A pilot project in Kitui, Kenya By Christian Sørensen, ADRA Denmark Rural women as entrepreneurs

Millions of smallholder farmers feed huge urban populations - even though they can sometimes hardly feed themselves no rain low prices too much rain high transport costs no information Sub-standard products HIV/AIDS consumers unknown Improving the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of smallholder farming is the main pathway out of poverty in using agriculture for development (World Bank Development Report 2008)

“The African farmer is a woman” Monica Munyoki is from Kitui. She does mixed farming on a few acres - maize, beans, some pulses - to feed her children and she may sell some surplus In the year the harvest failed in Kitui ABD - agri-business component of Danida agricultural sector programme

CIAT (”Territorial Approach to Agri-Enterprise Development”) : Start with the market – not production! Step one: Mobilization

Step two: What can we grow and what do we think sells at the best price?

Step three: Checking out the market.

Step four: Decision on what to grow - and start planting

Step five: the first harvest

Step six: What to do next? - a bank loan from a Village Bank? - or from the Savings & Loan group that Monica is already member of? Increase the acreage? Check the market again? Get production advice? Get access to services ? - or should we build our own storage facilities? - How to finance expansion?

TRANSFORMATION! from farmer … …. to business woman