Agri-trade: Strengthening Service Delivery for Rice Farmers in Northern Ghana

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Case Study Service Delivery Gender Ghana Rice

Gender

Agri-trade: Strengthening Service Delivery for Rice Farmers in Northern Ghana

24 Nov 2025 • 6 minutes read

Summary

Agri-trade, an agribusiness in Northern Ghana, specialises in rice, maize, and soybean production through an out-grower scheme. The company boosted high-quality rice production to meet processing capacities while raising smallholder farmers' incomes. Agri-trade’s strategy involved expanding operational capacity, improving farm productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and diversifying into rice processing. Key gender interventions included hiring a gender expert, implementing a 60:40 support rule (60% women, 40% men), engaging community leaders for women's land access, and creating a women-run seed multiplication block farm. This block farm secured affordable, certified rice seeds, improved control over quality and quantity, and provided jobs for women as seed growers. As a result, Agri-trade increased its rice seed supply to 400 MT per season, meeting the demand of 5,000 farmers, and boosted rice sourcing by 3.5 times while reducing business risks.

How Does Agri-trade Drive GTBM?

To address the root causes of gender inequality and support the implementation of its GTBM, Agri-trade implemented the following gender interventions across the key components:

1. Gender Strategy

The company made a conscious effort to employ more women, strategically targeting 60% of women farmers.
Agri-trade employed 14 women and 10 men on a full-time (FTE) basis. The company also has a gender specialist available for employees to consult when needed.
The company developed policies to ensure all employees are aware of their rights and protocols, regardless of gender.

2. Data collection

Agri-trade implemented gender-disaggregated data collection to track and monitor farmer reach, access to services, yields, and procurement.

3. Inclusive Workplace

Agri-trade’s block farm model created income opportunities for women as seed multiplication SHFs and provided additional roles along the value chain, such as seed cleaning.
The company facilitated the formation of women-only groups to break cultural barriers that hampered women participation.

4. Inclusive Consultation

Agri-trade facilitated women's access to land by building relationships with community leaders, convincing them of the importance of allowing women to use land for farming, often at no cost.

5. Adaptation for Inclusion

Through the block farming model, women seed farmers received training in GAPs, bundled input packages, quality control, and market access.
Agri-trade tailored input delivery by ensuring the weights were manageable for women, minimising physical strain on seed farmers.
Agri-trade supported women to adopt organic fertilisers as a complementary source of plant nutrition, reducing input costs by 45% while increasing their farm profit by over 20%.
The company trained and empowered women to take up group leadership roles so they can protect the interest of women during decision-making.
Trainings intentionally targeted women with topics like integrated pest management, zero or minimal tillage, efficient use of water, and planting of cover crops to increase their knowledge in sustainable production.
Trainings were delivered in local languages and supported with audiovisual aids to accommodate illiterate women.
Where flood alerts were received, Agri-trade prioritised mechanised harvesting and offtaking of produce from women farmers.
Agri-trade provided mechanisation services, such as ploughing and harvesting, for women rice and seed farmers, allowing them to work on larger areas of land with less physical strain.
Agri-trade provided input credit to individual SHFs, prioritising women, enabling independent decision-making and direct digital payments to women farmers rather than household or couple-based credit.
Agri-trade provided women farmers with inputs on credit, to be repaid during offtake through forward agreements, easing financial strain during the farming season.

To enhance its gender interventions, Agri-trade introduced an innovative women-run seed multiplication block farm, whose operation is showcased below:

As part of its gender strategy, Agri-trade identifies and recruits women farmers from the community to multiply seeds.
The company identifies available irrigated land and establishes the seed multiplication block farm for women farmers to work in.
Agri-trade provides a wide range of services tailored to the seed multiplication process.
The company offtakes certified seeds and pays the women seed farmers.
Agri-trade supplies its rice farmers with a holistic package of services, including the certified seeds produced in the seed multiplication block farm.
Finally, the company offtakes paddy and pays the rice farmers.

Achievements Made

Agri-trade achieved significant outcomes at both the company (business case) and farm (impact case) levels, resulting from its interventions across key components, the women-run seed multiplication block farm innovation, and other aspects of its business model.

