AgriFin will continue to forge partnerships to provide bundled services to farmers and investigate which farmer acquisition channels can be made more gender-inclusive. Introducing financial products that incentivize savings could create a lasting effect on farmers. The current impact of savings groups can not be understated and needs to percolate down to the livelihood of the members, especially among farming households. It will be imperative to identify bottlenecks that are causing delayed payments among market access service providers and help partners adopt low-cost tech to establish post-sale touch points with farmers. Facilitating knowledge transfer between partners will help partners resolve challenges and maximize impact.
Stay tuned for the phase 2 aggregate impact report due to be released over the coming weeks!
>> Download the full Aggregate Impact Report here <<
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