Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme

The project aims to involve smallholder farmer businesses sustainably in agricultural value chains, thereby improving their living conditions and economic situation. By building inclusive agricultural systems, smallholder farmers will have improved access to markets, information, and means of production. Additionally, the project emphasizes improving food security and gender equity. It also implements measures to tackle the effects of climate change. Farmer businesses in Nepal, Uganda and Malawi face a number of challenges: Downward price pressures, the rising cost of living and climate change, together with harvest losses, structural problems, and low development lead to low productivity. Businesses and organisations lack adequate access to technical support, market information, new technologies, and technical skills for post-harvest handling and marketing. Smaller agribusinesses, on the other hand, have barely any experience working with other market actors in their value chain. Access to finance for them is a great challenge, as is improving their internal business management, expanding commercial relations with smallholder farmers, and attracting the right investors for their business profile. Furthermore, interest groups, political decision-makers, and regulatory authorities need support identifying and implementing reforms that would benefit smallholder farmer businesses and mid-sized agribusinesses.
invalid
lilongwe, Malawi
-13.9626121
33.7741195
invalid
swisscontact nepal
27.6861414
85.3176768
invalid
Ntungamo, Uganda
-0.8750755
30.2656955
invalid
Isingiro, Uganda
-0.8435429999999999
30.8039474
invalid
Kabale, Uganda
-1.241956
29.9856157
invalid
Kyotera, Uganda
-0.6093409
31.5826642
invalid
Mubende, Uganda
0.5772758
31.5370003
invalid
Northern Uganda
2.8780034
32.7181375
Malawi, Nepal, Uganda
Project duration
2019 - 2024
Financed by
  • Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

The project

The CASA project helps all participants gain knowledge of the market in order to improve their interaction with each other, on both the supply and demand sides within the value chain. In this way, everyone gets to participate in the market – be it as consumers, producers, or employees. In the end, they will be able to improve their living conditions. The project fosters the competitiveness of SMEs and sustainable economic growth.

The project’s target groups include smallholder farmers, farmer organisations, mid-sized agribusinesses, suppliers of agromachinery and services, commercial investors, regulatory authorities, and political decision-makers in both donor and beneficiary countries.

The CASA project focuses on specific value chains, which differ depending on the country:

  • Malawi: poultry and fish farming
  • Uganda: sesame and beans
  • Nepal: dairy and vegetables

 

Expected Results

  • Project activities reach 565,000 smallholder farmers (50% women) each year, helping them to increase their incomes.
  • Uplift incomes of farmers who have been involved in the project interventions to approximately CHF 105 per year.
  • Additionally, it is expected that more than 5 million Swiss francs in investments will be mobilised from third parties for the benefit of smallholder farmer businesses.

Project partners

Implementing Partners

  • NIRAS Development Consulting (Lead agency)

Subcontracted Partners

  • The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI)
  • LTS International (who recently merged with NIRAS)
  • TechnoServe

News

Nepal
Sustainable agriculture
29.08.2022
UK Ambassador to Nepal Visits Kamdhenu, a CASA Partnered Dairy
On August 29, Her Excellency Nicola PollittUK Ambassador to Nepal, Deputy Ambassador Dr. Luke Beaumont and the team from British Embassy visited Kamdhenu Dairy Development Cooperative (KDDC), a partner of Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) Programme of Swisscontact 
Nepal
Sustainable agriculture, Initial vocational education and training, Labour market insertion, Entrepreneurial ecosystems
08.03.2022
Empowering Women: Step by Step
As we mark the International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, we focus on celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. This year, IWD’s slogan is #BreakTheBias, bringing into light the importance of raising awareness against all biases and taking actions for equality.
Nepal
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
09.03.2021
Swisscontact and Social Welfare Council signs project agreement for Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness programme
Swisscontact and The Social Welfare Council signed a project agreement on 26th February 2021 to implement the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme in Nepal.