- AGRA says it mainly supports small farmers. The Nairobi-based organization says it has invested around 500 million euros ($590 million) to this end to date, training small farmers in how to best employ certain resources. AGRA President Agnes Kalibata said in a DW interview in 2017 that "farmers need access to technology, quality seeds and fertilizer.”
But the researchers behind the current analysis write that farmers in Zambia, for example, were subsequently forced to take out loans to buy such fertilizer and seeds, adding that when their anticipated proceeds failed to materialize, they were no longer able to repay their debts.
Much like the farmers themselves, Zambia's government is also burdened by a huge pile of debt amid this agricultural crisis. Having also purchased seeds and fertilizer at high market prices, the government started to distribute them to small farmers. According to the current evaluation, the Zambian government is currently sitting on outstanding invoices to the tune of $106 million (89 million euros).
Similar examples are reported to have occurred in other African countries.
Remember the article on agriculture in early civilizations? Well the same concepts apply to all farms. Efficiency comes from planting a lot of a single crop, but if the crop fails there is no good way to manage Risk especially in a country that has no stabile state, supply chain, or currency. The inevitable result is farmers are one failed corp away from bankruptcy, especially if they get unlucky during the first couple years and aren’t able to build a reserve.