Scaling Up Input Technology and Input Access: Clues from Zambia

Photo credit: USAID

Event Information

"Scaling Up of Drought-Tolerant Maize in Zambia" explored two new studies on Zambia that review different aspects of the agricultural input supply market evolution.

This event was the first of a series of Feed the Future reviews of successful scaling of agricultural technologies. It analyzed multiple factors that spread hybrid maize seed adoption through commercial pathways from 2006-2015. 

"Scaling Impact: Zambia PROFIT Case Study" was the first of a series of studies reviewing the ex-post status of business models initially supported by donors' market facilitation projects. This case examined the extent to which input suppliers continue to serve the smallholder farmer market segment. Aspects of the market system were also examined, including the USAID-funded Production, Finance, and Improved Technology project.

This event focused on where these cases converge and where they reveal differing perspectives. Over the course of the discussion, pariticpants discovered just what factors did allow for inputs to scale in Zambia and what that might mean for other markets.

This was a co-hosted Ag Sector Council and Microlinks seminar, brought to you by the USAID Bureau for Food Security; and the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education & Environment.

Speakers

Dan White

ACDI/VOCA

Daniel White is the Technical Director for Agriculture at ACDI/VOCA, where he contributes to the scaling research stream under the Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) MOBIS task order. With more than 10 years of experience in private sector horticulture and donor-funded agricultural development projects, White has managed and designed projects on agricultural productivity, training and behavior change, and research and learning in Iraq, Lebanon, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Indonesia. He has focused particularly on the interplay between agronomic, economic, and social determinants of agricultural production and exchange practices.

Richard Kohl

Center for Large Scale Social Change LLC

Richard Kohl is the Founder and Principal at the Center for Large Scale Social Change and has worked with USAID Missions in more than half of the Feed the Future countries to strengthen their scaling strategies. Currently, he leads a team that is examining the successful scaling up of agricultural innovations through commercial pathways. Kohl holds a doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkley.

Event Registration Information

Spotlight Event

In-person Event

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