Current & Future Work

The Agricultural Transformation Initiative’s work has included:

• Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT)
  The CAT program, which combines scientific research, smallholder farming, business incubation, and large-scale commercialization to facilitate transformational agricultural development, has chosen groundnuts as their preliminary value chain focus. In 2019, the CAT program successfully completed their first AgTech Challenge, which took place one day prior to the Agricultural Transformation Summit. The event called for primary, secondary, and tertiary students to generate innovative ideas for labor-saving interventions in groundnut production. Out of over 60 applicants, 19 finalists were invited to attend the Summit to demonstrate their prototypes and designs. William Kamkwamba (author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind) mentored the students alongside the CAT team.
• Investment Support Facility (ISF) for Inclusive Smallholder Transactions
  The ISF program, which supports the packaging of international investor-grade transactions with smallholder-inclusive business models, wrapped up its financial sector and crop insurance scoping activities. ISF has held workshops where investors collaborated with a group of pre-vetted Transaction Advisory Service Providers (TASPs) to build relationships, manage expectations, and exchange information in advance of the Summit. The ISF is working with local TASPs to support the development of a strong cadre of transactions that focus on smallholder impact.
• MwAPATA Institute
  The MwAPATA Institute, which translates into “we’ve achieved it” in Chichewa, is an independent policy think tank run by Michigan State University (MSU). The Institute works closely with the Malawi National Planning Commission, the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), and other groups to accelerate the adoption of Malawian-led programs that drive agricultural transformation and improve smallholder incomes and nutrition. MwAPATA completed its first major research initiatives, including: (1) the ATI Baseline Survey of 3,500 smallholder households; and (2) an extension experiment in collaboration with the national agricultural extension service.
• ATI Fellowship and Scholarship Fund
  The ATI Fellowship and Scholarship Fund, managed by the Institute of International Education, received over 1000 applications from Malawians for higher education funding. An independent Selection Committee that does not include any representatives from ATI or FSFW, selected 19 master’s students from Malawi to attend universities in the United States. They will study agriculture, data science, ecology/environmental science, engineering, and business. The Committee also selected seven postdoctoral fellows to join research programs at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
• Technology-Enhanced Finance and Training Extension Pilot
  Implemented by Opportunity International, the pilot program has equipped and trained 90 Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) to deliver last-mile financial and extension services to smallholder farmers. Support focuses on training in financial literacy, gender equity, and the paprika, soy, and groundnut value chains as income alternatives to tobacco. Over 4,000 farmers have been profiled across 163 metrics.
• Opportunity International (OI)
  Opportunity International (OI) is dedicated to improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. With support from an ATI grant, OI teaches farmers to employ good agricultural practices and increase their profitability by using a mobile-based last mile delivery platform. To date, the program has trained 219 field service and bank agents, 41% of whom are women.