Agriculture Finance in the DRC Fall 2023 Report
OUR GRATITUDE
Opportunity International’s work in the DR Congo is progressing as we deepen our partnerships and continue to listen to the needs of our clients. Staff on the ground and senior leadership are committed to advancing opportunities for smallholder farmers to earn sustainable livelihoods. Thank you for joining us in building a strong foundation for the families of the Congo.
THE NEED
The DR Congo continues to rank among the poorest countries in the world (176 out of 189 countries ranked), with one of the highest rates of extreme poverty (surviving on about $2.15/day) in the world. Child malnutrition is widespread, and most of the population lives in conditions of moderate to serious food insecurity. Most of the population (70%) is engaged in subsistence farming; the DRC has more available farmland than any other country in Africa, with an agricultural potential to feed close to two billion people. It is worth noting that Opportunity International’s baseline survey found that DRC has the highest levels of poverty among the countries with Opportunity International AgFinance presence: 93% of farmers live in extreme poverty (less than $2.15/day).
THE SOLUTIONS
Guided by our north star to reach those most marginalized our momentum in Gemena and the wider Ubangi region is undeterred. We are keenly focused on enabling farmers to grow more and get more income. Opportunity’s proven model of training, access to financial services, and group support helps farmers improve their yields and increase their income.
PROGRESS ON OUR WORK Agriculture Finance Impact Survey
The baseline survey is completed in Karawa, and a mid-line survey is to be done in Gemena, as they completed their baseline survey last year. Opportunity staff recently completed training the Karawa Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) on how to use an online survey platform to gather future survey information.
Standard indicators are set for baseline surveys; we plan to add questions on coffee, cocoa, and palm oil in future iterations. We are tracking farmers’ incomes and yields.
Farmer Support Agents Continue to Grow
Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) are local farmers who have been successful and are willing to train and help other farmers to succeed as well. They have proven to be truly wonderful partners for small-scale farmers as they seek to improve yields and build sustainable livelihoods:
• The FSA network is a cost-effective method for working with farmer groups. Launched in 2014, the program incurred a cost of $53/per farmer trained per year; in 2022 that cost had decreased to $11; we aim to reach $6.80/farmer by 2024.
• Capable smallholder farmers exist and are looking to improve their lives.
• Selection of capable FSAs and farmers is critical to the success of the model.
• “Character” is the most important attribute in determining success.
• Digital tools such as training videos and banking apps on mobile devices aid in training.
As of May 2023, we have 90 Farmer Support Agents (FSA) supporting 6,998 farmers within the Gemena/Karawa area; 36% are women which is below our program average of 40% but much higher than industry and national norms. With a team in place, we continue our full suite of training including onboarding, capacity building, and communication.
Opportunity helps to identify local markets and suggest where farmers are best priced; there are very few structured markets in Ubangi. Farmers are typically sent to urban centers.
Expert Staff Leadership
Advancing our work in DR Congo, the Opportunity International team includes:
• Max Woodley, Senior Program Manager based in Gemena, DRC
• David Mopondo, Farmer Support Agent Network Project Officer based in Gemena, DRC (also supporting Karawa)
• Chantal Ngwalo, Farmer Support Agent
Network Project Officer based in Gemena, DRC (also supporting Karawa)
We are recruiting a finance and accounting CPA for the DR Congo; the position will focus on ensuring our finances are audit ready. Additionally, an offer has been made for a senior technical advisor to spearhead work with financial institutions.
This team is supported by regional staff including:
• Shema Placide, Francophone Regional Technical Advisor based in Rwanda
• Sakina Mandanda, Director of Financial Products based in Malawi
• Lefani Kachisuzi, Client Services Manager based in Malawi
• Luke Coulson, Director of Client Services based in Malawi
Other staff support includes:
• Ephantus Ndoka Regional Manager for Impact Measurement who oversees the baseline studies in DRC.
• Tamsin Scurfield, Gender and Partnerships Manager who supports gender awareness training at financial institutions and facilitates our “Farming as a Family Business” training program that supports gender empowerment within the household as a key component of farm management practices.
AgFinance is currently working on a refreshed AgFin gender strategy and Opportunity has a board steering committee dedicated to incorporating gender strategy organization wide. Our current training includes empowerment and decision-making as a core part of “Farming as a Family Business” training. We measure decision-making in the household as a key indicator. Beyond just training indicators, AgFinance also measures and improves the percentage of female clients within the portfolios of our banking partners. We are working with our DRC banking partners to increase their capacity to accurately report gender and age disaggregated data.
Partnerships
Opportunity International serves as a link between farmers and financial institutions. We work with local financial institutions to develop products that meet the needs of smallholder farmers.
VisionFund DRC and Equity BCDC are financial providers; they open savings accounts and issue loans.
• VisionFund launched the first cohort of FSAs and is committed to financing smallholder farmers in Gemena. VFDRC is providing loans to savings groups in Ubangi, many members being involved in farming or other ag-related businesses. We have been working on a new agriculture-specific product launching in late summer that would finance production loans based on the seasonality of the crops.
• Equity BCDC is the second largest bank in the DRC. We are working with them to develop savings groups. Equity BCDC is developing its first group lending ag product to be offered to Farmer Support Agent networks.
• Opportunity International DRC board member Michel Lesombe is working on a transaction to have Equity BCDC lend to VFDRC under the broader US DRC Guarantee to increase capacity to lend in Ubangi.
• Both VisionFund DRC and Equity BCDC committed to start reporting to Opportunity International in June, which we would receive starting in August.
USAID “Feed the Future: Global Supporting Seed Systems for Development Activity” has identified a goal to improve the functioning of high-impact integrated seed systems through customized services. Consortium members include Catholic Relief Services and Opportunity International. USAID recently gave a letter of intent for the Katanga province.
LOOKING AHEAD
Our 2023-2025 goals for the Agriculture Finance program in the DRC include:
• Provide 6,700 farmer loans over the next three years, of which at least 40% will be to women.
• Loan $1.6M to smallholder farmers in FY23; the longer-term goal is to grow the portfolio in the Ubangi region and in the DRC overall.
• More than half of the farmers served will live under $1.90/day and nearly all will live under $3.20/day.
• Aim to increase farmer yields by 40% over three years.
Agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050. Growth in the agriculture sector is two to four times more effective in raising incomes among the poorest compared to other sectors. – World Bank
