West African Sorghum Value Chain Development, 2009-2011

Funders: Common Fund for Commodities, Diageo, Heineken International.

Goal: to implement a public-private-partnership project that would substantially enhance the sorghum supply chain in both Ghana and Sierra Leone.

What we do: The project enabled sorghum farmers to meet market specifications by adopting technology in areas where private sector stakeholders (agricultural processors as well as input providers) have a clearly vested interest in facilitating farmers’ access to information, skills and market-linked inputs. The beverage industries in both countries (Heineken, Guinness and their subsidiaries) are committed to purchase locally produced sorghum to be able to substitute a portion of the raw material presently being imported.

Accomplishments: As an outcome of the project, sorghum farmers are now able to improve productivity and increase their net incomes through greater access to improved inputs, processing technologies, and marketing options provided through commercial agribusinesses and producer associations. Sorghum seed farmers are able to supply high yielding varieties and private input suppliers and marketing entrepreneurs have improved the quality of their services to their client farmer groups.

Partners: This project was implemented in close collaboration with TechnoServe.