- Published by
- Palladium
- Project implementer
- Palladium / Swisscontact
- Donor
- FCDO
- Programme
- IMSAR
- Results level
- Poverty reduction
- Intervention types
- Improved access to finance
- Improved input supply
- Improved value chain coordination
Improving market systems for agriculture in Rwanda (IMSAR) ran from May 2018 - March 2022. Its objective was to commercialise agriculture by improving agricultural market systems to benefit poor rural households as producers, employees and consumers, and small and medium size businesses.
Using the MSD approach, IMSAR identified the root causes preventing the poor from contributing to and benefitting from growth, and overall agriculture markets from performing effectively.
Despite challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent reduction in the budget, as well as a shorter timeline than most MSD programmes, IMSAR achieved significant results in terms of numbers of new or improved products or services available to farmers and agribusinesses, which sustainably increased sales of agribusinesses and incomes of smallholder farmers.
IMSAR intervened across three supporting functions: agricultural inputs, finance and aggregation.
Intervention description
IMSAR implemented 34 interventions in partnership with 31 market actors, including agribusinesses, financial institutions, service providers, and government bodies, which led to 20 innovations reaching markets.
The interventions focused on increasing smallholder farmers' use of quality agricultural inputs, improving access to agri-lending, and enhancing aggregation models to reduce post-harvest losses. Key partners included Yara for crop-specific fertilisers, Triomf for tractor services, and Control Union for certification services.
The project partners responded positively, adopting and adapting the new models, and demonstrating a strong intent to continue these innovations beyond IMSAR's support.