The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledges support for a Systematic Approach to Graduating the Cooperative Landscapes

Utrecht, Netherlands – The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pledged EUR 8 million to AgriGRADE, an innovative approach to graduate the cooperative agricultural sector in emerging economies. The AgriGRADE concept, developed by SCOPEinsight, Agriterra, IDH, Oikocredit, and IDH Farmfit Fund, is a systematic and data-driven way of working that integrates proven concepts and tried and tested tools and services of the different organizations. The ultimate goal of the approach is to make cooperatives and farmer organizations in emerging markets more attractive for farmers, off-takers and investors.

Rethinking Agricultural Development

The AgriGRADE approach challenges conventional, and fragmented, efforts in cooperative development by adopting a structured, market- and data-based approach. This approach involves using business intelligence from the farmer organizations to segment and select them based on their needs and characteristics allowing for a more precise and efficient distribution of resources and technical support. It combines this with value chain data to design value chain models, that allow cooperatives to optimize and scale their added value for members and markets. The AgriGRADE partnership is based on clearly described, complementary roles based on demonstrated expertise and track record.

In the next three and a half years, the AgriGRADE Center of Excellence will further develop and improve the AgriGRADE concept and will pilot it in Kenya and Tanzania, to deliver a proof of concept of the data- and market-driven approach. Over time, the goal is to expand the partnership with more international and local partners and implement the approach in other countries at scale, ultimately driving investments in the cooperative agricultural sector within emerging economies.

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs wholeheartedly encourages the AgriGRADE initiative, embracing its Dutch roots and data-driven approach: “It is encouraging to see that a consortium of Dutch organizations joins forces to design an innovative and data-driven concept by building on the expertise of each party and remove overlap to increase efficiencies.”  Michiel van der Pompe, Management Team member of the Sustainable Economic Development Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Leveraging Data for Progress

AgriGRADE partners commit to working systematically, using data to make the collaboration interoperable, with clear roles and responsibilities, and where partners are accountable for measurable results. This approach includes:

• Information exchange among partners: The SCOPE tools – a set of specialized tools that measure the needs of the farmer organization from a business point of view - collect data and assess the cooperative landscape at scale, amassing a vast database and allowing segmenting and further analysis. The SCOPE data together with IDH Business Analytics, which provides value chain intelligence (FarmFit Insights Hub), support partners to make well-informed decisions in each of their fields of expertise. SCOPEinsight IT systems facilitate data sharing among partners and stakeholders, including financial institutions and private sector partners.
• Data-driven Technical Assistance (TA): Using business intelligence, Agriterra and other TA providers deploy their approaches to strengthen the business acumen of the farmer organizations, to improve their services to members and off-takers. The targeted support should lead to access to markets and finance-ready organizations.
• Enhancing Value Chains and optimizing inclusive business models Combining the insights from IDH’s Inclusive Business Model Analyses (IBA) with the SCOPE Assessment data, IDH can further strengthen value chain relations and the sourcing and service models to increase the added value of farmer organizations for the benefit of their members and market.
• Facilitating Access to Finance Oikocredit plays an important role in ensuring that the Technical Assistance provided to farmer organizations improves their access to finance. Oikocredit plays an important role in ensuring that the Technical Assistance provided creates bankable organizations, the first step to reducing risk. Also, Oikocredit and IDH Farmfit Fund aim to address other barriers that hamper farmer organizations from accessing finance, such as the development of suitable financial instruments, and structuring deals.

Desired change and impact

• Unlock increased investments in the cooperative sector
• Bring business savviness into the development sector, by using data to drive decisions and investments by farmer organizations and other stakeholders
• Use a market-driven approach to support farmer organizations to position themselves to become more reliable business partners
• Empowering the farmer organizations, by Improving their competitiveness and investment readiness

Quotes AgriGRADE partners

“AgriGRADE's approach resonates with our mission of empowering farmer organizations for sustainable growth. We believe in the power of ambition and entrepreneurship in rural development." – Marco Schouten, CEO Agriterra

“We regard AgriGRADE as a great initiative to boost the value proposition of farmer organization performance through data-driven insights and market opportunities.” – Mascha Middelbeek, Program Director at IDH

“The agricultural sector is increasingly in need of transformative solutions, particularly in light of food security, climate change, and enhancing the resilience of farmers in developing countries. Oikocredit is delighted to collaborate with AgriGRADE to cultivate new opportunities for rural farmers, empowering them to develop resilience and make positive contributions to their communities and the environment. We anticipate that working with our peers in this initiative will further our impact in the low-income communities we serve." – Mirjam 't Lam, Managing Director, Oikocredit.

“Farmer organizations are key to well-functioning food value chains. However, they are often insufficiently mature to have sufficient access to finance. We expect that through AgriGRADE more farmer organizations will professionalize and access to affordable finance will no longer be a major constraint for them.” – Roel Messie, Chief Executive Officer, IDH Investment Management (the Fund Manager of the IDH Farmfit Fund)

“For almost fifteen years SCOPEinsight worked on the founding vision that professional farmer organization are the essential condition for rural prosperity. And that the way to achieve that at scale is to work in a systematic and data-driven way of working. The support for our receiving for AgriGRADE from the Dutch ministry will enable us to bring this vision to the next level” – Lucas Simons, Chief Executive Officer, SCOPEinsight and lead AgriGRADE.

-Ends-

Note to the press

For questions please contact: 

Lucas Simons, Lead of AgriGRADE,

phone number: +3162707750

Email: lucas.simons@scopeinsight.com

Profiles of AgriGRADE initiators

Agriterra is a purpose-driven organization, aimed at strengthening farmer cooperatives in developing countries. Strong farmer cooperatives are key for establishing economic growth, poverty alleviation, food and nutrition security, climate resilience and mitigation, and promoting inclusiveness in societies. www.agriterra.org

The IDH Farmfit Fund is a blended finance fund that works towards market transformation by catalyzing private capital to strengthen smallholder value chains through sustainable and scalable smallholder investments in emerging markets. https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/farmfit-fund/

IDH seeks to transform markets through collaborative innovation, convening and investment in inclusive and sustainable solutions that enable businesses to create value for people and planet. To achieve this, IDH brings together coalitions of committed stakeholders from across global value chains towards joint visions and program agendas for sustainable trade. https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/

Oikocredit is a social impact investor and worldwide cooperative with nearly five decades of experience funding organizations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably. www.oikocredit.coop.

Established in 2010, SCOPEinsight is a leading business intelligence firm specializing in agribusiness insights in emerging markets. Their mission is to promote inclusive business through data-driven insights, facilitating sustainable trade between professional farmer organizations and their business partners. SCOPEinsight’s adaptable and data-driven approach has resulted in over 5,500 assessments across 48 countries, impacting more than 15 million farmers. Their insights have been instrumental in enabling global agribusinesses, NGOs, and financial institutions to make informed decisions, leading to increased crop yields, enhanced resilience, and improved financial accessibility for farmers. https://scopeinsight.com/