Going the Last Mile: Input Accessibility for Improved Sorghum Production

It is mid-morning in Yabrago in Garu constituency, northern Ghana and the sun is scorching hot. The dusty road is frequented by gusts of wind that tint the air brown occasionally. Beside the side of the road, there are a series of shops bustling with trade from electronics, all the way to fast moving consumer goods. However, one of the shops stands out. Its perfectly arranged wares and the luminescent green branding are a stark contrast to the rest of the colorful kiosks that are next to it.

The owner of this shop is 28-year-old Marta Aninkeem. She is one of the last-mile input distributors who are enabling Faranaya to facilitate access to quality inputs much closer to their farms. Faranaya is a commercial aggregator of sorghum in Ghana. The main objective of the company is to support farmers within the catchment areas to access market for their produce and add value by engaging in primary processing and cleaning before selling to their off-takers. Typically, sorghum farmers must travel long distances to get access to inputs like seeds, pesticides among others. However, this added cost of transport increases production costs for farmers. Another risk is that farmers can buy inputs that either are low in quality or not suitable for sorghum production. To solve this challenge, Faranaya decided to launch its own branded input shops at the village level. This would ensure farmers access to quality farm inputs at a convenient place and allow technical advice to be given to farmers.

Faranaya facilitates training of the distributors on input handling, record keeping as well as technical training so they can be able to advise farmers. The shop is given to the distributors for free, with Faranaya not taking any commission from sales. For Faranaya, the income is derived from the sale of the inputs to the distributors and in terms of being assured that their farmers have access to quality inputs.

“For us as Faranaya, our aim is to be able to offer bundled services to our farmers. If farmers come to us, they should be able to get 90% of all the services they need – bullock services, tractor services, inputs, marketing, and credit. The last mile input distribution scheme is critical to our bundle service provision. We want to ensure that within the region by having these input shops at village level, farmers can access inputs at their convenience as well as extension services at the shop. This will greatly aid in enhancing sorghum production, “says Obed Asunka, Managing Director of Faranaya.

Since 2018, Marta had been selling a limited quantity of inputs from her house. However, after being connected to Faranaya in March this year and receiving follow up training on record keeping and input management, she was selected to be a last mile input distributor for the company. The shop at Yabrago was opened officially in June 2022.

“When I used to sell inputs my house, I would sell an average of 1,000 Cedis a month. Now, I sell an average of 4,000 Cedis a month. Business is growing quite well and my hope is that in two years I will have a bigger container to purchase more inputs to satisfy the demand from the farmers, “says Marta.

For farmers who are unable to come to the shop to collect the inputs, a fee of 2 Cedis per bag/bottle is charged by Marta. This figure is still far less than the cost that farmers would incur if they were to travel to larger towns to buy the inputs.

David Ayaaba’s life has also been transformed by the input distribution. David, 35, began selling inputs as a Faranaya Input distributor in July 2022. His branded shop is right by the side of the road in Goziesi, Garu Constituency. Prior to owning the shop, David was selling inputs from his house. However, getting the input shop has enabled him to grow his inventory and increase the sales.

“At home, I used to sell an average of 400 Cedis a month worth of inputs. Now, on average I sell an average of 800 Cedis monthly. This can be attributed to the visibility due to the location of the shop and also now I have more products for sale. Based on the returns I am seeing I would really love to expand my shop and even have multiple outlets to sell the inputs,” David remarks.

For Faranaya, the last mile input distribution is off to a good start. The growth of the model will also help the company in its ambitions to be the largest fertilizer distributor in Garu, Tempane and the surrounding regions. The company has already acquired a piece of land to support the construction of a fertilizer warehouse.