Business Case

Better servicing: Agri-trade increased its seed supply to 400 MT per season, meeting the demand of 5,000 rice SHFs. This growth was directly driven by the implementation of the women-run seed multiplication block farm.
Better procurement: Due to interventions such as the seed multiplication block farm, targeted GAP training, bundled inputs, and mechanisation services, Agri-trade increased its rice sourcing by 3.5 times during certain periods, from 1,100 MT to approximately 3,900 MT.
Improved quality: Owing to the series of interventions, the sourced paddy meeting the required quality standards (12-15% moisture at harvest, 0.5% impurities) increased by over 70%.
Reduced risks: Agri-trade saw higher repayment rates for inputs on credit from women farmers. Additionally, women farmers were more available and attentive to farming activities when engaged by extension workers.
Enhanced opportunities: By mainstreaming gender processes into its business, Agri-trade has built a reputation as a gender-inclusive company, improving its chances of attracting funding and other gender-focused support.

Impact Case

More jobs: Agri-trade incorporated 120 women (out of 150 farmers) as seed multiplication farmers in its 200-acre block farm, while also creating additional job opportunities along the value chain, such as seed cleaning.
Improved access to resources: With Agri-trade's support, women from the communities gained access to farmland traditionally owned by men and community leaders. Moreover, the company provided 2,410 women farmers (out of 3,997 total farmers) with affordable inputs, including certified seeds multiplied in the block farm.
Better income: Women farmers have reported income gains from using certified seeds multiplied in Agri-trade’s block farm. This is attributed to the lower cost of certified seeds compared to market prices and the higher yields compared to farm-saved seeds.
Increased resilience: Approximately 40% of Agri-trade’s farmers (including women) now cultivate rice using regenerative agricultural practices, mitigating adverse effects of climate change while reducing production costs.
Increased food security: Community members, including focus groups with men-only groups, reported increased food security at the household level due to women's greater involvement in farming and the overall rise in household income.

Some of the outcomes at the farm level can be visualised in the chart below. The diagram illustrates the changes experienced by women farmers working with Agri-trade over a 3-year period of commercial engagement. These improvements are seen across several areas, including: (a) greater access to mechanisation and quality inputs, (b) increased crop production and sales, (c) enhanced ability to manage climate challenges, and (d) reduced crop production costs and losses.

Changes experienced by women farmers

The chart above illustrates the changes reported by 222 women farmers working with Agri-trade over a 3-year period. It covers various performance categories at the farm level, including crop production and sales, climate resilience, and access to services. Notably, a decrease in crop losses is considered a positive outcome.

Tips for Replication of GTBM Components

Context

Farmlands, ideally irrigated for seed multiplication, must be made available, which can be achieved through negotiations with landowners, such as community leaders.
Clustering women farmers within blocks farm is particularly impactful in contexts where social norms restrict their access to land

Best Practices

Recruiting women farmers through existing women leaders and women extension officers can be more effective in encouraging their participation.
A FMIS enables the company to manage gender-disaggregated data effectively, allowing them to monitor performance, track needs, and tailor services to the specific conditions of women farmers.
Tailoring service bundles (e.g., inputs, mechanisation, finance) to the needs of women farmers can enhance their productivity and promote gender inclusivity.
Providing mechanised services, such as ploughing and harvesting, is essential to boosting the productivity of women farmers.
Partnering with input suppliers allows the company to offer (women) farmers better, more affordable inputs on credit, reducing costs and supporting their financial independence.

Enabling Conditions

Prospective seed multiplier women farmers should already have farming experience, allowing the company to focus on upskilling in seed multiplication rather than basic farming skills.
If gender norms require, the company should ensure the support and consent of husbands or male family members to facilitate women’s involvement in farming activities.
Required services must be available in adequate volumes and at the specific stages of rice/seed multiplication.

Outstanding Risks and Challenges

Companies may face funding shortages and limited access to working capital, as financial institutions often view smallholder farming as a high-risk sector. This can hinder the full implementation of gender interventions.
Climate and environmental risks, such as changes in rainfall patterns and pest infestations, pose a constant threat to productivity. Women farmers, being more vulnerable than their male counterparts, are often more severely impacted by these risks.
A limited availability of essential services, especially mechanisation and inputs, can significantly constrain the productivity of women farmers.